Funding and technical assistance to local governments in California to help cities and counties prepare, adopt, and implement plans and process improvements that streamline housing approvals and accelerate housing production.
Program Overview
Background
In 2017, Governor Brown signed a 15-bill housing package aimed at addressing the state’s housing shortage and high housing costs.
Specifically, it included the Building Homes and Jobs Act (SB 2, 2017), which establishes a $75 recording fee on real estate documents to increase the supply of affordable homes in California.
Because the number of real estate transactions recorded in each county will vary from year to year, the revenues collected will fluctuate.
The table below shows how revenues will be allocated.
| Year 1 | State-Administered 50% Planning Grants* *5% for Technical Assistance in coordination with OPR | State-Administered 50% homelessness programs |
|---|---|---|
| Year 2 and Beyond | Locally Administered 70% Affordable Housing | State-Administered 15% mixed-income multifamily rental housing 5% production incentive 10% farmworker housing |
Funding will help cities and counties:
- Accelerate housing production
- Streamline the approval of housing development affordable to owner and renter households at all income levels
- Facilitate housing affordability, particularly for lower- and moderate-income households
- Promote development consistent with the State Planning Priorities (Government Code Section 65041.1)
- Ensure geographic equity in the distribution and expenditure of the funds
Eligible Activities
Eligible activities may include:
- Updates to general plans, community plans, specific plans, local planning related to implementation of sustainable communities strategies, or local coastal plans.
- Updates to zoning ordinances.
- Environmental analyses that eliminate the need for project-specific review.
- Local process improvements that expedite local planning and permitting.
Eligible Applicants
Limited to local governments (cities and counties). Local governments may partner through legally binding agreements with other forms of governments or entities where the proposal will have a direct effect on land use or development within the locality.
Please refer to the guidelines below for more information.
Application Review and Threshold Requirements
The program will provide grants through a noncompetitive, over-the-counter process to eligible local governments (cities and counties) who meet the following requirements:
Eligible applicants must:
- Have an HCD-compliant housing element,
- Have submitted a recent Annual Progress report,
- *Demonstrate a nexus to accelerating housing production, and
- Demonstrate that the applicant is consistent with State Planning Priorities (Government Code Section 65041.1) or other planning priorities.
*Applicants proposing activities in at least one of the Priority Policy Areas below are automatically deemed to demonstrate a nexus to accelerating housing production without any further demonstration:
- Rezone to Permit By-right: Rezoning for significant additional housing capacity without or lesser discretionary review or establishing zoning to permit residential development by-right, particularly multifamily, without discretionary action pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(h) and (i).
- Objective Design and Development Standards: Developing objective design standards or pre-approved site and architectural plans that facilitate non-discretionary permitting.
- Specific Plans or Form based Codes Coupled with CEQA Streamlining: Designating and rezoning for additional housing capacity or preparing specific plans or form codes that include zoning and development standards and plan-level environmental analysis that can be used to streamline future housing projects and facilitate affordability.
- Accessory Dwelling Units or Other Innovative Building Strategies: Encouraging ADUs and other innovative building types through actions above state law such as, outreach, fee waivers, pre-approved plans, website zoning clearance assistance, and other homeowner tools or finance tools. Also, establishing other approaches to intensify existing lower density residential areas and “missing model” typologies to encourage significantly more residential development (e.g., duplexes, triplexes) in lower density residential areas.
- Expedited Processing: Speeding up approvals and permit processing, including instituting programs that streamline or consolidate the review process or create a separate process for expedited review of housing projects.
- Housing Related Infrastructure Financing and Fee Reduction Strategies: Develop and implement approaches to local, regional or sub-regional housing related infrastructure financing. Create plans and programs to finance and increase infrastructure with accompanying enhanced housing capacity, such as enhanced infrastructure financing districts. Fee reduction and rationalization approaches, such as reassessing fees to adhere to best practices in reducing costs, deferrals, sliding scales or proportionate impacts fees (e.g., ADUs, transit oriented, and infill development, special needs housing), or fee transparency measures including publicly available fee calculators.
NOFA
- 2019 Notice of Funding Availability – SB 2 Planning Grants Program (PDF)
- SB 2 Planning Grants Program Application (PDF) — 7/10/2019
Reporting and Compliance
Technical Assistance
HCD, in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), worked with a team led by PlaceWorks, Inc. to provide technical assistance (TA) to applicants throughout the application period. The TA team worked closely with regions, sub-regions and counties, to help jurisdictions identify activities and provide best-practice tools to help reach the goal of accelerating housing production. Jurisdictions can reach out for assistance to HCD, OPR, or one of PlaceWork’s regional liaisons listed below.
Purchase
The goals of the technical assistance program provided through HCD, OPR, and PlaceWorks consulting team are to:
- Ensure geographic equity and promote access so that all local governments are able to benefit from the planning grants funding and technical assistance.
- Provide support and ongoing expertise to local governments as they implement activities related to the priority policy areas and other planning efforts.
- Regionally tailor technical assistance to meet the unique needs of each region.
- Develop long-term partnerships between local, regional, and state government to create a peer-to-peer learning environment, maximize resources, and leverage all funding opportunities.
Housing Planning Hub Site
The Housing Planning Hub Site is a repository of statewide and regional toolkits, factsheets, and guidance on a variety of housing policy areas with a specific focus on priority policy areas.
The Housing Planning Hub page provides more details on the technical assistance program, and resources including tools and services to help local governments accelerate and streamline housing production.
Resources
- Planning Grants and Local Housing Strategies Map
- Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
- Maximum Grant Amounts Per Jurisdiction (PDF)
- SB 2 Planning Grants NOFA Workshop Webinar
- Government Agency Taxpayer ID Form
Grant Reimbursements
To request reimbursement of funds, please download and follow instructions on the following forms:
Department of Conservation Funding Opportunities:
- Working Lands Riparian Corridors Program : Funding to support the development of natural and working lands components of various plans and strategies.
- Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program : Funding to protect at-risk agricultural land.
Department of Conservation Planning Resources
- DOCMaps : GIS resources and tools for planners and land use decision-makers.
- TerraCount : Scenario planning tool which models greenhouse gas and natural resource implications of different development patterns and management activities.