(a) The district shall do all of the following to avoid the loss of affordable housing units and to prevent the direct displacement of tenants:

(1) Require that any eligible TOD project that involves the demolition of any of the following types of housing, within five years from the date of approval of the development agreement, shall be subject to a policy that requires the replacement of all of those housing units to the same or lower income levels:

(A) Housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents or sales prices to levels affordable, as defined in Section 50052.5 or 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, to persons and families of moderate, lower, or very low income, as defined in Section 50079.5, 50093, or 50105 of the Health and Safety Code, respectively.

(B) Housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power.

(C) Housing that had been occupied by tenants within five years from the date of approval of the development agreement by a primary tenant who was low income and did not leave voluntarily.

(2) As a condition of any development on a parcel within an eligible TOD project area, replacement housing units for those described in paragraph (1) shall be subject to recorded affordability restrictions. In the case of the demolition of a rental unit, a replacement unit shall be a rental unit with restrictions for at least 55 years, with a rent level set at the same level as the previous restrictions or, if no rent restrictions were in place, at rent affordable, as defined in § 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, to the tenant who most recently occupied the unit, or, if the income level of the most recent tenant cannot be determined, at rent affordable to lower income households, as defined in § 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) Prohibit the demolition of any unit occupied by lower income tenants unless the district or the TOD developer has offered, in writing, the tenant a commensurate or better replacement affordable housing unit that is available for occupancy by the displaced tenant within one-half mile of the same district station at a rent that does not exceed the tenant’s previous rent.

(4) Require that new units shall not be occupied sooner than the date that replacement affordable housing units are available to all eligible tenants that wish to be moved into replacement units pursuant to paragraph (3).

(5) Provide relocation assistance to lower income tenants directly displaced from housing units by an eligible TOD project pursuant to Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 7260) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(6) Develop a strategy, in coordination with local jurisdictions, to do both of the following:

(A) Increase affordable housing options and incentivize tenant protections for very low and low-income residents within and around an eligible TOD project area, particularly in communities of concern, as defined in MTC’s regional transportation plan, where there is potential for residential displacement due to changing market and development conditions. The strategy should specifically address mitigations for the direct and indirect impacts from the demolition of any existing housing units.

(B) Deliver housing for essential workers within and around TOD projects, especially for very low, low-, and moderate-income workers.

(b) An eligible TOD project shall do both of the following:

(1) (A) Where housing is proposed, restrict at least 20 percent of the residential housing units for occupancy by very low and low-income households and subject to a recorded affordability restriction for at least 55 years in the case of rental units and 45 years in the case of owner-occupied units, in addition to the replacement affordable housing units described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), with a priority on residential units for very low and low-income households.

(B) If a local jurisdiction‘s inclusionary housing requirement mandates a higher percentage of affordable units or a deeper level of affordability than that described in subparagraph (A), then that jurisdiction’s affordability percentage requirements shall apply in place of the requirements in subparagraph (A).

(C) The district shall develop and implement an approach to evaluating affordable housing proposals that will consider a proposal’s quantity and depth of affordability, and the proposal’s validity and feasibility with respect to the requirements of this section.

(2) Comply with the labor requirements of § 65913.4 of the Government Code and any other applicable district labor policies, including the district’s policy of requiring project stabilization agreements pursuant to district Resolution 5182 (November 17, 2011), In the Matter of a Policy Requiring Project Stabilization Agreements (PSA) with Local Hire Provisions on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Projects.

(c) On district-owned land within the district’s boundaries, the district shall ensure that a total of 30 percent of housing units are affordable, with priority given to very low and low-income households. The district shall submit a biennial report to the Department of Housing and Community Development stating the percentage of units that are restricted as affordable units, by level of affordability, for all district TOD projects.

(d) The district may exempt specific TOD projects from the application of TOD zoning standards when the project is in the approval process with a local jurisdiction before imposition of the TOD zoning standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 29010.6.

(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 253. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020. Repealed as of January 1, 2029, by its own provisions.)