65585.2.

 (a) A city or county may elect to participate in alternative production-based certification of the housing element required pursuant to this article. A city or county that so elects shall adopt a resolution declaring its intent to participate in alternative production-based certification and shall notify the appropriate council of governments within 30 days of receiving its allocation of the regional housing need pursuant to Section 65584.

(b) A notice of preparation stating that the jurisdiction has adopted a resolution electing to participate in alternative production-based certification of its housing element and setting forth the date of the scoping meeting required by subdivision (c) shall be published by the city or county at least one time in a newspaper of general circulation, shall be sent by certified mail to the department, and shall be mailed by the city or county to the last known name and address of all organizations and individuals who have made a written request for materials relating to the jurisdiction’s general plan or housing element. The notice of preparation shall identify the resolution adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) by number.

(c) At least 10 days after the publication of the notice of preparation, the jurisdiction shall convene a scoping meeting to identify probable future projects as provided in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 65585.3, development standards, special needs housing, and other information necessary for the preparation of a housing element. A meeting may be convened by the jurisdiction or upon the request of a member of the public, property owner, the department, or any other interested party.

(d) A city or county that elects to participate in alternative production-based certification of its housing element shall prepare an administrative draft of its housing element for public comment, including comments from the department. The jurisdiction shall consider all comments, and shall revise the administrative draft if the jurisdiction deems it appropriate.

(e) At the conclusion of the public hearing required by Section 65355, the jurisdiction shall provide public notice of the availability of the draft alternative production-based housing element for comment. This notice shall be mailed to the last known name and address of all organizations and individuals who have previously requested notice in writing, and the department, and shall be published at least one time in a newspaper of general circulation.

(f) The jurisdiction shall evaluate comments received from persons who reviewed the draft alternative production-based housing element and shall prepare a written response, and revisions to the draft if appropriate. The final draft of the production-based housing element shall incorporate the written response to the comments.

(g) Prior to the final adoption of the housing element, the jurisdiction shall hold a public hearing to consider the final draft. Notice of the public hearing shall be given pursuant to Section 65090.

(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016 ____, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016 ____, deletes or extends that date. However, a jurisdiction that elected to participate in alternative certification on or before December 31, 2014 ____, may complete its planning period under this section beyond the repeal date.

65585.3.

 (a) A city or county that adopts an alternative production-based certification of the housing element pursuant to Section 65585.2 shall submit a certification of compliance to the department with its adopted housing element or amendment within 10 days of the adoption of the final draft. In order to participate in alternative production-based certification, the legislative body, after holding a public hearing, shall, by resolution, make findings, based on substantial evidence, that it has met the following criteria:

(1) The jurisdiction’s housing element substantially complies with the requirements of Section 65583, including addressing the needs of all income levels.

(2) The jurisdiction’s housing element identifies adequate sites for its share of the regional housing need as determined pursuant to Section 65584.

(3) The jurisdiction’s housing element requires the jurisdiction to produce or cause to be produced 15 ____ percent of the jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing need for very low, low-, and moderate-income households, as determined pursuant to Section 65583, within the jurisdiction during the planning period, that is affordable to very low and low-income households. At least one-third of the units produced or caused to be produced shall be affordable to very low income households.

(4) The jurisdiction has identified probable future projects that will produce or cause the production of the housing required by paragraph (3). For purposes of this section, “probable future projects” shall have the same definition as found in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 15130 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.

(5) For the first planning period in which the jurisdiction elects to participate in alternative production-based certification, either of the following occurred:

(A) The department determined pursuant to Section 65585 that the jurisdiction’s housing element for the immediately preceding planning period substantially complied with the requirements of this article.

(B) The jurisdiction produced or caused to be produced in the immediately preceding planning period, at least 50 ____ percent of the number of housing units required by paragraph (3).

(6) For subsequent housing element revisions, the jurisdiction has provided the number of housing units required by paragraph (3) within the previous planning period.

(b) The units produced or caused to be produced shall be created through new construction. For purposes of this section, if a unit is abandoned or otherwise not in residential use for a period of six months or more, and is then acquired or substantially rehabilitated, the unit shall be considered “new construction.”

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if at least 60 ____ percent of the housing stock in a city or county was constructed prior to 1980, as determined by the most recent decennial census of the United States; if less than 5 percent of the land zoned for residential purposes within a city or a census defined place, as defined in Section 21159.20 of the Public Resources Code, has not been developed for urban uses; or if a city or county has adopted a plan to limit or protect surrounding agricultural lands, open space, or natural resources from development, then the city or county may count toward not more than 40 ____ percent of its requirements under this section residential units developed or acquired by any of the following means:

(1) Acquisition of a unit to create or maintain affordability.

(2) Substantial rehabilitation.

(3) Rental or ownership assistance.

(4) Preservation of the availability of units affordable to lower income households in developments that are assisted, subsidized, or restricted by a public entity and are threatened with imminent conversion to market rate housing.

(5) Single room occupancies.

(6) Assisted living units for very low and low-income seniors.

(7) Purchase of affordability covenants.

(8) Any other means of creating a residential unit affordable to very low and low-income households.

(d) One year following the adoption of the resolution pursuant to subdivision (a), and annually thereafter, the jurisdiction shall hold a public hearing to review the production or plans for production of the housing required to be produced pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) and to identify any probable future projects that were not identified previously. Notice of the public hearing shall be given pursuant to Section 65090 and to all persons who submitted comments to the draft housing element and who requested notice of the annual review.

(e) One year following the adoption of the resolution pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 65585.2, and annually thereafter, the jurisdiction shall send a report to the department documenting the findings of the annual review held pursuant to subdivision (d). If the jurisdiction fails to submit an annual report in each of the first three years after adoption of the resolution, the department may conduct an audit to determine if the jurisdiction is making significant progress toward achieving the production goals established by the housing element.

(f) When a city or county participates in the alternative production-based certification process in compliance with this section, all of the following shall apply:

(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016 ____, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016 ____, deletes or extends that date. However, a jurisdiction that elected to participate in alternative certification on or before December 31, 2014 ____, may complete its planning period under this section beyond the repeal date.