Unlawfully restrictive covenants: redevelopment of commercial property for residential uses.

Entirely new provision amending Civil Code Section 714.6 establishing a process for owners of housing developments to have restrictive covenants that limit residential uses, unit counts, or occupancy modified or removed through county recorder and county counsel review.

Exempts conservation easements held by accredited land trusts (recorded before Jan 1 2022, or meeting accreditation/funding/indigenous resource/rural location criteria), pre-2022 environmental mitigation settlements, and state-agency-required deed restrictions from the covenant removal process.

Defines 'housing development' as property with 100% affordable housing for 55 years, property where the owner has submitted a permit application for such a project, or commercial property being redeveloped to include residential uses permitted by state or local law.

Adds an exclusion from the commercial-to-residential redevelopment pathway for charter cities with population between 200,000 and 400,000 that have a housing element in substantial compliance AND have issued more than 500 residential units on average annually during the current regional housing needs allocation cycle.

Requires county counsel to review submitted documents within 15 days of receipt (after county recorder forwards them within 5 business days) and determine whether the covenant is prohibited, the property qualifies, notices were provided, and no exemptions apply.

Sets a 35-day deadline for filing suit to challenge a recorded modification document after notice is given, and provides attorney's fees to prevailing housing development owners in enforcement or defense actions.

State-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' meaning the bill now imposes duties on county officials (recorder and counsel) that trigger state reimbursement analysis. A new Section 2 provides no reimbursement is required because local agencies can levy fees or assessments.

Minor rewording in Business and Professions Code Section 11018: removed a redundant 'sufficient' before 'security' and added a more specific cross-reference to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66499) of Division 2 of Title 7 of the Government Code.

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' meaning the bill now has identified state or local fiscal impacts that require fiscal committee approval before passage.

Multiple typos corrected: 'This bill bill' fixed to 'This bill,' 'recreational recreational' fixed to 'recreational,' 'maintained. maintained' fixed to 'maintained,' and 'and which that the commissioner' fixed to 'and that the commissioner.'

Redundant letter designations (a through i) removed from before each numbered ground for denial in Section 11018, leaving only the numeric list format.

The digest description of the Real Estate Commissioner provision was reworded for clarity, changing 'as provided' to 'pursuant to the provisions above requiring security under the Subdivision Map Act.'

Short title simplified by removing the 'Subdivision Map Act:' prefix, changing it from 'Subdivision Map Act: Subdivisions: security' to just 'Subdivisions: security.'

Entire new Government Code Section 66499.10.5 is deleted. This section would have prohibited local agencies from requiring security for privately owned and maintained improvements if security was already furnished under the Real Estate Commissioner's public report process, and from conditioning subdivision approvals on such duplicate security.

The bill title changes from amending Section 11018 AND adding Section 66499.10.5 to only amending Section 11018, reflecting the removal of the local agency protection provision.

Section 11018(b) previously only exempted the Real Estate Commissioner from requiring security for improvements that 'will be publicly owned and maintained.' The amendment removes this limitation so the exemption now applies to any improvement, regardless of ownership or maintenance arrangement.

The standard for determining whether local agency security is sufficient is changed. Previously it simply required 'sufficient security' to have been furnished. Now it requires the Real Estate Commissioner to determine that the security is 'sufficient to protect the interests of purchasers, owners, and lessees, as necessary.'

The bill now applies only to residential developments or projects, rather than all subdivisions as in the prior version. A new subsection (c) explicitly limits applicability to residential uses.

The standalone legislative intent section (former Section 1) stating the Legislature's intent to prevent duplicative and burdensome requirements on new housing was removed.

The prohibition on local agencies requiring security for privately owned and maintained improvements is no longer absolute. It now only applies if a security has already been furnished for the same improvement pursuant to Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code (including Section 11018 public report). This converts an outright ban into an anti-duplication rule.

A new provision amends Section 11018 of the Business and Professions Code to prohibit the Real Estate Commissioner from requiring security for improvements that will be publicly owned and maintained if sufficient security has already been furnished to a local agency under the Subdivision Map Act (Government Code Chapter 5). This creates a reciprocal anti-duplication mechanism.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires fiscal committee review, likely because the expanded amendment to Business and Professions Code 11018 has broader regulatory implications.

New Section 66499.10.5 added to the Government Code prohibiting local agencies from requiring the furnishing of security for improvements that will be privately owned and maintained, and from conditioning subdivision or project approvals on such security.

A savings clause preserves the authority of the Real Estate Commissioner and Department of Real Estate under Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code, including Section 11018 regarding public reports and financial adequacy determinations for offsite improvements in subdivision offers for sale or lease.

The bill's scope description was updated to reference adding Section 66499.10.5 to the Government Code relating to land use, reflecting the new operative provision beyond the original intent statement.