Since July 1, 2023, California has let housing go up on many commercially zoned sites without a rezone. Here is how the three laws work, which sites they exclude and why they rarely reach Kern’s industrial land.
AB 2011 commercial to residential rules come from the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, which took effect July 1, 2023 alongside SB 6. AB 2011 gives ministerial, CEQA-free approval to qualifying affordable and mixed-income housing where office, retail or parking are principally permitted. SB 6 allows housing there without a rezone. AB 2243 expanded both in 2025. Industrial-adjacent sites are excluded.
AB 2011, SB 6 and AB 2243 at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Laws | AB 2011 (Wicks), Chapter 647, Statutes of 2022, Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act; SB 6 (Caballero), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2022, Middle Class Housing Act; AB 2243 (Wicks), Chapter 272, Statutes of 2024 |
| Signed | AB 2011 and SB 6: Sept. 28, 2022. AB 2243: Sept. 19, 2024 |
| Effective | AB 2011 and SB 6: July 1, 2023. AB 2243 amendments: Jan. 1, 2025 |
| Codified at | Government Code 65912.100 to 65912.140 (AB 2011) and 65852.24 (SB 6) |
| Where | Sites zoned for office, retail or parking as a principally permitted use; AB 2011 mixed-income projects must front a commercial corridor |
| Approval | AB 2011: ministerial, no CEQA. SB 6: housing becomes an allowed use, but review is not automatically ministerial |
| Labor | Prevailing wages under both; SB 6 also requires a skilled and trained workforce |
| Key exclusions | Sites on or next to industrial uses; within 3,200 feet of active oil or gas extraction or refining (AB 2011) |
| Sunset | SB 6 repeals Jan. 1, 2033; AB 2011 applications accepted until Jan. 1, 2033 |
| Status | In effect; no Kern County project using either law identified |
Key takeaways
- AB 2011 and SB 6 took effect July 1, 2023. They allow housing on sites where office, retail or parking are principally permitted, without a general plan amendment or rezone.
- AB 2011 projects cannot be on or adjoin a site where more than one-third of the square footage is dedicated to industrial use, which keeps the law off most Kern industrial land.
- AB 2011 housing cannot sit within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas, a significant limit in oil-producing Kern County.
- AB 2243 took effect Jan. 1, 2025. It opened regional mall sites up to 100 acres and allowed housing within 500 feet of a freeway with MERV 16 filtration.
- Regional brokerage reports put Bakersfield retail vacancy at 5.20% in Q2 2026, which limits the supply of dead retail available for conversion.
What are AB 2011 and SB 6, and why did they pass?
In 2022 the Legislature passed two competing approaches to one idea: let housing replace underused strip centers, offices and parking lots without a rezoning fight. AB 2011, by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, creates a by-right path for affordable and mixed-income housing. SB 6, by Sen. Anna Caballero, makes housing an allowed use on the same kinds of sites but leaves the review process to existing law.
The two bills reflected a split among labor groups over construction workforce rules. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed both Sept. 28, 2022, as Chapter 647 (AB 2011) and Chapter 659 (SB 6). Both took effect July 1, 2023, as law firm Cox Castle summarized. AB 2243, also by Wicks, amended both laws effective Jan. 1, 2025.
These laws sit alongside the 2025 CEQA overhaul, which created a separate infill housing exemption. They do not change what is allowed on industrial zoning. For that, see our guide to industrial zoning in Bakersfield and Kern County.
How does AB 2011 commercial to residential approval work?
AB 2011 offers two ministerial pathways. “Ministerial” means the city checks the project against objective standards and must approve it if it complies, with no discretionary hearing and no CEQA review. Under AB 2243, the city must decide consistency within 60 days for 150 or fewer units or 90 days for larger projects, then approve within the same time frames, according to the chaptered AB 2243 text on LegiScan.
AB 2011’s two pathways (as amended by AB 2243)
| Feature | 100% affordable pathway | Mixed-income pathway |
|---|---|---|
| Zoning | Office, retail or parking principally permitted | Same, and the site must front a commercial corridor |
| Commercial corridor | Not required | Non-freeway highway with 70 to 150 feet of right of way; at least 50 feet of frontage |
| Affordability | 100% lower income (excluding manager units); 55-year rental or 45-year ownership covenants | Rental: 15% lower income, or 8% very low plus 5% extremely low. Ownership: 30% moderate or 15% lower income |
| Site size | 20 acres or less; regional malls up to 100 acres | Same |
| Density | Local multifamily standards apply | Statutory minimums, for example 30 to 80 units per acre in metropolitan jurisdictions |
| Labor | Prevailing wage; apprenticeship and health care contributions for projects of 50 units or more | Same |
The affordability and density figures come from the Assembly Local Government Committee’s analysis of AB 2243 and the Association of Bay Area Governments’ AB 2011 summary. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s April 2026 AB 2011 fact sheet, projects of 50 units or more must also provide apprenticeship access and health care expenditures. Density floors depend on how the statute classifies a jurisdiction. Non-metropolitan jurisdictions have lower floors, starting at 20 units per acre for small sites, and the example below assumes a metropolitan classification.
What does SB 6 allow on commercial land?
SB 6, codified at Government Code 65852.24, makes housing an allowed use on sites where office, retail or parking are principally permitted. Projects can be all residential or mixed use with at least 50% of the new construction square footage residential. They must meet a specified density plus local development and inclusionary standards. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s April 2026 SB 6 fact sheet, SB 6 sets no affordability requirement of its own.
SB 6 does not mandate a particular review process. A city can still review an SB 6 project under its normal procedures, including CEQA, though HCD notes that applicants can pair SB 6 with the state’s streamlined ministerial approval process if the project qualifies. SB 6 requires prevailing wages and a skilled and trained workforce, a stricter labor rule than AB 2011. The section repeals Jan. 1, 2033.
Which sites are excluded? Industrial land, oil wells and freeways
Three exclusions decide most Kern cases.
Industrial adjacency
An AB 2011 site cannot be on, or adjoin, any site where more than one-third of the square footage is dedicated to industrial use. AB 2243 defines industrial use broadly: utilities, manufacturing, transportation storage and maintenance facilities, warehousing and any use that needs an air district permit. Square footage counts as dedicated to industrial use if it is used that way now. It also counts if its most recently permitted use was industrial and it was occupied within the past three years, or if the general plan in effect before Jan. 1, 2022 designated it industrial and residential uses are not principally permitted.
SB 6 has a parallel rule. HCD’s fact sheet says a site cannot be on or adjacent to an industrial use. The practical result is that neither law reaches into Kern’s industrial zones or the commercial parcels that border them.
Oil and gas facilities
Under AB 2011, none of the housing can sit within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas. The rule applies to both pathways under the AB 2243 text. The distance matches the health protection zone in California’s oil well setback law, covered in our guide to SB 1137 and oil well setbacks in Kern County. In metropolitan Bakersfield, where producing oil fields and refineries sit close to commercial corridors, this one test may rule out more sites than any other.
Freeways and other limits
Before 2025, AB 2011 barred housing within 500 feet of a freeway. AB 2243 now allows it if the building uses centralized heating and cooling with outdoor air intakes facing away from the freeway, MERV 16 filtration and no freeway-facing balconies. Other exclusions include very high fire hazard severity zones and environmentally sensitive coastal areas.
What did AB 2243 change?
- Regional malls. Sites up to 100 acres containing a regional mall became eligible. Law firm Best Best & Krieger describes the test as at least 250,000 square feet of retail with two-thirds of permitted uses retail. That description comes from the firm’s summary, not the statute text.
- Freeways. The 500-foot ban became a filtration and design standard, and on-ramps and off-ramps no longer count as the freeway, Allen Matkins noted.
- Industrial adjacency. The definition of industrial use broadened to air district permitted sources but narrowed in time, to sites in active or recent (three-year) use or designated industrial before 2022.
- Urban uses. Parks and parking lots or structures now count as urban uses for the perimeter test.
- Density. New minimum density floors phase in through Jan. 1, 2027.
- Conversions. Converting an existing building has no density limit unless new square footage exceeds 20% of the project.
- Grandfathering. Applications submitted by Dec. 31, 2024 may use the prior rules.
Kern CRE found no 2025 or 2026 legislation further amending AB 2011 or SB 6. HCD’s April 2026 fact sheet lists AB 2243 as the latest change.
How do these laws play out in Bakersfield and Kern County?
No housing project in Bakersfield or elsewhere in Kern County has been publicly identified as using AB 2011 or SB 6, and Kern CRE found no Bakersfield or Kern County ordinance implementing them. Both laws apply directly, so a city does not need to adopt anything for them to work. Some California cities have adopted objective standards and application checklists anyway.
Market conditions help explain the quiet. Regional brokerage reports put Bakersfield retail vacancy at 5.20%, with an average asking rent of $20.26 per square foot NNN and 344,991 square feet of 12-month net absorption in Q2 2026. With few empty centers, the likelier candidates are oversized parking fields, obsolete pads and older strip centers on arterial streets.
Labor rules and rents also matter. Prevailing wage applies to every AB 2011 and SB 6 project, and Bakersfield apartment rents run lower than in coastal metros, so the math is harder here than in Los Angeles or the Bay Area. Kern developers have more often used conventional rezones, such as the Morning Drive apartments proposal, or housing element rezonings like Shafter’s. Neither is an AB 2011 or SB 6 project.
What do these laws mean for commercial and industrial property values?
For retail and office owners, AB 2011 and SB 6 add a residential option that can support land value, especially for large parking fields and older centers on wide arterials. A site’s value now depends partly on whether it passes the industrial adjacency, oil facility and corridor tests.
For industrial owners, the exclusions are protective. Housing is a sensitive receptor under the AB 98 warehouse law, and new homes next to a distribution building can create conflicts over trucks, noise and air quality. AB 2011 and SB 6 cannot be used on or next to industrial sites, so they do not by themselves push housing against Kern’s warehouses. A conventional rezone still can. Reciprocal easement agreements and leases at shopping centers can bar residential use regardless of state law.
Checklist: can my Bakersfield commercial site use AB 2011 or SB 6?
- Confirm office, retail or parking is a principally permitted use in the current zone.
- For AB 2011 mixed-income, measure the right of way of the fronting street (70 to 150 feet) and frontage (50 feet).
- Map every adjoining parcel’s current, recent and pre-2022 general plan industrial status.
- Measure 3,200 feet to the nearest active oil or gas well or refinery using state well data.
- Check freeway distance, fire hazard zones and site size (20 acres, or 100 for a regional mall).
- Price prevailing wage, apprenticeship and health care costs, or skilled and trained workforce costs under SB 6.
- Review recorded easements, CC&Rs and tenant leases for residential restrictions.
- Ask the city for its AB 2011 and SB 6 application requirements and objective standards in writing.
Illustrative example: an older Bakersfield strip center
Assume a 5-acre strip center on a 110-foot-wide arterial in Bakersfield, zoned for retail, with homes behind it and a gas station and offices beside it. All figures are hypothetical, and the density floor assumes a metropolitan classification.
The site passes the zoning, corridor (70 to 150 feet), frontage and size tests. If no adjoining parcel is more than one-third industrial and no active oil well or refinery sits within 3,200 feet, a mixed-income AB 2011 project is possible. At a 60-unit-per-acre floor, 5 acres would need at least 300 units, with 15% (45 units) set aside for lower-income renters.
If an active well sits 2,500 feet away, AB 2011 is off the table. The owner could still look at SB 6, whose HCD fact sheet lists no comparable oil facility distance rule. That route brings local review, possible CEQA and a skilled and trained workforce requirement.
Frequently asked questions
What is AB 2011 commercial to residential approval?
AB 2011, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, lets qualifying housing rise on sites where office, retail or parking are principally permitted. Approval is ministerial, with no CEQA review. Projects must be 100% affordable or mixed-income on a commercial corridor, pay prevailing wages and avoid excluded sites near industrial uses, oil facilities and other hazards. The law took effect July 1, 2023.
What is the difference between AB 2011 and SB 6?
AB 2011 requires affordable housing and delivers ministerial, CEQA-exempt approval. SB 6 makes housing an allowed use on the same commercial sites with no state affordability requirement, but it does not guarantee ministerial approval. SB 6 also demands a skilled and trained workforce on top of prevailing wages. Both took effect July 1, 2023.
Can AB 2011 be used on industrial land in Kern County?
No. The law works only where office, retail or parking are principally permitted. A site also cannot sit on or next to land where more than one-third of the square footage is industrial. Warehousing, manufacturing, utilities and air-district-permitted uses all count, so Kern’s industrial zones and the parcels bordering them generally cannot use it.
Does the 3,200-foot oil well rule apply to AB 2011 projects?
Yes. As amended by AB 2243, the statute bars any housing in an AB 2011 project within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas. Producing fields and refineries in Bakersfield and other Kern communities put many commercial sites inside that distance.
What did AB 2243 change in 2025?
AB 2243 (Chapter 272 of 2024) took effect Jan. 1, 2025. It opened regional mall sites up to 100 acres and allowed housing within 500 feet of freeways with MERV 16 filtration. It also redefined industrial use, narrowed adjacency to active or recent uses and added density floors. Review deadlines became 60 and 90 days, and applications filed by Dec. 31, 2024 were grandfathered.
Has any Bakersfield project used AB 2011 or SB 6?
No Bakersfield project has been publicly identified as using either law. Low retail vacancy, prevailing wage costs and local rents likely limit use so far. The laws apply without any local adoption, so owners of large parking fields or older centers on wide arterials can use them if their sites qualify.
If you own or are buying a Bakersfield retail, office or parking site and want to understand its residential potential, or want to protect an industrial property from encroachment, Kern CRE can help you evaluate the site. Call Kern CRE at 855-KERN-CRE (855-537-6273) or contact us. Get Kern County CRE news monthly: subscribe to the Kern CRE report.
Sources
- AB 2243 Amendments to Streamlining Tools for Residential Development on Commercially Zoned Properties Are Now In Effect, Cox, Castle & Nicholson (Margo N. Bradish, Arielle O. Harris, Linda C. Klein, Mitchell B. Menzer, Edward Schloss), Jan. 16, 2025.
- 2025 LUENR Update: Recent Amendments to Affordable Housing and High Roads Job Act of 2022 (AB 2011), Allen Matkins (Caroline Guibert Chase), June 18, 2025.
- AB 2243 (Wicks) bill analysis, hearing of April 24, 2024, California State Assembly, Committee on Local Government, April 2024.
- California AB 2243, Chaptered text (Chapter 272, Statutes of 2024), LegiScan, Sept. 19, 2024.
- Middle Class Housing Act (SB 6) fact sheet, California Department of Housing and Community Development, April 2026.
- Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act (AB 2011) fact sheet, California Department of Housing and Community Development, April 2026.
- AB 2011 and SB 6 Summary of Key Details, Association of Bay Area Governments, July 28, 2023.
- AB 2243: Significant Expansion of SB 6 & AB 2011, Best Best & Krieger, Sept. 30, 2024.
- Q2 2026 Bakersfield, CA Retail Market Report, Lee & Associates, July 2026.
- California AB 2011 (2021-2022), bill history, chapter and votes, LegiScan.
- California SB 6 (2021-2022), bill history, chapter and votes, LegiScan.
- AB 2011 (2021-2022) bill information, California Legislative Information.
- SB 6 (2021-2022) bill information, California Legislative Information.
- AB 2243 (2023-2024) bill information, California Legislative Information.
About this article
Kern CRE prepared this article with help from AI research and writing tools. An editor reviewed the draft, checked its facts against the sources linked above and edited it for accuracy and clarity. It is general information about California housing law, not legal, tax, investment or financial advice. Eligibility under AB 2011 and SB 6 is site specific, so talk with a land use attorney and the local planning department.