California

California has the most extensive state housing preemption in the country, layered over years: Housing Accountability Act (Builder's Remedy), SB 9 (by-right duplexes/lot splits), SB 423 (streamlined ministerial approval), and SB 79 (transit-oriented density, eff. 7/1/2026). HAA and Builder's Remedy are actively litigated.

California grants no extraterritorial land-use jurisdiction. Annexation and all municipal boundary changes are controlled by county LAFCOs under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act (Gov. Code §56000 et seq.); cities cannot unilaterally regulate or annex beyond their limits without LAFCO process.

California common-law vesting is notoriously late — the Avco rule vests only on a valid building permit plus substantial good-faith reliance. Earlier statutory vesting via vesting tentative maps (Gov. Code §66498.1) and development agreements (§65864 et seq.). The Permit Streamlining Act and 2025 CEQA reform add new approval shot-clocks.

Impact fees governed by the Mitigation Fee Act (Gov. Code §66000–66025 / AB 1600), which codifies nexus and rough-proportionality requirements. Recent amendments: AB 516 (2023, annual reporting) and AB 2663 (2024, inclusionary in-lieu fee disclosure, eff. 1/1/2026).

California has the nation's leading state environmental-review statute — CEQA (Pub. Resources Code §21000 et seq.) — requiring agencies to study and disclose project impacts. Major 2025 reform: AB 130 and SB 131 (signed 6/30/2025) created a new statutory exemption for qualifying urban infill housing and added a 30-day decision deadline. CEQA remains in force; the reform substantially shrinks its reach for housing.