Gov. Code, § 65008

(a) Any action pursuant to this title by any city, county, city and county, or other local governmental agency in this state is null and void if it denies to any individual or group of individuals the enjoyment of residence, landownership, tenancy, or any other land use in this state because of any of the following reasons:

(1) (A) The lawful occupation, age, or any characteristic of the individual or group of individuals listed in subdivision (a) or (d) of Section 12955, as those bases are defined in Sections 12926, 12926.1, subdivision (m) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) of Section 12955 and Section 12955.2.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), with respect to familial status, subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to apply to housing for older persons, as defined in Section 12955.9. With respect to familial status, nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to affect Sections 51.2, 51.3, 51.4, 51.10, 51.11, and 799.5 of the Civil Code, relating to housing for senior citizens. Subdivision (d) of Section 51, Section 4760, and Section 6714 of the Civil Code, and subdivisions (n), (o), and (p) of Section 12955 of this code shall apply to subparagraph (A).

(2) The method of financing of any residential development of the individual or group of individuals.

(3) The intended occupancy of any residential development by persons or families of very low, low, moderate, or middle income.

(b) (1) No city, county, city and county, or other local governmental agency shall, in the enactment or administration of ordinances pursuant to any law, including this title, prohibit or discriminate against any residential development or emergency shelter for any of the following reasons:

(A) Because of the method of financing.

(B) (i) Because of the lawful occupation, age, or any characteristic listed in subdivision (a) or (d) of Section 12955, as those characteristics are defined in Sections 12926, 12926.1, subdivision (m) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) of Section 12955, and Section 12955.2 of the owners or intended occupants of the residential development or emergency shelter.

(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), with respect to familial status, clause (i) shall not be construed to apply to housing for older persons, as defined in Section 12955.9. With respect to familial status, nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to affect Sections 51.2, 51.3, 51.4, 51.10, 51.11, and 799.5 of the Civil Code, relating to housing for senior citizens. Subdivision (d) of Section 51, Section 4760, and Section 6714 of the Civil Code, and subdivisions (n), (o), and (p) of Section 12955 of this code shall apply to clause (i).

(C) Because the development or shelter is intended for occupancy by persons and families of very low, low, or moderate income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, or persons and families of middle income.

(D) Because the development consists of a multifamily residential project that is consistent with both the jurisdiction’s zoning ordinance and general plan as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete, except that a project shall not be deemed to be inconsistent with the zoning designation for the site if that zoning designation is inconsistent with the general plan only because the project site has not been rezoned to conform with a more recently adopted general plan.

(2) The discrimination prohibited by this subdivision includes the denial or conditioning of a residential development or shelter because of, in whole or in part, either of the following:

(A) The method of financing.

(B) The occupancy of the development by persons protected by this subdivision, including, but not limited to, persons and families of very low, low, or moderate income.

(3) A city, county, city and county, or other local government agency may not, pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 65589.5, disapprove a housing development project or condition approval of a housing development project in a manner that renders the project infeasible if the basis for the disapproval or conditional approval includes any of the reasons prohibited in paragraph (1) or (2).

(c) For the purposes of this section, “persons and families of middle income” means persons and families whose income does not exceed 150 percent of the median income for the county in which the persons or families reside.

(d) (1) No city, county, city and county, or other local governmental agency may impose different requirements on a residential development or emergency shelter that is subsidized, financed, insured, or otherwise assisted by the federal or state government or by a local public entity, as defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, than those imposed on nonassisted developments, except as provided in subdivision (e). The discrimination prohibited by this subdivision includes the denial or conditioning of a residential development or emergency shelter based in whole or in part on the fact that the development is subsidized, financed, insured, or otherwise assisted as described in this paragraph.

(2) (A) No city, county, city and county, or other local governmental agency may, because of the lawful occupation age, or any characteristic of the intended occupants listed in subdivision (a) or (d) of Section 12955, as those characteristics are defined in Sections 12926, 12926.1, subdivision (m) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) of Section 12955, and Section 12955.2 or because the development is intended for occupancy by persons and families of very low, low, moderate, or middle income, impose different requirements on these residential developments than those imposed on developments generally, except as provided in subdivision (e).

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), with respect to familial status, subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to apply to housing for older persons, as defined in Section 12955.9. With respect to familial status, nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to affect Sections 51.2, 51.3, 51.4, 51.10, 51.11, and 799.5 of the Civil Code, relating to housing for senior citizens. Subdivision (d) of Section 51, Section 4760, and Section 6714 of the Civil Code, and subdivisions (n), (o), and (p) of Section 12955 of this code shall apply to subparagraph (A).

(e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, this section and this title do not prohibit either of the following:

(1) The County of Riverside from enacting and enforcing zoning to provide housing for older persons, in accordance with state or federal law, if that zoning was enacted prior to January 1, 1995.

(2) Any city, county, or city and county from extending preferential treatment to residential developments or emergency shelters assisted by the federal or state government or by a local public entity, as defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, or other residential developments or emergency shelters intended for occupancy by persons and families of low and moderate income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code, or persons and families of middle income, or agricultural employees, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1140.4 of the Labor Code, and their families. This preferential treatment may include, but need not be limited to, reduction or waiver of fees or changes in architectural requirements, site development and property line requirements, building setback requirements, or vehicle parking requirements that reduce development costs of these developments.

(f) For purposes of this section, both of the following shall apply:

(1) “Method of financing” includes the eligibility to claim a welfare exemption under subdivision (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(2) “Residential development” means a single-family residence or a multifamily residence, including manufactured homes, as defined in Section 18007 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g) This section shall apply to chartered cities.

(h) The Legislature finds and declares that discriminatory practices that inhibit the development of housing for persons and families of very low, low, moderate, and middle incomes, or emergency shelters for the homeless, are a matter of statewide concern.