Local governments would allow housing on certain small properties

A subject jurisdiction would have to allow a residential development through an administrative approval process. This covers properties of five acres or less owned by a qualifying entity, located in a municipality or certain nearby census-designated places, and containing no exempt parcel. The property must not be next to another qualifying property of five acres or less that went through subdivision within the previous five years. The development must follow the requirements in this part. A property with certain water, sewer, environmental, industrial, agricultural, flood, airport, historic, or other listed limits is exempt. A jurisdiction does not have to allow the development if it uses a transferable development rights program that permanently protects affordable resident housing on the property. The requirement would apply on or after December 31, 2027. A jurisdiction already updating its zoning or development code on that date would have until the date stated in the text to finish, although that date appears to contain a drafting error.

A subject jurisdiction would not be allowed to reject a residential development on a qualifying property based on certain height, unit-count, or site-design standards. The limits apply to residential developments on qualifying properties and cover standards such as height, setbacks, parking, open space, landscaping, bedrooms, and units per acre. A structure up to three stories or 38 feet could not be rejected for height unless local firefighting equipment cannot serve it or the property is in a historic district that does not allow three-story homes. The jurisdiction could use the height rules for the zoning district or a neighboring residential parcel. Site-design standards could not be more restrictive than those used for similar housing in the jurisdiction. The property would still have to meet applicable public health, safety, infrastructure, environmental, and other allowed local requirements. These limits would apply to the qualifying-property approval process beginning on or after December 31, 2027, subject to the transition described in the text.

Subject jurisdictions could continue applying listed local rules and would have to allow child care and certain community services when zoning permits those uses. The preserved rules include infrastructure, building and fire safety, health, environmental, floodplain, airport, fees, subdivision, public notice, historic-district, and affordable-housing requirements. Child care and community recreational, social, or educational services must be allowed only when the zoning district allows them conditionally or by right. A jurisdiction may offer funding or incentives, but a developer would not have to accept them. School districts may continue using existing authority for teacher housing and other buildings. The text does not limit a college or university's decisions about its property. These permissions and requirements would apply during the residential-development process described in the text; no separate start date is stated for them.