(a) During the pendency of any action described in Section 65754, or when issuing a final judgment in favor of the plaintiff or petitioner finding that the general plan or any element thereof does not conform to the requirements of Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300), the court shall not enjoin the development of any housing development with respect to which all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The legislative body of the city, county, or city and county has approved a development project, as defined by Section 65928, for housing or a specific plan for the housing development and determined the development project for housing or the specific plan to be consistent with the general plan of the city, county, or city and county.
(2) The legislative body of the city, county, or city and county has certified an environmental impact report or a negative declaration for the development project for housing or for the specific plan for housing pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, and no legal action was brought within the applicable statute of limitations period relating to that environmental impact report or negative declaration.
(3) The owner of the land upon which the housing is proposed to be developed, in satisfaction of any requirements imposed and in reliance upon any action taken by the city, county, or city and county pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2), has irrevocably committed one million dollars ($1,000,000), or more, for public infrastructure, including, but not limited to, roads, and water and sewer facilities.
(4) The proposed housing development may be developed without having an impact upon the city, county, or city and county’s ability to implement an adequate housing element or to properly adopt an adequate housing element if the court determines, in the pending action, that the general plan or plan element is inadequate. The court shall apply the provisions of Section 65760 to determine whether a housing development will have an impact on the ability of the city, county, or city and county to properly adopt and implement an adequate housing element.
(b) The provisions of this section shall be applicable to any legal action pending on January 1, 1984, and to every action commenced on or after that date.
(c) This section shall not be construed to preclude a public agency from exercising discretion, in a manner authorized by any other provision of law, to alter plans, zoning, or subsequent development approvals applicable to those lands, or from enacting and enforcing further regulations upon their use.
(Added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 911, Sec. 2.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018