Regional housing need: determination: consultation with councils of governments.

Senator Seyarto's housing legislation modifies the timeline for consultations between the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and regional councils of governments regarding housing needs assessments. The bill establishes new deadlines for these mandatory planning discussions, which inform regional housing allocations throughout California.

For the seventh revision of local housing elements, the legislation creates a three-tiered consultation schedule. Most councils of governments must meet with HCD at least 38 months before their scheduled housing element revision. The San Luis Obispo and Sacramento Area councils face a 34-month deadline, while smaller regions including the Humboldt County, Lake Area, Mendocino, and Nevada County councils maintain the existing 26-month timeframe. For the eighth and all subsequent revisions, the bill standardizes the consultation requirement at 38 months prior to scheduled updates for all councils of governments.

The consultation process requires councils to provide HCD with detailed regional data on household growth, overcrowding rates, housing costs, homelessness, and other metrics that factor into housing need calculations. Councils may object to HCD's eventual housing need determination within 30 days, but must substantiate challenges based on either population projection discrepancies or methodological concerns. The department then has 45 days to issue a final written determination explaining its conclusions. In regions where HCD directly distributes housing needs, individual cities and counties cannot file objections to the regional determination.