Code Section Group

PART 3.2. INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS [5830 - 5831]

5830.

County mental health programs shall develop plans for innovative programs to be funded pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 5892.

(a) The innovative programs shall have the following purposes:

(1) To increase access to underserved groups.

(2) To increase the quality of services, including better outcomes.

(3) To promote interagency collaboration.

(4) To increase access to services, including, but not limited to, services provided through permanent supportive housing.

(b) All projects included in the innovative program portion of the county plan shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Address one of the following purposes as its primary purpose:

(A) Increase access to underserved groups, which may include providing access through the provision of permanent supportive housing.

(B) Increase the quality of services, including measurable outcomes.

(C) Promote interagency and community collaboration.

(D) Increase access to services, which may include providing access through the provision of permanent supportive housing.

(2) Support innovative approaches by doing one of the following:

(A) Introducing new mental health practices or approaches, including, but not limited to, prevention and early intervention.

(B) Making a change to an existing mental health practice or approach, including, but not limited to, adaptation for a new setting or community.

(C) Introducing a new application to the mental health system of a promising community-driven practice or an approach that has been successful in nonmental health contexts or settings.

(D) Participating in a housing program designed to stabilize a person’s living situation while also providing supportive services on site.

(c) An innovative project may affect virtually any aspect of mental health practices or assess a new or changed application of a promising approach to solving persistent, seemingly intractable mental health challenges, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1) Administrative, governance, and organizational practices, processes, or procedures.

(2) Advocacy.

(3) Education and training for service providers, including nontraditional mental health practitioners.

(4) Outreach, capacity building, and community development.

(5) System development.

(6) Public education efforts.

(7) Research. If research is chosen for an innovative project, the county mental health program shall consider, but is not required to implement, research of the brain and its physical and biochemical processes that may have broad applications, but that have specific potential for understanding, treating, and managing mental illness, including, but not limited to, research through the Cal-BRAIN program pursuant to Section 92986 of the Education Code or other collaborative, public-private initiatives designed to map the dynamics of neuron activity.

(8) Services and interventions, including prevention, early intervention, and treatment.

(9) Permanent supportive housing development.

(d) If an innovative project has proven to be successful and a county chooses to continue it, the project workplan shall transition to another category of funding as appropriate.

(e) County mental health programs shall expend funds for their innovation programs upon approval by the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 227, Sec. 1. (AB 1215) Effective January 1, 2019. Superseded on January 1, 2025; see amendment by Proposition 1. Note: This section was added on Nov. 2, 2004, by initiative Prop. 63.)

5830.

County mental health programs shall develop plans for innovative programs to be funded pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 5892.

(a) The innovative programs shall have the following purposes:

(1) To increase access to underserved groups.

(2) To increase the quality of services, including better outcomes.

(3) To promote interagency collaboration.

(4) To increase access to services, including, but not limited to, services provided through permanent supportive housing.

(b) All projects included in the innovative program portion of the county plan shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Address one of the following purposes as its primary purpose:

(A) Increase access to underserved groups, which may include providing access through the provision of permanent supportive housing.

(B) Increase the quality of services, including measurable outcomes.

(C) Promote interagency and community collaboration.

(D) Increase access to services, which may include providing access through the provision of permanent supportive housing.

(2) Support innovative approaches by doing one of the following:

(A) Introducing new mental health practices or approaches, including, but not limited to, prevention and early intervention.

(B) Making a change to an existing mental health practice or approach, including, but not limited to, adaptation for a new setting or community.

(C) Introducing a new application to the mental health system of a promising community-driven practice or an approach that has been successful in nonmental health contexts or settings.

(D) Participating in a housing program designed to stabilize a person’s living situation while also providing supportive services on site.

(c) An innovative project may affect virtually any aspect of mental health practices or assess a new or changed application of a promising approach to solving persistent, seemingly intractable mental health challenges, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1) Administrative, governance, and organizational practices, processes, or procedures.

(2) Advocacy.

(3) Education and training for service providers, including nontraditional mental health practitioners.

(4) Outreach, capacity building, and community development.

(5) System development.

(6) Public education efforts.

(7) Research. If research is chosen for an innovative project, the county mental health program shall consider, but is not required to implement, research of the brain and its physical and biochemical processes that may have broad applications, but that have specific potential for understanding, treating, and managing mental illness, including, but not limited to, research through the Cal-BRAIN program pursuant to Section 92986 of the Education Code or other collaborative, public-private initiatives designed to map the dynamics of neuron activity.

(8) Services and interventions, including prevention, early intervention, and treatment.

(9) Permanent supportive housing development.

(d) If an innovative project has proven to be successful and a county chooses to continue it, the project workplan shall transition to another category of funding as appropriate.

(e) County mental health programs shall expend funds for their innovation programs upon approval by the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

(f) If amendments to the Mental Health Services Act are approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election, this section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2026, and as of January 1, 2027, is repealed.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 790, Sec. 42. (SB 326) Effective April 17, 2024. Approved in Proposition 1 at the March 5, 2024, election. Operative January 1, 2025, pursuant to Sec. 117 of Proposition 1. Inoperative July 1, 2026, by its own provisions. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions. See later operative version added by Sec. 43 of Stats. 2023, Ch. 790.)

5830.

(a) (1) Each county shall establish and administer a program for housing interventions to serve persons who are chronically homeless or experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness, as defined in Section 5892, and meet one of the following conditions:

(A) Eligible children and youth, as defined in Section 5892.

(B) Eligible adults and older adults, as defined in Section 5892.

(2) Housing interventions shall not be limited to individuals enrolled in full-service partnerships pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 5887.

(3) Housing interventions shall not be limited to individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal.

(4) Housing interventions shall not discriminate against or deny access to housing for individuals that are utilizing medications for addiction treatment or other authorized medications.

(5) Housing interventions shall comply with the core components of Housing First, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 8255, and may include recovery housing, as defined by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(b) (1) County programs for housing interventions may include any of the following:

(A) Rental subsidies.

(B) Operating subsidies.

(C) Shared housing.

(D) Family housing for eligible children and youth who meet the criteria specified in subdivision (a).

(E) The nonfederal share for transitional rent.

(F) Other housing supports, as defined by the State Department of Health Care Services, including, but not limited to, the community supports policy guide.

(G) Capital development projects, including affordable housing, as described in paragraph (2).

(H) Project-based housing assistance, including master leasing of project-based housing.

(I) Funds pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 5892 shall not be used for mental health and substance use disorder treatment services.

(2) (A) County programs for housing interventions may include capital development projects, under the provisions of Section 5831, to either construct or rehabilitate housing units, or both, for the persons meeting the criteria specified in subdivision (a) consistent with the State Department of Health Care Services guidelines for this purpose.

(B) The units funded pursuant to this provision shall be available in a reasonable timeframe, as specified by the State Department of Health Care Services and consistent with the county integrated plan pursuant to Section 5963.02, and shall meet a cost-per-unit threshold as specified by the State Department of Health Care Services.

(C) For purposes of this section and Section 5831, “affordable housing” includes supportive housing. “Supportive housing” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) County programs for housing interventions shall comply with all requirements specified by the State Department of Health Care Services, pursuant to Section 5963.05, for the purposes of administering paragraphs (1) and (2).

(c) (1) To the extent that necessary federal approvals have been obtained for the Medi-Cal program to cover housing interventions and federal financial participation is available and not otherwise jeopardized, the housing interventions funds distributed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 5892 may be used for the nonfederal share of Medi-Cal covered housing related services. The housing intervention funds distributed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 5892 shall only cover the costs that cannot be paid for with Medi-Cal program funds, including costs for Medi-Cal members enrolled in a Medi-Cal managed care plan, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 14184.101, that does not cover those services.

(2) Funds shall not be used for housing interventions covered by a Medi-Cal managed care plan, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 14184.101.

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a capital development project funded pursuant to this section shall not constitute a “low rent housing project,” as provided for in subdivision (e).

(e) “Low rent housing project,” as defined in Section 1 of Article XXXIV of the California Constitution, does not apply to a project that meets any of the following criteria:

(1) The project meets both of the following criteria:

(A) Is privately owned housing, receiving no ad valorem property tax exemption other than exemptions granted pursuant to subdivision (f) or (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, not fully reimbursed to all taxing entities.

(B) Not more than 49 percent of the dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations of the development may be occupied by persons of low income.

(2) The project is privately owned housing, is not exempt from ad valorem taxation by reason of public ownership, and is not financed with direct long-term financing from a public body.

(3) The project is intended for owner-occupancy, which may include a limited-equity housing cooperative, as defined in Section 50076.5 of the Health and Safety Code, cooperative, or condominium ownership rather than for rental-occupancy.

(4) The project consists of newly constructed, privately owned, one- to four-family dwellings not located on adjoining sites.

(5) The project consists of existing dwelling units leased by the state public body from the private owner of these dwelling units.

(6) The project consists of the rehabilitation, reconstruction, improvement, or addition to, or replacement of, dwelling units of a previously existing low-rent housing project or a project previously or currently occupied by lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(7) The project consists of the acquisition, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or improvement, or any combination thereof, of a project that, prior to the date of the transaction to acquire, rehabilitate, reconstruct, or improve, or any combination thereof, was subject to a contract for federal or state public body assistance for the purpose of providing affordable housing for low-income households and maintains, or enters into, a contract for federal or state public body assistance for the purpose of providing affordable housing for low-income households.

(8) The project consists of the acquisition, rehabilitation, reconstruction, alterations work, or new construction, or a combination thereof, of lodging facilities or dwelling units using moneys received from the Behavioral Health Services Fund established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5890.

(f) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that funds are provided from the Behavioral Health Services Fund for purposes of this section. This section does not obligate the counties to use funds from any other source for services pursuant to this section.

(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026, if amendments to the Mental Health Services Act are approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election.

(Repealed (in Sec. 42) and added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 790, Sec. 43. (SB 326) Effective April 17, 2024. Approved in Proposition 1 at the March 5, 2024, election. Operative July 1, 2026, by its own provisions.)

5831.

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a capital development project funded, in whole or in part, pursuant to Section 5892 shall be a use by right that shall be subject to the streamlined, ministerial review process, pursuant to subdivision (b), if it meets all of the following criteria:

(A)  (i) Affordable housing shall be located in a zone where multifamily residential, office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use. Nothing here shall be construed to limit other housing interventions pursuant to Section 5830 that conform to existing zoning.

(ii) The intent of capital development funding is to prioritize the production of housing that provides long-term housing stability.

(B) At least 75 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins parcels that are developed with urban uses.

(C) It satisfies the requirements specified in subparagraphs (B) to (K), inclusive, of paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 65913.4 of the Government Code.

(D) It is not on a site or adjoined to any site where more than one-third of the square footage on the site is dedicated to industrial use.

(E) The development will meet the following objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design review standards:

(i) For affordable housing, the applicable objective standards shall be those for the zone that allows residential use at a greater density between the following:

(I) The existing zoning designation for the parcel if existing zoning allows for residential use.

(II) The zoning designation for the closest parcel that allows residential use at a density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households in that jurisdiction as specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2 of the Government Code.

(ii) The applicable objective standards shall be those in effect at the time that the development application is submitted to the local government pursuant to this article.

(iii) A development proposed pursuant to this section shall be eligible for the same density bonus, incentives or concessions, waivers or reductions of development standards, and parking ratios applicable to a project that meets the criteria specified in subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 65915 of the Government Code.

(F) No housing units were acquired by eminent domain.

(G) The housing units will be in decent, safe, and sanitary condition at the time of their occupancy.

(H) The project meets the labor standards contained in Sections 65912.130 and 65912.131 of the Government Code.

(I) The project provides housing for individuals who meet the criteria specified in subdivision (a) of Section 5830 and their families.

(J) Affordable housing shall require long-term covenants and restrictions require the housing units to be restricted to persons who meet the criteria specified in subdivision (a) for no fewer than 30 years.

(2) (A) For purposes of this subdivision, parcels only separated by a street or highway shall be considered to be adjoined.

(B) For purposes of this subdivision, “dedicated to industrial use” means any of the following:

(i) The square footage is currently being used as an industrial use.

(ii) The most recently permitted use of the square footage is an industrial use.

(iii) The site was designated for industrial use in the latest version of a local government’s general plan adopted before January 1, 2022.

(b) The project shall be subject to the following streamlined, ministerial review process:

(1) (A) If the local government determines that a development submitted pursuant to this article is consistent with the objective planning standards specified in this article, it shall approve the development.

(B) If a local government determines that a development submitted pursuant to this article is in conflict with any of the objective planning standards specified in this article, it shall provide the development proponent written documentation of which standard or standards the development conflicts with, and an explanation for the reason or reasons the development conflicts with that standard or standards, within the following timeframes:

(i) Within 60 days of submission of the development proposal to the local government if the development contains 150 or fewer housing units.

(ii) Within 90 days of submission of the development proposal to the local government if the development contains more than 150 housing units.

(C) If the local government fails to provide the required documentation pursuant to subparagraph (B), the development shall be deemed to satisfy the required objective planning standards.

(D) (i) For purposes of this section, a development is consistent with the objective planning standards if there is substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the development is consistent with the objective planning standards.

(ii) For purposes of this section, a development is not in conflict with the objective planning standards solely on the basis that application materials are not included, if the application contains substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the development is consistent with the objective planning standards.

(E) The determination of whether a proposed project submitted pursuant to this section is or is not in conflict with the objective planning standards is not a “project” as defined in Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code.

(2) Design review of the development may be conducted by the local government’s planning commission or any equivalent board or commission responsible for design review. That design review shall be objective and be strictly focused on assessing compliance with criteria required for streamlined, ministerial review of projects, as well as any reasonable objective design standards published and adopted by ordinance or resolution by a local jurisdiction before submittal of the development to the local government, and shall be broadly applicable to developments within the jurisdiction. That design review shall be completed as follows and shall not in any way inhibit, chill, or preclude the ministerial approval provided by this section or its effect, as applicable:

(A) Within 90 days of submittal of the development proposal to the local government pursuant to this section if the development contains 150 or fewer housing units.

(B) Within 180 days of submittal of the development proposal to the local government pursuant to this section if the development contains more than 150 housing units.

(c) Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code shall not apply to actions taken by the Department of Housing and Community Development, the State Department of Health Care Services, or a local agency not acting as the lead agency to provide financial assistance or insurance for the development and construction of projects built pursuant to this section.

(d) The applicant shall file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk of the county in which the project is located in the manner specified in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 21152 of the Public Resources Code.

(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Objective zoning standards,” “objective subdivision standards,” and “objective design review standards” mean standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official before submittal. These standards may be embodied in alternative objective land use specifications adopted by a city or county, and may include, but are not limited to, housing overlay zones, specific plans, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and density bonus ordinances.

(2) “Use by right” means a development project that satisfies both of the following conditions:

(A) The development project does not require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other discretionary local government review.

(B) The development project is not a “project” for purposes of Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code.

(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026, if amendments to the Mental Health Services Act are approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 790, Sec. 44. (SB 326) Effective April 17, 2024. Approved in Proposition 1 at the March 5, 2024, election. Operative July 1, 2026, by its own provisions.)