(a) A city, county, or city and county may, in accordance with the regulations adopted by the department, adopt design review standards applicable to development projects within the housing sustainability district to ensure that the physical character of development within the district is complementary to adjacent buildings and structures and is consistent with the city’s, county’s, or city and county’s general plan, including the housing element. For purposes of this section, “design review standard” means the reasonable application of qualitative design requirements that are clear and concise and consistently applied to all types of development applications, with specific terms defined or generally accepted word definitions. Design review of a development within a housing sustainability district shall not constitute a “project” for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).

(b) Design review standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted at the same time as the housing sustainability district ordinance and submitted to the department with the city’s, county’s, or city and county’s application pursuant to Section 66202. Any subsequent additional design review standards or amendment of existing design review standards shall be subject to written approval by the department in the same manner as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 66201, relating to the amendment or repeal of a housing sustainability district ordinance.

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(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 371, Sec. 2. (AB 73) Effective January 1, 2018. Conditionally inoperative as provided in Stats. 2017, Ch. 371, Sec. 4.)