Housing Bill to Allow Multifamily Development on Commercially-Zoned Sites Now in Effect

The Middle Class Housing Act of 2022 (SB 6, Caballero) went into effect on July 1, 2023. It allows developers to build qualifying multifamily projects without rezoning on sites currently zoned for commercial retail or parking use, as long as they comply with all local zoning code requirements. The project must be at least 50% residential and located within an urbanized area, and the density requirement depends on the location. SB 6 does not provide any CEQA exemptions or permit streamlining, but developers may be able to increase the density by taking advantage of the density bonus law. One tradeoff is the requirement