AB 130's CEQA exemption for housing (PRC §21080.66), condition by condition
AB 130 (2025) added Public Resources Code §21080.66, a statutory CEQA exemption for housing development projects on up to 20 acres (4 for builder's remedy projects) in a city or Census urban area, on urban land, consistent with the plan and zoning, at least half the state's default density, and off the sites excluded by Gov. Code §65913.4(a)(6).
What passed
AB 130 (Ch. 22, Stats. 2025), a budget trailer bill, was signed June 30, 2025 and took effect that day. Its companion, SB 131 (Ch. 24), added the single-condition rule in PRC §21080.1(b), not §21080.66 itself. SB 158 (Ch. 650, in effect since October 11, 2025) cut the builder's remedy limit from five acres to four and made the Notice of Exemption mandatory. It also added §21080.73, which denies any exemption to housing on one narrowly described kind of site (set by city and county population, mapped wetland, a regulatory floodway and a neighboring historical landmark).
The conditions (§21080.66(a))
| Condition | Section | What has to be true |
|---|---|---|
| Housing development project | (a); Gov. Code §65905.5(b)(3), §65589.5(h)(2) | Residential only; mixed use with at least two-thirds of the new or converted square footage residential, or at least half if the project has 500 or more net new units (with more conditions); transitional or supportive housing; or farmworker housing |
| Site size | (a)(1) | 20 acres or less; 4 acres for a builder's remedy project |
| Location | (a)(2) | Inside a city, or in a Census Bureau urban area |
| Urban site | (a)(3), (g) | Any one: previously developed with an urban use; 75% of the perimeter adjoins urban uses; 75% of the area within a quarter mile is urban; or, for a four-sided site, three sides urban and two-thirds of the perimeter adjoining. Parcels across a street or path count as adjoining |
| Plan and zoning | (a)(4) | Consistent with the general plan, zoning and any local coastal program, on evidence a reasonable person could accept; if plan and zoning conflict, one is enough; density bonus waivers don't count against it |
| Density | (a)(5) | At least half the Gov. Code §65583.2(c)(3)(B) default: 15 units an acre in a metropolitan county, 10 in a suburban jurisdiction, 7.5 or 5 in nonmetropolitan counties |
| Excluded sites | (a)(6); Gov. Code §65913.4(a)(6) | Not on: listed coastal zone areas; prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance; wetlands; a very high fire hazard severity zone or state responsibility area, unless fire standards are met; a listed hazardous waste site, unless cleared; an earthquake fault zone, unless built to seismic code; a FEMA 100-year flood zone or regulatory floodway, unless federal criteria are met; conservation plan lands; protected species habitat; a conservation easement |
| Historic structures | (a)(7) | No demolition of a structure on a national, state or local register before the preliminary application |
| No transient lodging | (a)(8) | No hotel, motel or other transient lodging (projects deemed complete from 2025); residential hotels allowed |
Built-in conditions and steps
- Tribal consultation (b). Within 14 days after the application is deemed complete, the local government invites each traditionally and culturally affiliated tribe by certified mail and email (for applications complete before July 1, 2026, within 14 days of being told the project is eligible). Tribes have 60 days to accept. Consultation starts within 14 days and ends within 45, plus one 15-day extension at a tribe's request. Agreements reached become binding conditions, and so do standard measures unless the tribe and applicant agree otherwise: tribal monitoring on request, records searches, a Sacred Lands request to the Native American Heritage Commission, avoidance where feasible, and the human remains protocol.
- Phase I environmental assessment (c)(1). If it finds a recognized environmental condition, a preliminary endangerment assessment follows, and any release is cleaned up or mitigated before the certificate of occupancy.
- Within 500 feet of a freeway (c)(2). Centralized HVAC, air intakes facing away from the freeway, MERV 16 filters replaced on schedule, and no balconies facing the freeway.
- Labor (d). Prevailing wages if 100% of units are for lower income households; the §65913.4(a)(8) labor standards for buildings over 85 feet; extra rules for some trades on 50+ unit projects in San Francisco; and, on every exempt project, Labor Code §218.8 liability for unpaid wages extended to the developer and suits by joint labor-management committees.
- Approval and notice. The agency approves or disapproves within 30 days after the later of the end of tribal consultation or the Housing Accountability Act's review deadline (Gov. Code §65950(a)(7)). After approval it must file a Notice of Exemption with the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the county clerk (§21080.66(f)); how to fill one in.
A filled-in checklist (illustrative)
A made-up project: 120 apartments on a 3.1-acre former shopping center lot in a city in a metropolitan county, six stories (about 70 feet), all market rate, 300 feet from a freeway. An auto repair shop once stood on one corner.
| Item | Answer for the example |
|---|---|
| Project type, size, location | Yes Residential only; 3.1 acres; inside city limits |
| Urban site | Yes Previously developed (retail and parking) |
| Plan, zoning, density | Yes Zoning allows 40 an acre; the project is 38.7, against a floor of 15 |
| Excluded sites | Yes FEMA Zone X; no fire hazard zone, hazardous site listing, fault zone, wetland or other listed site; print each map |
| Historic, lodging | Yes The 1970s store is on no register; no hotel units |
| Tribal consultation | Do it Notices on day 14; one tribe accepts; monitoring during grading becomes a condition |
| Phase I | Do it The old auto shop is flagged; assessment and cleanup before occupancy |
| Freeway air | Do it 300 feet: central HVAC, intakes away, MERV 16, no freeway-facing balconies |
| Labor | Partly Not 100% lower income, under 85 feet, not in San Francisco: no prevailing wage rule; (d)(4)–(5) still apply |
AB 130 vs Class 32
| AB 130 (§21080.66) | Class 32 (§15332) | |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Statutory | Categorical |
| Site | 20 acres (4 builder's remedy); city or Census urban area | 5 acres, within city limits |
| Surroundings | One of four urban tests | Substantially surrounded by urban uses |
| Density floor | Half the state default | None |
| Environmental tests | The §65913.4(a)(6) site list; no listed historic demolition | No habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; no significant traffic, noise, air or water quality effects; utilities and services adequate |
| §15300.2 exceptions | Don't apply | Apply |
| Built-in conditions | Tribal consultation, Phase I, freeway air, labor | None |
| Notice of Exemption | Required | Optional |
Neither excludes the other: §21080.66 opens "Without limiting any other statutory or categorical exemption." A housing project that misses either one by a single condition gets review limited to that condition's effects (PRC §21080.1(b)), but not with two or more misses, on natural and protected lands, or for a builder's remedy project over four acres.
Checking a site
LCI's free Site Check map filters parcels by planning, transportation and environmental criteria; LCI's page says the tool got new data in early 2024, before AB 130, and that its output is not legal advice. ePlan's CEQA exemption finder is free to read and drafts a Notice of Exemption whose exempt-status field covers statutory exemptions ($49 for the Word file, 30 days of revisions). Its list doesn't name §21080.66, so the project goes under "Something else," and the maps, density math, Phase I and consultation record still have to come from the applicant and the agency.
Sources
- Public Resources Code §21080.66 and §21080.1 (text mirrored from leginfo.legislature.ca.gov; read November 13, 2026)
- Government Code §65905.5, §65589.5, §65583.2 and §65913.4 (read November 13, 2026)
- Bill texts and status, Digital Democracy: AB 130, SB 131 and SB 158, including its amendments to §21080.66 and Gov. Code §65950 and new §21080.73 (read November 13, 2026)
- AEP, 2026 CEQA Statute and Guidelines, table of 2025 changes and effective dates (read November 13, 2026)
- CEQA Guidelines §15332 and §15300.2 (14 CCR; read November 13, 2026)
- Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Site Check and Other CEQA Housing Resources (read November 13, 2026)
- ePlan pricing and CEQA exemption finder page (read November 13, 2026)
About this guide
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