Senate Bill 330 (SB 330), known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, is a California state law designed to accelerate housing production by streamlining the local approval process and preventing cities from “moving the goalposts” once a project has begun. In St. Helena, this law significantly restricts the city’s ability to deny or delay housing developments that meet existing standards.
Key Impacts on St. Helena
- Vested Rights via “Preliminary Application”: Developers in St. Helena can now submit a Preliminary Application. This “freezes” the city’s zoning rules, development standards, and fees as they existed at the time of submission. Even if St. Helena updates its zoning code later, the project is generally only subject to the rules in place when it first applied.
- Limited Public Hearings: The city is prohibited from holding more than five public hearings for a single housing project that complies with objective general plan and zoning standards. This prevents projects from being stalled indefinitely by repetitive community meetings.
- Prohibition on “Downzoning”: St. Helena cannot enact new laws that reduce the number of housing units allowed on a property (downzoning) unless they increase the density on other parcels to ensure no net loss of housing capacity citywide.
- Shift to Objective Design Standards: The city cannot enforce “subjective” design standards established after January 1, 2020. Reviews must be based on objective criteria that involve no personal judgment by public officials.
- Demolition Protections: If a new project involves demolishing existing residential units, St. Helena must require the developer to replace those units at a one-to-one ratio. “Protected units” (those occupied by low-income households) must be replaced with affordable housing.
Real-World Example in St. Helena
Spring Grove Townhomes: The developer for this project at 1447–1515 Spring Street used the SB 330 preliminary housing application process to move forward with a 41-unit townhouse development. Because the project follows objective standards, the city’s ability to deny it based on subjective “neighborhood compatibility” concerns is limited.
Timeline and Extensions
While originally set to expire in 2025, subsequent legislation (SB 8) has extended these protections through January 1, 2030.
