The California Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing approved legislation on June 6 that will restore the authority of local governments to require affordable rental units in their local housing development ordinances.

The requirement was eliminated by a 2009 appellate court decision. The bill, AB 1505, was authored by Assembly members Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Todd Gloria (D-San Diego).

“Housing costs across the state have increased exponentially and absent corrective action there is no end in sight,” Bloom said. “Given our state’s severe housing crisis, it is critical that we give local governments every tool to address affordable housing needs. This bill returns one of our most important and effective tools.”

Inclusionary policies have been used in California since the late 1970s and have proven to be effective tools for producing affordable housing to working families and creating strong, diverse neighborhoods with a range of housing options Bloom said. Approximately 170 cities and counties have some form of inclusionary housing requirement in place as a complement to local, state and federal programs addressing California’s affordable housing shortage.

An appellate court decision in Palmer/Sixth Street Properties L.P. v. City of Los Angeles in 2009 removed local governments’ ability to apply inclusionary policies to rental housing. The Palmer court decision improperly combined rent control, which is regulated by the state’s Costa Hawkins act, and deed-restricted affordable housing, which is not regulated under the act, creating uncertainty and confusion for local governments and housing advocates, Bloom added.

AB 1505 was introduced to allow local inclusionary polices to require the provision of affordable rental housing, effectively restoring the law. AB 1505 does not give local governments new authority, and does not constrain or dictate the scope of local inclusionary policies.

The bill is supported by the California Housing Consortium, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Housing California and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. AB 1505 will next be considered by the full state Senate.