Government Code section 65912.158
(a)
For the purposes of this section, “agency transit-oriented development project” means a housing development project or mixed use residential project that meets all of the following requirements:(1)
A minimum of 50 percent of the total square footage of the project is dedicated to residential purposes.(2)
A minimum of 20 percent of the total number of units shall be restricted for the affordable lower income households and shall be subject to a recorded affordability restriction for at least 55 years in the case of rental units and 45 years in the case of owner occupied units, unless a local ordinance or the terms of federal, state, or local tax credit, or other project financing requires a longer period of affordability.(3)
The average total floor area of floor space for the proposed units in the housing development project shall not exceed 1,750 net habitable square feet.(4)
The parcel or parcels on which the project is located is an infill site, as defined in Section 21061.3 of the Public Resources Code.(5)
The transit-oriented development parcels on which the transit-oriented development project would be located was not acquired through eminent domain on or after July 1, 2025.(6)
The parcels on which the transit-oriented development project would be located are owned by the agency and either:(A)
The parcels are adjacent to a transit-oriented development stop for which the agency operates service, or form a contiguous area adjacent to such a transit-oriented development stop.(B)
At least 75 percent of the project area is located within one-half mile of a transit-oriented development stop for which the agency operates service or plans to provide service and was owned by the agency on or before January 1, 2026.(b)
(1)A transit agency’s board of directors may adopt by resolution agency transit-oriented development zoning standards for district-owned real property located in a transit-oriented development zone. These standards shall establish minimum local zoning requirements for height, density, residential floor area ratio, and allowed uses, that shall apply to an agency transit-oriented development project, that shall be consistent with Section 65912.157.(2)
Adopted agency transit-oriented development zoning standards shall establish, for each transit station, the lowest permissible maximum standard for height, density, and residential floor area ratio, and a list of approved residential, retail, and commercial uses.(3)
The agency transit-oriented development zoning standards adopted by the board of directors shall not adopt a lowest permissible maximum standard for density or residential floor area ratio below the level permitted under Section 65912.157, and shall not prohibit residential use.(4)
The agency transit-oriented development zoning standards shall not establish density standards that exceed 200 percent of the maximum density established in Section 65912.157.(c)
The adoption of, and amendments to, the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards shall comply with all of the following:(1)
The transit agency shall hold a public hearing to receive public comment on the proposed agency transit-oriented development zoning standards or proposed changes to the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards. The transit agency shall conduct direct outreach to relevant local governments and to communities of concern around each station. Before or during the scoping meeting, the transit agency shall consult with each local government in which the station is located, as well as any relevant infrastructure agencies. The consultation required pursuant to this section shall include all of the following:(A)
A review of the housing needs of the jurisdiction.(B)
A review of the transit-oriented development approved and built in the past year in the jurisdiction.(C)
A review of any transit-oriented development projects proposed by the transit agency in the jurisdiction for the past year.(D)
A discussion of any obstacles to development of any project proposed by the transit agency.(2)
Not less than 30 days before a public hearing of the board to consider the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards, the transit agency shall provide public notice and make the draft standards available to the public.(3)
The board shall adopt or reject any proposed agency transit-oriented development zoning standards at a publicly noticed meeting of the board not less than 30 days following the original public hearing.(d)
Objective standards adopted pursuant to paragraph (b) shall not preempt or otherwise displace local discretionary standards that apply to hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, or other transient lodging use, including short-term lodging, as defined in Section 17568.8 of the Business and Professions Code. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term “other transient lodging” does not include a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code.(e)
Where local zoning is inconsistent with the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards for a station, the local jurisdiction may adopt a local zoning ordinance that conforms to the transit-oriented development zoning standards.(f)
(1)A local government shall not be required to approve any height limit in excess of the standard for development adjacent to the transit-oriented development stop under Section 65912.157.(2)
The transit agency shall make a finding as to whether the local zoning ordinance conforms to the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards. Local zoning shall remain in place unless the transit agency determines that it does not conform to the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards. If, according to the transit agency’s finding, the local zoning ordinance does not conform to the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards after two years of the date that the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards are adopted by the board for that station, the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards shall become the local zoning for any district-owned parcels that are eligible under this section, except for any height limit in excess of the standard for development adjacent to the transit-oriented development stop under Section 65912.157. For each station, a local jurisdiction may update zoning for transit agency-owned land to comply with agency transit-oriented development zoning standards until the time that the transit agency enters into an exclusive negotiating agreement with a developer for an agency transit-oriented development project.(g)
(1)The transit agency’s approval of agency transit-oriented development zoning standards shall be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code). The district shall serve as the lead agency for California Environmental Quality Act review for transit-oriented development zoning standards.(2)
Any subsequent California Environmental Quality Act review of rezoning to conform with agency transit-oriented development zoning standards, and of eligible transit-oriented development projects proposed and on district-owned land, shall incorporate the environmental review document certified for the transit-oriented development zoning standards consistent with Section 21094 of the Public Resources Code. A public agency shall not prepare an environmental impact report or mitigated negative declaration for rezoning pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) to implement agency transit-oriented development zoning standards or for a transit-oriented development project subsequent to the transit agency’s certification of an environmental review document for approval of agency transit-oriented development zoning standards unless the public agency finds, based on substantial evidence, that the rezoning or transit-oriented development project creates a significant effect on the environment that was not analyzed in the prior environmental review document, and mitigated or avoided.(h)
A local agency may adopt objective, written development standards, conditions, and policies that apply to development on district-owned property, provided that they demonstrate their consistency with the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards. In the event that the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards, objective planning standards, general plan, or design review standards are mutually inconsistent, the agency transit-oriented development zoning standards shall be the controlling standards. To the extent that the zoning standards do not resolve inconsistencies, the general plan shall be the controlling standard.(i)
Zoning in effect as a result of this section shall be considered the same as locally approved zoning for all purposes, including the Density Bonus Law and the Housing Accountability Act.(j)
Any agency transit-oriented development project shall comply with the antidisplacement requirements of Section 66300.6.(k)
A local government shall not be required to approve any height limit under this section greater than the height limit specified in this chapter for development adjacent to the relevant tier of a transit-oriented development stop. A transit agency shall not set a maximum height, density, or residential floor area ratio below that which would be allowed for the site under this chapter.(l)
If nonresidential development is included in an agency transit-oriented development project, at least 25 percent of the total planned units affordable to lower income households shall be made available for lease or sale and permitted for use and occupancy before or at the same time with every 25 percent of nonresidential development made available for lease or sale and permitted for use and occupancy.(m)
The development applicant for an agency transit-oriented development project proposed pursuant to this section shall certify that the labor standards in paragraphs (8) and (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4 will be met in project construction, and those standards shall apply if the project is approved by the public agency. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, this subdivision shall not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the development are subject to a project labor agreement with the transit agency that was entered into before July 1, 2026, that requires the payment of prevailing wages to all construction workers employed in the execution of the development and provides for the enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure. For the purposes of this subdivision, “project labor agreement,” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
Source:
Section 65912.158, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=65912.158. (updated Jan. 1, 2026; accessed Dec. 15, 2025).
