Gov. Code, § 66300.5

For purposes of this article:

(a) (1) (A) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B), “affected city” means a city, including a charter city, that the Department of Housing and Community Development determines, pursuant to subdivision (d), is in an urbanized area or urban cluster, as designated by the United States Census Bureau.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), “affected city” does not include any city that has a population of 5,000 or less and is not located within an urbanized area, as designated by the United States Census Bureau.

(2) “Affected county” means a census-designated place, based on the 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, that is wholly located within the boundaries of an urbanized area, as designated by the United States Census Bureau.

(3) Notwithstanding any other law, “affected county” and “affected city” includes the electorate of an affected county or city exercising its local initiative or referendum power, whether that power is derived from the California Constitution, statute, or the charter or ordinances of the affected county or city.

(b) “Affordable housing cost” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) “Affordable rent” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code.

(d) “Equivalent size” means that the replacement units contain at least the same total number of bedrooms as the units being replaced.

(e) “Housing development project” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65905.5.

(f) “Persons and families of low or moderate income” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(g) “Lower income households” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h) “Protected units” means any of the following:

(1) Residential dwelling units that are or were subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of lower or very low income within the past five years.

(2) Residential dwelling units that are or were subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power within the past five years.

(3) Residential dwelling units that are or were rented by lower or very low income households within the past five years.

(4) Residential dwelling units that were withdrawn from rent or lease in accordance with Chapter 12.75 (commencing with Section 7060) of Division 7 of Title 1 within the past 10 years.

(i) (1) “Replace” shall have the same meaning as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 65915.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for purposes of a development project that consists of a single residential unit on a site with a single protected unit, “replace” shall mean that the protected unit is replaced with a unit of any size at any income level.

(j) “Very low income households” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50105 of the Health and Safety Code.