California Attorney General Opinion 24-501

BACKGROUND

In 1979, the Legislature enacted the Density Bonus Law “to address the shortage of affordable housing in California.” 1 Since then, the Law has been amended dozens of times, but its goal of providing more affordable housing remains unchanged. 2 To understand this law and the question before us, it is helpful to have some familiarity with the concepts of density and affordable housing.

“Density” refers to how many units of housing may be built on a property. “Affordable” housing as relevant here refers to housing that is mandated to be restricted for rent or sale below the market rate and is restricted to households with an income at or below certain thresholds. A preliminary step in building affordable housing is obtaining necessary permits from the governing city or county. Through local regulation such as zoning ordinances and general plans, cities and counties regulate and limit the number— that is, the density—of housing units that may lawfully be built on a given property.

Indeed, state law requires each city and county to adopt a “long-term general plan” for development and requires the plan to include density standards regulating how many units may be built on…