Who qualifies
A project can use SB 35 (Gov. Code § 65913.4) when:
- The city is in HCD's 10% or 50% bucket (see below).
- The project is multifamily (two or more homes), on an urban infill site zoned for residential or mixed use.
- It meets the city's objective zoning and design standards, with any density bonus applied.
- It avoids the excluded sites: very high fire hazard zones, wetlands, prime farmland, hazardous-waste sites, protected habitat and others.
- It doesn't demolish rent-controlled, deed-restricted or recently tenant-occupied housing, or a historic structure.
10% or 50%: the city's bucket
| Bucket | Why a city is in it | Affordable set-aside |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Behind on above-moderate-income permits, missed its annual progress report, or has no compliant housing element | 10% of homes, for projects over 10 homes: at or below 50% of area median income (rentals) or 80% (for-sale) |
| 50% | On track for market-rate permits but behind on very low and low-income permits | 50% of homes at or below 80% of area median income |
| Exempt | On track in every income category | SB 35 doesn't apply |
HCD updates the buckets; its June 30, 2026 determination is in effect until the next one in June 2030.
LA County cities at 50% (HCD, June 30, 2026)
Agoura Hills, Arcadia, Avalon, Bell Gardens, Bradbury, Calabasas, Duarte, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, La Cañada Flintridge, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Monrovia, Palos Verdes Estates, Pico Rivera, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, San Marino, Sierra Madre, Vernon, Walnut, Westlake Village.
Cudahy is exempt. The other 65 LA County jurisdictions, including unincorporated LA County, are at 10%.
Deadlines
| Project size | City flags any conflicts within | City approves within |
|---|---|---|
| 150 homes or fewer | 60 days | 90 days |
| More than 150 homes | 90 days | 180 days |
If the city misses the consistency deadline, the project is deemed consistent with its standards.
Parking and labor
- Parking: none can be required within 1/2 mile of public transit, in a historic district, where on-street permits are required but not offered to residents, or within one block of a car-share vehicle. Otherwise the cap is one space per home.
- Prevailing wage on projects of more than 10 homes.
- Apprenticeship and health-care requirements at 50 homes or more.
- Skilled-and-trained workforce only for buildings over 85 ft (SB 423).
SB 35 in the City of Los Angeles
Inside the City of LA, most projects we analyze already have a ministerial path: CHIP's base and menu incentives, the Housing Element sites rule, SB 9 and SB 684 / SB 1123. For CEQA, LA infill housing uses AB 130 (Pub. Res. Code § 21080.66), which exempts qualifying projects without any affordability requirement. SB 35 matters most in the rest of LA County, where it can turn a hearing or conditional use permit into a ministerial approval. See by-right development in Los Angeles.
Questions
What is SB 35?
SB 35 (Wiener, 2017) is Gov. Code § 65913.4. In cities that aren't building enough housing to meet their state targets, it requires ministerial, by-right approval of multifamily projects that meet objective standards and set aside a share of homes as affordable. There is no public hearing and no CEQA review, and the city must decide within 90 or 180 days.
What did SB 423 change?
SB 423 (Stats. 2023, ch. 778) extended SB 35 to January 1, 2036, opened most of the coastal zone starting January 1, 2025 (with a coastal development permit judged on objective standards), added a missing or non-compliant housing element as a trigger for the 10% bucket, and replaced the blanket skilled-and-trained workforce rule: that rule now applies only to buildings over 85 ft.
How much affordable housing does SB 35 require?
It depends on the city's bucket in HCD's latest determination. In a 10% city, a project of more than 10 homes must make 10% of them affordable: at or below 50% of area median income for rentals, or 80% for for-sale homes. In a 50% city, half of the homes must be at or below 80% of area median income. Exempt cities aren't subject to SB 35.
Which LA County cities are at 50% under SB 35?
Under HCD's June 30, 2026 determination, 23 of LA County's 89 jurisdictions are in the 50% bucket: Agoura Hills, Arcadia, Avalon, Bell Gardens, Bradbury, Calabasas, Duarte, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, La Cañada Flintridge, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Monrovia, Palos Verdes Estates, Pico Rivera, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, San Marino, Sierra Madre, Vernon, Walnut, Westlake Village. Cudahy is exempt, and the other 65, including unincorporated LA County, are at 10%.
Does SB 35 matter in the City of Los Angeles?
Rarely, for the projects we see. Inside the City of LA, projects under CHIP's base and menu incentives, the Housing Element sites rule and the state small-lot laws are already approved ministerially, so SB 35 adds little. For CEQA, LA infill projects use AB 130 (Pub. Res. Code § 21080.66). SB 35 matters most in other LA County cities, where a project might otherwise need a hearing or conditional use permit.
Related guides
Sources
- Gov. Code § 65913.4 (SB 35 as amended)
- SB 423 (Stats. 2023, ch. 778), bill text
- HCD, Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process dashboard
- HCD, SB 35 determination methodology (June 2026)
- Pub. Res. Code § 21080.66 (AB 130 infill CEQA exemption)
Last reviewed October 23, 2026. General information, not legal advice; the statute and your city's own rules control.