Tracy Municipal Code Art. 4 Transitional and Supportive Housing

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish permit procedures and development standards for transitional and supportive housing projects and identify the criteria that must be met for supportive housing to qualify for ministerial review and the requirements associated with qualifying projects. This section is intended to promote the development of transitional and supportive housing. This section establishes compliance with Government Code Section 65650 through 65656, and 65583(c)(3).

(b) Considered a residential use. Transitional and supportive housing shall be considered a residential use of property. Supportive housing specifically includes transitional housing for youth and young adults for the purposes of the use by right provisions described in subsection (d).

(c) Application requirements. The following application and processing requirements shall apply to applications for transitional and/or supportive housing, except for projects that qualify for a streamlined, ministerial review as described under Section 10.10.120(d), (By Right Supportive Housing Requirements) below:

(1) Permit required. Prior to the development of a new building or use of an existing building for transitional housing, an applicant shall submit an application for a building permit.

(2) Transitional and supportive housing shall be allowed in any dwelling allowed in a specific zone, subject to the same permit requirements that apply to the dwelling that will be used for transitional and supportive housing.

(3) No conditional use permit, variance, or other planning permit shall be required for transitional or supportive housing that is not required for a dwelling of the same type in the same zone.

(4) When transitional or supportive housing is proposed to be located in a zone where the residential use requires a conditional use permit, an additional conditional use permit is not required if the existing residential use has obtained the necessary conditional use permit.

(d) By right supportive housing requirements. An application for supportive housing shall be considered ministerially without discretionary review or hearing if the project meets all the following requirements in accordance with Government Code Section 65651(a):

(1) Zoning. The project is located within a zone where multiple-family and mixed uses are permitted, including non-residential zones permitting multiple-family uses, and zones where multiple-family and mixed uses are permitted with a conditional use permit. For the purposes of this section, multiple-family uses shall include two-family dwellings (i.e., "Dwelling, two-family" as defined in Section 10.08.270(b) of Article 2. Definitions).

Zones permitting two-family dwellings, multiple-family dwellings, and/or mixed uses:

•

Medium Density Cluster (MDC) Zone

•

Medium Density Residential (MDR) Zone

•

High Density Residential (HDR) Zone

•

Professional Office and Medical (POM) Zone

•

Planned Unit Development (PUD) Zone

•

Agricultural (A) Zone

•

Central Business District (CBD) Zone

•

General Highway Commercial (GHC) Zone

(2) Lower income housing. One hundred percent of the units, excluding managers' units, within the project shall be dedicated to lower income households and are, or will be, receiving public funding, and are subject to a recorded affordability restriction for fifty-five (55) years. For purposes of this paragraph, "lower income households" has the same meaning as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) Minimum number of supportive housing units. At least twenty-five (25%) percent of the units in the project or twelve (12) units, whichever is greater, are restricted to residents in supportive housing who meet criteria of the target population. If the project consists of fewer than twelve (12) units, then 100 percent of the units, excluding managers' units, in the project shall be restricted to residents in supportive housing.

(4) Supportive services. Projects shall include onsite supportive services limited to tenant use that may include, but are not limited to, community rooms, case management offices, computer rooms, and community kitchens that comply with the following square footage requirements:

i. Projects with twenty (20) or fewer total units shall provide at least ninety (90) square feet for onsite supportive services.

ii. Projects with more than twenty (20) units shall provide at least three (3%) percent of the total nonresidential floor area for onsite supportive services.

iii. Administrative office space shall not exceed twenty-five (25%) percent of the total floor area.

(5) Dwelling unit facilities. All dwelling units, excluding managers' units, shall include at least one bathroom and a kitchen or other cooking facilities, including, at minimum, a stovetop, a sink, and a refrigerator.

(6) Replacement units. The applicant shall replace any existing dwelling units on the site of the supportive housing project in the manner provided in Government Code Section 65915(c)(3) or successor statutes.

(7) Fewer than fifty (50) units. The project shall consist of fifty (50) units or fewer in accordance with Government Code Section 65651(d).

(e) Development standards. Transitional and supportive housing projects shall be subject to the same development standards, policies, and occupancy restrictions that apply to other dwellings of the same type in the same zone, except as described in Section 10.10.120(e)(1) (Exceptions for ministerial projects) and Section 10.10.120(e)(2) (Parking) below and in Government Code Section 65589.5(f).

(1) Exceptions for ministerial projects. Projects that qualify for ministerial review in compliance with subsection (d) (By right supportive housing requirements) above shall only be subject to objective development standards and policies that apply to other multifamily development within the same zone, and the objective design standards in Article 2 of Chapter 10.10, (Multiple-Unit and Mixed-Use Housing Objective Design Standards).

(2) Parking. If the supportive housing project qualifies for ministerial review in compliance with Section 10.10.120(d) (By right supportive housing requirements) above and is located within one-half mile of a public transit stop, minimum parking requirements will not be imposed for the units occupied by supportive housing residents.

(f) Supportive services. Supportive services provided onsite shall only serve residents of that particular housing project.

(g) Application processing requirements.

(1) If required based on the permit type, notice of the application and pending decision on a permit for transitional or supportive housing shall be given in compliance with Section 10.08.4170 (Hearings - Notices).

(2) Supportive services plan. For all transitional or supportive housing projects, the applicant shall submit a written plan for providing supportive services with documentation demonstrating that supportive services will be provided onsite to residents in the project, as required by Government Code Section 65651 or successor statute, and describing those services, which shall include all of the following:

i. Services provider. The name of the proposed entity or entities that will provide supportive services.

ii. Funding source. The proposed funding source or sources for the provided onsite supportive services.

iii. Staffing. Proposed staffing levels.

(3) Deadlines for by right supportive housing. Projects that qualify for ministerial review in conformance with Section 10.10.120(d) (By right supportive housing requirements) above shall be subject to the following processing deadlines:

i. Completeness determination deadline. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of an application to develop supportive housing, the Department shall notify an applicant whether the applicant's application is complete. If the Department does not make a written determination within thirty (30) days, the application shall be deemed complete, pursuant to Government Code Section 65943, or successor statute.

ii. Decision deadline. The Director shall complete their review of the application to develop supportive housing within sixty (60) days after the application is complete for a project with fifty (50) or fewer units, or within 120 days after the application is complete for a project with more than fifty (50) units.

(h) Limits on disapproval.

(1) Pursuant to Government Code Section 65589.5(d), the Department shall not disapprove a transitional or supportive housing project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households, or condition approval in a manner that renders the project infeasible for development for the use of very low, low-, or moderate-income households, including through the use of design review standards, unless it makes written findings, based upon a preponderance of the evidence in the record, as to one of the findings in Government Code Sections 65589.5(d)(1) through (6) or successor statute.

(2) Pursuant to Government Code Section 65589.5(j) or successor statute, if the Department proposes to disapprove a transitional or supportive housing project or approve it upon the condition that the project be developed at a lower density, the Department shall base its decision regarding the proposed project upon written findings supported by substantial evidence on the record that both of the conditions in Government Code Section 65589.5(j)(1) and (2) or successor statutes exist.

(i) Fees. Transitional and supportive housing shall not be subject to any fees to which other dwellings of the same type in the same zone are not likewise subject.

(j) Not a change in occupancy. The use of an existing dwelling for purposes of transitional or supportive housing shall not constitute a change of occupancy for purposes of local building codes.

(k) Future changes in occupancy. The required number of units in a supportive housing project dedicated to the target population may be reduced if termination of the operating subsidy or project-based rental assistance occurs at no fault of the project owner and if all conditions outlined in Government Code Section 65651(c) or successor statutes are met.

(l) Reasonable accommodation. The requirements of this Development Code may be modified in compliance with Section 10.08.3199 (Reasonable Accommodation) if necessary to comply with the Federal Fair Housing Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act relating to accommodations for persons with disabilities including allowances for structural installations that are necessary to accommodate disabled residents (e.g., handrails, lifts, and ramps).

(m) Conflicts with other sections of this development code. Where there are conflicts between the standards in this Section 10.10.120 and other requirements of this Development Code, the provisions of this section shall prevail.

(Ord. No. 1371, § 4, 12-16-2025)