The Beverly Hills City Council grappled with upcoming changes to California’s Density Bonus law at its Dec. 21 Study Session. The decades-old legislation provides incentives to encourage housing development, but has come under scrutiny for failing to blunt the on-going housing crisis in California. In August, state lawmakers passed an expansion of the program. The Council unanimously rejected a possible eleventh-hour workaround that would have sheltered the City from the more developer-friendly provisions at the risk of alienating state officials.
The state’s Density Bonus program, originally passed in 1979, grants incentives to developments that include a certain percentage of affordable units. In return for below-market rate housing, the development can include more units than normally permitted, along with other “incentives” and “concessions” such as reduced parking requirements and eased height restrictions. The law can compel local governments to reduce or waive certain local development standards for eligible developments.
