Why it matters: To meet the needs of Californians and address our state’s housing crisis, each local jurisdiction must take accountability to build their share of housing. To tackle this challenge, decades in the making, it will take a concerted effort between state and local leaders in partnership with nonprofits, advocates, and developers to enact Prohousing policies.

What Governor Newsom said: “Every city and county across California needs to work together to tackle the state’s housing crisis. Rather than evade their duties, these communities are committed to rolling up their sleeves and building more housing, faster. We are putting the needs of Californians first and seeing to it that more housing gets built throughout the state.”

Jurisdictions that earn the Prohousing Designation have demonstrated a commitment to enacting policies to accelerate housing production. They have shown themselves to be partners with the state in combating the housing crisis. These partners recognize that increasing the availability of housing statewide is critical to bettering the quality of life for all Californians, and to ending homelessness.

“Expanding housing opportunities is critical for the social and economic well-being of working Californians, families with children, older adults, and people exiting homelessness,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “Under Governor Newsom’s leadership, we have provided more tools and incentives than ever before for communities to design policies and programs to build more housing in the right places. Congratulations to the five jurisdictions announced today. They join 22 others that have done the hard work to remove barriers to housing so that homes can be created that are accessible to all Californians.”

Communities that earn the Prohousing Designation receive incentives such as additional points or other preferences in the scoring of competitive funding programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), giving them an advantage over other jurisdictions.

“Creative efforts to enhance state and local partnerships are essential to meeting ambitious and necessary state housing goals,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “We recognize today local governments that are breaking down barriers to affordable housing – and reward those good actors with incentives to enhance the work they are already doing.”

The Prohousing Designation Program was established by the 2019-20 Budget Act, as part of a package of support, incentives, and accountability measures to help California meet its goal of building 2.5 million homes by 2030, with at least one million of those homes affordable to people at lower income levels.

For more information about the Prohousing Designation Program, please visit https://www.hcd.ca.gov/

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