AB 2334
Density Bonus Law Changes, 2022
Lets 100%-affordable projects in very low vehicle travel areas of Los Angeles County and 16 other designated counties build with no density cap and up to three extra stories, and sets base density at the greatest of zoning, specific plan or general plan density.
What AB 2334 Changed
AB 2334 (Wicks), Chapter 653, Statutes of 2022, amended the State Density Bonus Law, Government Code § 65915. The Governor signed it on September 28, 2022, and it took effect January 1, 2023. It did not add incentives or concessions. Most of its changes reach only 100%-affordable projects. It also changed rent limits in those projects and let cities follow a public funder's recapture rules for for-sale affordable units. Citations on this page are to the current code, which numbers some definitions differently from AB 2334's 2022 text.
No Density Cap
100%-affordable projects in a very low vehicle travel area in one of 17 designated counties, including Los Angeles County, face no maximum density (§ 65915(f)(3)(D)(iii)). Before AB 2334, that applied only within half a mile of a major transit stop. Mixed-income bonus percentages did not change.
Height and Parking
The same projects get up to three extra stories or 33 feet (§ 65915(d)(2)(D)). For zero parking, 100%-affordable senior rentals now qualify at age 55 instead of 62 (§ 65915(p)(3)(B)). A very low vehicle travel area alone does not remove parking requirements.
Base Density
For every density bonus project, base density is the greatest number of units the zoning, specific plan or general plan allows. Without a units-per-acre standard, it comes from the site's realistic capacity, and the city must accept a base density study that includes all applicable objective standards (§ 65915(o)(6)).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AB 2334 (2022)?
AB 2334 (Wicks, Chapter 653, Statutes of 2022) amended California's State Density Bonus Law, Government Code § 65915. It took effect January 1, 2023. Its main change helps 100%-affordable projects. Two benefits, no maximum density and up to three extra stories or 33 feet, already applied to sites within half a mile of a major transit stop. AB 2334 extended them to also cover sites in a very low vehicle travel area in 17 designated counties, including Los Angeles County. It also set base density at the greatest of the zoning, specific plan or general plan density, and lowered the senior age for one zero-parking rule from 62 to 55. It did not add incentives or concessions.
How does AB 2334 benefit developers?
Mainly by helping 100%-affordable projects. In a very low vehicle travel area in a designated county (Los Angeles County is one), a 100%-affordable project has no density cap and gets up to three extra stories or 33 feet, the same as near a major transit stop (Gov. Code § 65915(f)(3)(D)(iii), (d)(2)(D)). 100%-affordable rentals for people 55 and older can now ask for zero parking if they have paratransit or a bus line running at least eight times a day within half a mile. The age was 62 before (§ 65915(p)(3)(B)). For every density bonus project, base density is now the greatest of the zoning, specific plan or general plan density (§ 65915(o)(6)). A minimum lot area per unit rule now counts as a development standard, so a project can ask to waive or reduce it under the usual density bonus waiver rules (§ 65915(o)(2)). Bonus percentages for mixed-income projects did not change. AB 2334 did not add incentives or concessions or create a streamlined approval path.
Which projects qualify for AB 2334's density and height benefits?
Only 100%-affordable projects. Every unit, not counting a manager's unit, must be for lower-income households, with up to 20% allowed for moderate-income households (Gov. Code § 65915(b)(1)(G)). The site must be within half a mile of a major transit stop, which was already law, or in a very low vehicle travel area in a designated county, which AB 2334 added. A very low vehicle travel area is a Census urbanized area where existing residential development generates vehicle miles traveled per person below 85% of the regional or the city figure (§ 65915(o)(10)). The designated counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma and Ventura, plus the City and County of San Francisco (§ 65915(o)(1)). Mixed-income projects get no density or height benefit from AB 2334. They gain only from the base density and minimum lot area changes.
How many incentives or concessions does a 100%-affordable project get?
Five under current law (Gov. Code § 65915(d)(2)(D)). AB 2334 left the number at four. AB 1287 (2023) raised it to five starting January 1, 2024. The extra three stories or 33 feet comes on top of those incentives, not as one of them.
Does AB 2334 reduce parking, setbacks or approval time?
Only parking, narrowly, and only for 100%-affordable projects. On the developer's request, a city cannot impose parking requirements on a 100%-affordable project that is within half a mile of a major transit stop with unobstructed access, is a rental for people 55 and older with paratransit or a bus line running at least eight times a day within half a mile, or is special-needs or supportive housing (Gov. Code § 65915(p)(3)). AB 2334 rewrote this rule to cover projects that meet the 100%-affordable definition (before, it covered projects made up only of lower-income rental units) and lowered the senior age from 62 to 55. Being in a very low vehicle travel area does not by itself remove parking requirements. Projects that do not meet one of those tests rely on the older parking caps, such as 1, 1.5 or 2.5 spaces by bedroom count (§ 65915(p)(1)). AB 2334 added no setback relief and no streamlined, ministerial or CEQA-exempt approval path. It does require the city to accept a developer's base density study that includes all applicable objective standards (§ 65915(o)(6)).
How does the City of Los Angeles apply AB 2334?
LA City Planning's January 31, 2023 memo applies AB 2334 to density bonus projects from January 1, 2023. City Planning posts very low vehicle travel area maps in ZIMAS under the Planning and Zoning tab. For base density, it uses the General Plan land use designation when that designation allows more units than the zoning. Since February 11, 2025, density bonus projects run through the Citywide Housing Incentive Program (CHIP, Ordinance 188477, and Ordinance 188478 for Chapter 1A areas). Its State Density Bonus Program (LAMC 12.22 A.37) is the City's main way of carrying out § 65915. But 100%-affordable projects, the only projects AB 2334's density and height benefits reach, are reviewed under the Affordable Housing Incentive Program (LAMC 12.22 A.39). CHIP defines base density by reference to § 65915(o)(6). The 2023 memo says four incentives; that became five under AB 1287 (City Planning memo, May 16, 2024).
Who can help with AB 2334 analysis in Los Angeles?
Brick Work's $250 report analyzes your property's potential under AB 2334 and every other California housing law that applies to up to 10 adjoining parcels under one base zone, delivered in 2 business days, to help you maximize development potential. Sites with more than one base zone, multiple overlays, or other advanced land-use diligence take the $500 Advanced report.
Sources
- AB 2334 chaptered text and Legislative Counsel's Digest (Wicks, Chapter 653, Statutes of 2022; approved and filed September 28, 2022)
- Gov. Code § 65915, subdivisions (b)(1)(G), (d)(2)(D), (f)(3)(D), (o)(1), (o)(2), (o)(6), (o)(10), (p)(1) and (p)(3) (current text, as amended by AB 87, Stats. 2025, ch. 486)
- LA City Planning, Implementation of 2022 State Density Bonus Laws: AB 2334, AB 1551, AB 682 (January 31, 2023)
- LA City Planning, Implementation of 2023 State Density Bonus Law: AB 1287 (May 16, 2024)
- LA City Planning, Citywide Housing Incentive Program and Ordinance 188477 (effective February 11, 2025)
Last reviewed October 12, 2026.
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