AB443 - Revises provisions relating to real property. (BDR 20-1052)

A.B. 443 - *AB443* ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 443–ASSEMBLYMEMBER GALLANT MARCH 17, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to real property. (BDR 20-1052) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact. Effect on the State: Yes. CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 9-14) (NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT) ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to real property; prohibiting the governing body of a county or city from enacting an ordinance or measure imposing rent control; eliminating the power of such a governing body to regulate planning and zoning as a matter of local concern; requiring such a governing body to allow certain types of housing in any residential area; requiring, under certain circumstances, the governing body of each county or city to authorize the owner of a single-family residential property to add an accessory dwelling unit; requiring, under certain circumstances, the governing body of each county or city to establish an expedited process for the by-right development of residential housing; prohibiting such a governing body from imposing certain restrictions on the zoning or development of housing; revising provisions relating to factory-built housing and tiny houses; requiring the Administrator of the Housing Division of the Department of Business and Industry to create a housing task force; making various other changes relating to planning and zoning; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. – 2 – - *AB443* Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law authorizes a board of county commissioners or a governing body 1 of an incorporated city, with certain exceptions, to exercise all powers necessary or 2 proper to address matters of local concern for the effective operation of county or 3 city government, as applicable, whether or not the powers are expressly granted to 4 the board or governing body. (NRS 244.146, 268.0035) Existing law defines 5 “matter of local concern” to include planning, zoning, development and 6 redevelopment. (NRS 244.143, 268.003) Sections 2 and 6 of this bill eliminate 7 planning, zoning, development and redevelopment from the definition of “matter of 8 local concern.” As a result, the board of county commissioners or the governing 9 body of a city will not have authority to regulate planning, zoning, development 10 and redevelopment as a matter of local concern. 11 Sections 1 and 5 of this bill prohibit a board of county commissioners or the 12 governing body of an incorporated city from enacting any ordinance or measure 13 that imposes rent control. 14 Existing law sets forth certain powers and duties of governing bodies of cities 15 and counties relating to planning and zoning. (Chapter 278 of NRS) Sections 9-14 16 of this bill impose certain restrictions on those powers and duties. Section 9 17 requires notwithstanding any health, safety, building or fire code adopted by the 18 governing body, each governing body of a city or county to, by ordinance, 19 authorize: (1) single-staircase apartment buildings of not more than five stories; and 20 (2) single-room occupancy housing. 21 Section 10: (1) prohibits a governing body of a city or county from adopting an 22 ordinance that prohibits multi-family housing or mixed-use development in any 23 area zoned for commercial use; and (2) requires a governing body to authorize by 24 ordinance the conversion of any commercial building into multi-family housing. 25 Section 11 requires a governing body of a city or county to authorize, in any 26 area that is zoned for residential use, the development of multi-family housing. 27 Section 12 prohibits the governing body of a city or county from imposing any 28 of the following restrictions on the zoning or development of residential housing: 29 (1) minimum parking requirements; (2) height restrictions; (3) minimum lot size; 30 (4) setback requirements; and (5) limitations on square footage. Section 12 also 31 prohibits a governing body from limiting residential or commercial development by 32 creating any urban growth boundary. 33 Section 13 requires each governing body of a county and each governing body 34 of a city to adopt an ordinance to authorize, under certain circumstances, the owner 35 of a single-family residential property to add an accessory dwelling unit to the 36 single family-residential property. 37 Section 14 requires each governing body of a county and each governing body 38 of a city to establish an expedited process for the by-right development of 39 residential housing, including multi-family housing. The expedited process must 40 provide that any proposed project for the development of residential housing will 41 be approved by the county or city, as applicable, without any discretionary review 42 or discretionary approval if the proposed project is consistent with all applicable 43 zoning ordinances, building codes, housing codes and other applicable ordinances 44 and codes. 45 Section 18 of this bill eliminates the authority for a governing body to prohibit 46 factory-built housing in a specified area if the area contains a building, structure or 47 other object having a special character or special historical interest or value. 48 (NRS 278.0209) 49 Existing law requires the governing body of a county whose population is 50 100,000 or more (currently only Clark and Washoe Counties) or the governing 51 body of a city whose population is 150,000 or more (currently the cities of 52 Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Reno) to regulate tiny houses, 53 including: (1) designating at least one zoning district in which a tiny house may be 54 – 3 – - *AB443* located and classified as an accessory dwelling unit; (2) designating at least one 55 zoning district in which a tiny house may be located and classified as a single- 56 family residential unit; and (3) designating at least one zoning district in which a 57 tiny house may be located in a tiny house park. (NRS 278.253) Section 23 of this 58 bill provides instead that in an ordinance relating to the zoning of land adopted or 59 amended by such a governing body the definition of “single-family residence” must 60 include tiny houses. Section 23 applies to all counties and cities regardless of 61 population. 62 Section 24 of this bill makes a conforming change relating to the limitation of 63 the authority of the governing body of a city or county to restrict minimum lot size. 64 Subject to certain limitations, existing law authorizes the governing body of a 65 county or city to: (1) regulate all matters relating to the construction, maintenance 66 and safety of buildings, structures and property within the county; and (2) adopt 67 any necessary building, electrical, housing, plumbing or safety code. (NRS 68 244.3675, 268.413) Sections 4 and 7 of this bill provide that such authority is also 69 subject to the limitations set forth in sections 9-14. 70 Existing law authorizes and empowers the governing bodies of cities and 71 counties to regulate and restrict the improvement of land and to control the location 72 and soundness of structures. (NRS 278.020) Section 15 of this bill provides that 73 such restrictions, regulations and control must comply with any restriction on the 74 powers of cities and counties set forth in certain provisions of law. 75 Existing law sets forth the requirements for a master plan, which may be made 76 the basis for the physical development of a city or county, as applicable. (NRS 77 278.160) Section 21 of this bill provides that the provisions of sections 9-14 are an 78 exception to this authority. 79 Existing law requires, under certain circumstances, that in a county whose 80 population is 100,000 or more but less than 700,000 (currently only Washoe 81 County) any provision of the master plan governs any action taken in regard to an 82 application for development. (NRS 278.0284) Section 20 of this bill provides 83 instead that any provision of the master plan that is not consistent with the 84 provisions of sections 9-14 does not govern any action taken in regard to an 85 application for development. 86 Existing law authorizes the governing body of a city or county to divide the 87 city, county or region into zoning districts of such number, shape and area as are 88 best suited to carry out provisions of law relating to planning and zoning. Within 89 the zoning district, the governing body may regulate and restrict the erection, 90 construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair or use of buildings, structures or 91 land. (NRS 278.250) Section 22 of this bill provides exceptions to the powers and 92 duties to account for the limitations on the planning and zoning powers set forth 93 sections 9-14. 94 Sections 26-60 of this bill make changes to each existing city charter to account 95 for the limitations set forth in sections 7 and 9-14 on the power of the governing 96 body of a city to adopt certain building codes and regulate planning and zoning. 97 Section 61 of this bill requires the Administrator of the Housing Division of the 98 Department of Business and Industry to appoint a task force to study issues relating 99 to housing during the 2025-2026 interim. 100 Section 62 of this bill voids any ordinance, regulation, building code, housing 101 code or fire code enacted or adopted by a county or city before, on or after 102 October 1, 2025, which conflicts with the provisions of this bill. 103 – 4 – - *AB443* THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 244 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1 thereto a new section to read as follows: 2 A board of county commissioners shall not enact any 3 ordinance or measure that imposes rent control. 4 Sec. 2. NRS 244.143 is hereby amended to read as follows: 5 244.143 1. “Matter of local concern” means any matter that: 6 (a) Primarily affects or impacts areas located in the county, or 7 persons who reside, work, visit or are otherwise present in areas 8 located in the county, and does not have a significant effect or 9 impact on areas located in other counties; 10 (b) Is not within the exclusive jurisdiction of another 11 governmental entity; and 12 (c) Does not concern: 13 (1) A state interest that requires statewide uniformity of 14 regulation; 15 (2) The regulation of business activities that are subject to 16 substantial regulation by a federal or state agency; or 17 (3) Any other federal or state interest that is committed by 18 the Constitution, statutes or regulations of the United States or this 19 State to federal or state regulation that preempts local regulation. 20 2. The term includes, without limitation, any of the following 21 matters of local concern: 22 (a) Public health, safety and welfare in the county. 23 (b) [Planning, zoning, development and redevelopment in the 24 county. 25 (c)] Nuisances and graffiti in the county. 26 [(d)] (c) Outdoor assemblies in the county. 27 [(e)] (d) Contracts and purchasing by county government. 28 [(f)] (e) Operation, management and control of county jails and 29 prisoners by county government. 30 [(g)] (f) Any public property, buildings, lands, utilities and 31 other public works owned, leased, operated, managed or controlled 32 by county government, including, without limitation: 33 (1) Roads, highways and bridges. 34 (2) Parks, recreational centers, cultural centers, libraries and 35 museums. 36 3. The provisions of subsection 2: 37 (a) Are intended to be illustrative; 38 (b) Are not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive; and 39 (c) Must not be interpreted as either limiting or expanding the 40 meaning of the term “matter of local concern” as provided in 41 subsection 1. 42 – 5 – - *AB443* Sec. 3. NRS 244.3603 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1 244.3603 1. Each board of county commissioners may, by 2 ordinance, to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the 3 residents of the county, adopt procedures pursuant to which the 4 district attorney may file an action in a court of competent 5 jurisdiction to: 6 (a) Seek the abatement of a chronic nuisance that is located or 7 occurring within the unincorporated area of the county; 8 (b) If applicable, seek the closure of the property where the 9 chronic nuisance is located or occurring; and 10 (c) If applicable, seek penalties against the owner of the property 11 within the unincorporated area of the county and any other 12 appropriate relief. 13 2. An ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection 1 must: 14 (a) Contain procedures pursuant to which the owner of the 15 property is: 16 (1) Sent a notice, by certified mail, return receipt requested, 17 by the sheriff or other person authorized to issue a citation of the 18 existence on the owner’s property of nuisance activities and the date 19 by which the owner must abate the condition to prevent the matter 20 from being submitted to the district attorney for legal action. 21 (2) If the chronic nuisance is not an immediate danger to the 22 public health, safety or welfare and was caused by the criminal 23 activity of a person other than the owner, afforded a minimum of 30 24 days to abate the chronic nuisance. 25 (3) Afforded an opportunity for a hearing before a court of 26 competent jurisdiction. 27 (b) Provide that the date specified in the notice by which the 28 owner must abate the condition is tolled for the period during which 29 the owner requests a hearing and receives a decision. 30 (c) Provide the manner in which the county will recover money 31 expended to abate the condition on the property if the owner fails to 32 abate the condition. 33 3. If the court finds that a chronic nuisance exists and action is 34 necessary to avoid serious threat to the public welfare or the safety 35 or health of the occupants of the property, the court may order the 36 county to secure and close the property until the nuisance is abated 37 and may: 38 (a) Impose a civil penalty: 39 (1) If the property is nonresidential property, of not more 40 than $750 per day; or 41 (2) If the property is residential property, of not more than 42 $500 per day, 43 – 6 – - *AB443*  for each day that the condition was not abate [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]