2026 State Legislation

The California Legislature introduces thousands of bills every year, and 2026 is no exception. Neighbors For A Better San Diego has been tracking the more than 100 of these bills that relate to land use and housing development. The most impactful bills are summarized below.

Bill Number	Bill Title	Position	Summary Statement
AB-0956	Accessory dwelling units: ministerial approval: single-family dwellings.	Strongly Oppose	Allows a second detached ADU to be built on any single-family lot, which will encourage real estate speculation on the small starter homes that would otherwise be available to first time home buyers.
AB-1621	Planning and Zoning Law: postentitlement phase permits: Housing Accountability Act.	Oppose	Imposes arbitrary and unnecessary limits on project reviews by local building departments.
AB-1751	Missing Middle Townhome Ownership Act.	Strongly Oppose	Allows for the development of up to 150 units on single-family zoned lots.
AB-1903	Construction defects.	Oppose unless amended	Addresses construction defect litigation through building certification. Needs to be amended to include disclosure to the buyer.
AB-2118	Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022: use by right: objective standards.	Oppose	Prohibits cities from imposing reasonable objective standards that result in less than the zoned maximum allowed development on a site.
AB-2415	Transit Oriented Housing Developments: Alternative Plans	Support with amendment	Allows cities (<150,000) to shift more density in SB 79 Alternative Plans from locally designated historic districts. Recommend amendment to also include state-designated historic districts and change cutoff date from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2025.
AB-2433	Housing development: density bonus.	Oppose	Reduces affordability requirements on Bonus Density projects if they include for-sale units. Construction defect litigation reform, as addressed in AB-1903, is the more appropriate incentive to spur condominium construction.
AB-2576	Transit-oriented development: exclusions: historic sites.	Support	Extends temporary exemption for local historic resources in SB 79 to state historic resources.
AB-2676	Housing Crisis Act of 2019.	Strongly Oppose	Prohibits local referendums and other local actions that limit housing development.
SB-0457	Housing element compliance: committed assistance: in-kind services: realistic capacity formula.	Support with amendment	Standardizes process for estimating how many homes will be produced in a housing cycle. Recommend amendment to require the formulas and the underlying housing targets (RHNA) are developed by objective analysis independent from Housing and Community Development.
SB-0677	Land use: housing development approvals: tax-exempt private activity bonds: subdivisions: tentative and final maps: appeals.	Oppose	Takes away the rights of citizens to seek redress of ill-considered projects through the courts.
SB-0958	California Environmental Quality Act: environmental impacts: building height.	Strongly Oppose	Weakens the California Environmental Protection Act by removing building heights as a consideration regardless of the height of the building. Originally intended just as a political favor to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, this bill has been expanded statewide.
SB-1014	Development projects: preliminary estimate of required improvements: onsite and offsite improvements.	Oppose	Imposes unnecessary and arbitrary timelines on the review of projects by local building departments to determine the costs of offsite improvements.
SB-1116	Planning and zoning: housing development projects: subdivisions.	Strongly Oppose	Vastly expands the scale of developments under the Starter Home Revitalization Act. Creates a loophole whereby a developer can vandalize a property to make it eligible to redevelop a single home into 10 separate properties.
SB-1117	Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units.	Oppose unless amended	Prohibits imposition of development impact fees on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) less than 750 square feet. Recommend amendment to allow fees on total development area greater than 750 sf rather than per unit.
SB-1256	Subdivision Map Act: action or proceeding	Oppose unless amended	Limits the rights of citizens to sue for redress under both the California Environmental Protection Act and the Subdivision Map Act.
SB-1361	Transit-oriented housing developments: local governments: transit agencies and projects.	Oppose	Prohibits cities from exercising their free-speech rights to advocate against transit projects based on how the surrounding areas would be impacted by SB 79's forced upzoning.