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Trainers tell Cupertino commissioners state housing laws sharply limit local control: RHNA, density bonuses and ministerial approvals explained
Summary
Attorney Barb Kotz (Goldfarb & Littman) reviewed recent state housing statutes, RHNA requirements, density bonus and builder’s remedy rules, ministerial approvals (SB 35, SB 9) and HCD enforcement, and explained how those statutes reduce local discretion over housing projects.
Barb Kotz, housing attorney with Goldfarb & Littman, told the Cupertino Planning Commission on March 25, 2025, that a suite of state laws has substantially reduced local discretion over housing approvals and enforcement by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Kotz described recent statutory regimes that affect local planning: the housing element update and certification process, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), SB 330 preliminary applications, SB 35 streamlined approvals, density bonus law, and what is commonly called the builder’s remedy. She also reviewed HCD’s enforcement tools and the litigation climate for cities that deny housing projects.
Kotz said the housing element stands apart from other general plan elements because HCD must certify it; she noted Cupertino’s housing element received HCD approval on Sept. 4 of the prior year and that the city’s sixth‑cycle RHNA required additional capacity. "The state has…
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