Health & Saf. Code, § 33492.16

(a) Notwithstanding Section 33334.2 or any other provision of law, an agency established or governed pursuant to this chapter may annually defer the requirement to allocate 20 percent of tax increment revenue to the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund for a period of up to five years after the date of adoption of the redevelopment plan, based upon an annual finding of the legislative body that the funds are necessary for the effective redevelopment of base property and long-term tax generation, and that the vacancy rate for housing affordable to lower income households within the jurisdiction of the members of the agency is greater than 4 percent. The vacancy rate for housing affordable to lower income households shall be established by using the vacancy rates most recently published in the annual California Department of Finance Population and Housing Estimates (Report E-5, or a successor report).

The authority and procedures for deferral of allocation of tax increment revenue which is governed by this section shall not apply to the tax increment revenues attributable to the property that is located outside the military base which is allocated to the Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Fund.

(b) The amount of the deferral, if any, shall be considered an indebtedness of the agency, and shall be paid into the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund no later than the end of the 20th fiscal year after the date on which the agency adopts its project. If the indebtedness is not eliminated by the end of the 20th fiscal year, the county auditor or controller, no later than March 15 of the 21st year, shall withhold from the portion of tax increment to which the redevelopment agency is otherwise entitled an amount equal to the indebtedness and deposit those funds into a separate Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund for use by the agency to meet its affordable housing requirements pursuant to this part. Under no circumstances shall this section be interpreted or applied in a manner that has the effect of reducing the tax increment payable or received by affected taxing entities pursuant to Section 33492.15.