After Certification: What Housing Element Inventory Designation Means For Your Project

Highlights

• Now that a majority of California jurisdictions have adopted Housing Elements certified as compliant by the state's Department of Housing and Community Development, a new question has come into sharper focus for developers, landowners and local agencies alike: What does it mean, practically speaking, for a property to be included on a jurisdiction's Housing Element sites inventory?
• Inclusion on the inventory carries concrete legal consequences – some that create significant opportunities for housing development and others that impose obligations jurisdictions must carefully navigate.
• Developers and landowners should evaluate their properties for by-right processing eligibility and Housing Accountability Act protections, both of which can materially improve the entitlement pathway. At the same time, all stakeholders should be mindful of the No Net Loss obligations that attach to inventory sites, which shape the framework within which project approvals must occur.