SB 625 - NYU Furman Center

State Land Use Enacted Legislation

Bill #	State	Year	Party	Topic
SB 625	CA	2025	D	Appeals, By-right zoning, Deadlines, Declare HOA rules void, Enforcement, Environmental review, Homeowner association rules, Manufactured Housing, Other streamlining, Streamline application, Streamline hearings, Written findings, burden and standard of proof

Provided by Furman

Summary

Prohibits covenants, restrictions, or conditions, in documents governing housing supply, that would inhibit or prevent substantially similar reconstruction of resident properties destroyed/damaged in disasters.
- Includes a provision for enforcement, stipulating that someone bringing an action to enforce the above section shall be awarded attorney’s fees by the court.
Amended bill includes extensive definitions provisions defining disaster, objective design standard, and substantially similar reconstruction.
Provides review standard used when covenants, restrictions, or conditions subject substantially similar reconstructions to review by a private body.
- Body must review application for completeness and provide findings within 30 days of receiving application (if they don’t provide findings within 30 days, application is deemed automatically complete).
  - If body find application is not complete: must provide feedback detailing missing items and applicant must have an opportunity to remedy the errors.
  - If application is complete: body will review application for compliance and conduct any review of the proposed modification within 45 calendar days, as it relates to substantially similar reconstructions of residential structures.
- Requires body to provide a final written determination for appeals made by applicants whose applications were found to be incomplete no later than 60 calendar days following the receipt of the written appeal.
- Provides that applicants with complete applications shall not be subject to additional hearings.
Designates the 2025 LA wildfires as a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair.
Provides for ministerial approval for housing developments that meet certain criteria:
- Housing development located on land where a residential structure was destroyed by disaster.
- Development is consistent with objective zoning standards.
- Bill requires that local agencies waive objective zoning standards that would preclude construction of a proposed housing development that does not exceed 110% of the square footage of a residential development that was destroyed in the disaster.
Disallows local ordinances that preclude the placement and use of a manufactured home, mobile home, or RV on private lots outside of mobilehome parks/occupancy parks for use during reconstruction of homes damaged in disaster, so long as the damage occurred within the past 3 years.
States that reimbursement is not required by the act.