Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC)

Purpose

Administered by the Strategic Growth Council and implemented by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the AHSC Program funds land-use, housing, transportation, and land preservation projects to support infill and compact development that reduce greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions. 

Funding for the AHSC Program is provided from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), an account established to receive Cap-and-Trade auction proceeds.

Statutory Funding Set-Asides

Fifty (50) percent of the available funds are set aside for Affordable Housing Developments, and 50 percent of the available funds are set aside for projects benefitting Disadvantaged Communities.

Note:  A single project can address both set-asides above, and are not mutually exclusive.

Assistance Type

The AHSC Program will assist project areas by providing grants and/or loans, or any combination thereof, that will achieve GHG emissions reductions and benefit Disadvantaged Communities through increasing accessibility of affordable housing, employment centers, and key destinations via low-carbon transportation resulting in fewer vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through shortened or reduced trip length or mode shift from Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) use to transit, bicycling, or walking.  Three Project Area types have been identified to implement this strategy:

• Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Project Areas,
• Integrated Connectivity Project (ICP) Project Areas, or
• Rural Innovation Project Areas (RIPA).

Terms

The assistance terms and limits include, but are not limited to, the following requirements:

• The maximum AHSC Program loan or grant award or combination thereof is $30 million with a minimum award of at least $1 million in all Project Area types.
• A single developer may receive no more than $60 million per NOFA funding cycle.*

*These limitations may be waived if necessary to meet statutorily required Affordable Housing and Disadvantaged Community set-asides.

Eligible Activities

• Affordable Housing Developments**
• Housing-Related Infrastructure
• Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure
• Transportation-Related Amenities
• Program Costs (including active transportation, transit ridership, and workforce development partnerships)

**includes new construction, acquisition, and substantial rehabilitation, including preservation of affordable housing at risk, or conversion of one or more nonresidential structures to residential dwelling units.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicant entities include any of the following:

• A locality, public housing authority, redevelopment successor agency, transit agency or transit operator, Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA), local Transportation Commissions, Congestion Management Agencies, Joint Powers Authority (JPA), school district, facilities district, university or community college district
• A developer or program operator
• A Federally Recognized Indian Tribe

If a public agency has a financial or real property interest in the proposed project, the application must either include the public agency as a co-applicant or otherwise include a commitment to enter into a contractual agreement to develop the project, if it is awarded.

Guidelines

• New! 2019-2020, Round 6 Guidelines
• 2018-2019, Round 5 Guidelines
• 2017-2018, Round 4 Guidelines
• 2016-2017, Round 3 Guidelines

Get Funding

Applications are invited through the issuance of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Current NOFAs

Application due date: June 8, 2021. Please be sure you are subscribed to the AHSC emailing list to receive notifications and announcements.

More information regarding the Strategic Growth Council's role in the AHSC Program can be found on the SGC website .

More information regarding the California Air Resources Board's role in the AHSC Program can be found on the California Strategic Growth Council SGC website .

New! 2019-2020, Round 6 NOFA

• New! Amended! NOFA Round 6, Amendment #1 (PDF)
• Revised Rd. 6 Application Workbook (XLS)
• Payee Data Record Form (STD 204) (PDF)
• FI$Cal Government TIN Form (PDF)
• 2021 AHSC Rent and Loan Limits (PDF)
• OD-1-AHSC Application Loan Authorization -Template (PDF)
• OD-2-AHSC Resolution of LLC (PDF)
• OD-3-AHSC Sponsor Recipient Authorization for Loan and Grant (PDF)
• AHSC Round 6 Submitted Applications (XLS)

Reporting Requirements (Asset Management and Compliance)

Upon completed construction of your project and closing of your HCD permanent loan, oversight of your project and loan is transferred to HCD's "Asset Management and Compliance (AMC)" section.

Visit Asset Management and Compliance to find:

• Your reporting requirements
• Forms
• Additional resources
• Who to contact if you have questions

Program Forms

Management Memos

There are currently no AHSC Management Memos on the website.

Training and Technical Assistance

There are currently no AHSC Training and Technical resources on the website.