California multifamily developer guides
Entitlements & Streamlined Approvals
Ministerial approval under SB 35/SB 423, Housing Accountability Act protections and the builder's remedy, and SB 330 preliminary applications that freeze fees and standards — the entitlement toolkit for California multifamily projects.
SB 35 / SB 423: ministerial approval where cities miss their housing targets
In jurisdictions behind on their RHNA targets, a qualifying project trades an affordability set-aside for a hearing-free, CEQA-free approval on a statutory clock.
Read the guide →The Housing Accountability Act and the builder's remedy
A compliant housing project can only be denied on narrow health-and-safety findings — and in cities without a compliant housing element, zoning limits stop binding at all.
Read the guide →SB 330 preliminary applications and the Permit Streamlining Act clock
For a filing fee and a short form, you lock today's fees and standards against tomorrow's ordinances — then the Permit Streamlining Act runs the clock on the city.
Read the guide →The Permit Streamlining Act: statutory clocks on your application
Thirty days to call your application complete, 60 or 180 days to decide once CEQA is done — the PSA turns open-ended review into dated obligations you can schedule and negotiate around.
Read the guide →Ministerial vs discretionary review: why the label moves your timeline
Ministerial means staff checks boxes and CEQA never attaches; discretionary means judgment — and judgment brings CEQA, hearings and appeals: the same building, quarters apart on the calendar.
Read the guide →Objective design standards: what cities can still make you do
If a standard takes an opinion to apply, it cannot sink a protected housing project — but the numeric ODS document that replaced it can still cost you units, so read it before you tie up land.
Read the guide →More developer guides
- Density Bonus & Zoning Incentives
- Rent Control & Tenant Protections
- Demolition, Replacement Housing & Relocation
- Impact Fees, Exactions & Special Taxes
- CEQA & Environmental Review
- Affordable Housing Finance: LIHTC, Bonds & Rental Subsidies
- Building Codes & Construction Standards
- Subdivision, Condo Maps & Development Agreements
- Site Selection & Development Due Diligence
Every rule cited in these guides links to the verbatim statute or regulation in the California Code Library and the federal housing-law library.
Apply these rules to a real parcel
Ask the AI how entitlements & streamlining play out in a specific city or county — grounded in the code text.