AB 139 Summary

• Requires local governments to assess emergency shelter needs based on homeless point-in-time counts, year-round and seasonal shelter bed availability, monthly unused bed rates, and the percentage of shelter residents moving to permanent housing.

• Allows local governments to impose objective parking standards for emergency shelters to accommodate staff, provided standards do not exceed those for other residential or commercial uses in the same zone.

• Requires councils of governments to consider housing needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness when developing regional housing need allocation methodologies for the seventh and subsequent housing element revisions.

• Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to consider homelessness needs when distributing regional housing needs to cities and counties without councils of governments.

• Requires local governments to review housing element effectiveness in meeting community special housing needs, including emergency shelter needs, as part of periodic housing element updates.