Prohousing Incentive Pilot Awards over $33 Million to Jurisdictions Recognized for Demonstrated Commitment to Prohousing Policies

June 13, 2023

Sacramento, CA —

The California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing (BCSH) Agency and Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) are pleased to announce $33.2 million in awards from the Prohousing Incentive Pilot (PIP) Program to 18 jurisdictions that have achieved the coveted Prohousing Designation.

HCD awards the Prohousing Designation to cities and counties that demonstrate a commitment to tackling California’s housing and homelessness challenges by enacting Prohousing policies including, but not limited to, streamlining multifamily housing development, up-zoning in places near jobs and transit to reduce emissions, and creating more affordable homes in places that historically or currently exclude households of color and those earning lower incomes.

Earning the Prohousing Designation makes jurisdictions eligible for the PIP Program. The PIP Program rewards jurisdictions with the highest Prohousing scores – the local governments at the forefront of California’s housing crisis – in the form of additional funding for housing and community development activities.

“Hundreds of Californians will benefit from today’s awards, as the 18 cities and counties accelerate their efforts to build more affordable homes and preserve existing homes,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “We congratulate these Prohousing-designated jurisdictions for being fully committed to the state’s comprehensive housing strategy. Together we are boosting California’s housing supply by cutting red tape and building more housing faster.”

“We’re thrilled to announce our inaugural round of incentives. From Needles to Oakland to Salinas and more, it’s truly a pleasure to watch jurisdictions stepping up to plan, promote, and approve the homes California communities need,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “We cannot wait to see what is in store for us as we review more applications from cities and counties eager to demonstrate their Prohousing credentials, and we look forward to rewarding those efforts in the second round of Prohousing Incentives.”

HCD is providing 18 Prohousing designees with funding to help accelerate the production and preservation of hundreds of affordable homes across the state. PIP awardees will utilize the funds for a variety of activities, including:

Promoting housing construction near transit
Improving accessibility in existing housing,
Catalyzing local housing trust funds,
Preserving affordable homes that are at-risk of converting to much higher rents,
Down payment assistance for low- and moderate-income households,
Creating supportive housing for special needs populations, including unhoused persons and farmworkers,
Developing anti-displacement strategies,
Making accessibility modifications to allow seniors to age in place, and
Providing gap financing for affordable housing construction and rehabilitation.

Several jurisdictions plan on using PIP awards to complement existing programs and combine this funding with other state funding sources, providing important expansions and bridging gaps in a time of rising costs. PIP’s flexibility allows awards to support unsubsidized affordable housing acquisition in high-cost regions with acute displacement risk. Other jurisdictions propose contributing PIP Program awards toward operational costs for permanent supportive housing in repurposed motels, assisting in the state’s rapid deployment of Homekey funding to assist individuals experiencing homelessness with wraparound services.

PIP Program awardees are:

Cities of: