21 October 13, 2026
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation to adopt a Resolution approving the Permanent Local Housing Allocation 2024–2028 Formula Allocation Five-Year Plan and authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to execute the Application, Standard Agreement, and any documents and subsequent amendments or modifications thereto, with the California Department of Housing and Community Development, to accept and expend Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program grant funds in an amount not to exceed $12,840,025 over a five-year period. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
Senate Bill 2 (2017), the Building Homes and Jobs Act, established a $75 recording fee on certain real estate documents to create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing.
This revenue supports the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Under PLHA, entitlement jurisdictions, including the City of Long Beach (City), receive funds over five-year cycles that are allocated based on a formula and must be used to address unmet housing needs in their local communities. The City received $16,914,343 in funding during the first cycle (revenue collection period 2019 through 2023). Through the Long Beach Community Investment Company (LBCIC), the City used these funds to help finance four affordable housing developments that will result in 371 new affordable rental units.
On July 16, 2026, HCD released the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the second five-year cycle (revenue collection period 2024 through 2028). The City is expected to receive a total estimated allocation not to exceed $12,840,025 during this cycle. Funding is currently available for the first two years. The City will receive $2,054,404 for year one and $2,200,569 for year two. The total five-year allocation may vary based on the actual revenue collected from real estate transaction activity.
To receive PLHA funds for this cycle, HCD requires the City to submit a five-year plan (Plan) describing:
• How funds will be used for eligible activities to assist in addressing unmet housing needs. • How investments will prioritize households earning at or below 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI).
Community Development
411 West Ocean Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-5237
Honorable Mayor and City Council
October 13, 2026
• How the Plan aligns with the City’s Housing Element.
• Evidence that the Plan was authorized and adopted by resolution by the City Council and that the public had an adequate opportunity to review and comment on its content.
The proposed Plan (Attachment A) directs 95 percent of the City’s PLHA funding to the development of new affordable rental housing projects serving households earning up to 150 percent AMI, with prioritization for projects serving households earning up to 60 percent AMI.
While PLHA guidelines allow for up to 150 percent AMI affordability levels, affordable housing development requires layering multiple funding sources, and most funders require or prioritize much deeper affordability levels. As a result, affordable housing developments that serve households above 80 percent AMI will likely be financially infeasible. The City will provide PLHA funds to affordable housing developers as low-interest loans, offered via a competitive NOFA process. The remaining five percent of the City's PLHA funding will be used for eligible administration costs.
To develop the Plan, City staff considered existing housing resources and the overwhelming need to develop additional affordable housing units to address the remaining Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) identified in the City's Certified 2021 – 2029 Housing Element. Through the fourth full year of the RHNA cycle, the City permitted only six percent of its affordable housing unit RHNA target (Table 1). Using PLHA funds for affordable housing development helps realize Housing Element Program 1.6, Affordable Housing Development Assistance, which requires the City to provide loans to developers to help meet the City’s affordability goals and RHNA targets.
While the LBCIC is making efforts to expand its pipeline of acquisition/rehabilitation projects, the PLHA program offers greater flexibility in its requirements for new construction compared to other available funding sources, and as such it is a valuable resource to efficiently facilitate new housing production.
Table 1. Long Beach 2021-2029 RHNA Targets
Income Level
Total Annual
RHNA
Target (2021-2029)
Total units remaining
to meet RHNA Target
Average Annual
RHNA Target
% of RHNA met by #
of permitted units
(2021-2025)
Very Low- 7,141 6,653 893 7%
Low- 4,047 3,561 506 12%
Moderate- 4,158 4,158 520 0%
Sub-total
Affordable
15,346 14,372 1,919 6%
Above-Moderate 11,156 7,493 1,394 43%
TOTAL 26,502 19,806 5,231 25%
Honorable Mayor and City Council
October 13, 2026
On September 16, 2026, the LBCIC conducted a public hearing on the proposed Plan and recommended that City Council adopt a resolution approving the Plan. The PLHA guidelines require that the public be given at least ten days to review and comment on the proposed Plan.
Staff posted the notice of public hearing and the proposed Plan on the Community Development web page on August 27, 2026. Advertisements were published in the Long Beach PressTelegram and La Opinion (Spanish language newspaper) announcing the availability of the draft Plan and the details of the public hearing. In addition, stakeholders and other interested parties received an email notice about the public hearing and the availability of the proposed Plan for review and comment. No comments were received during the public comment period.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Adam Jacobs on October 1, 2026, and by Revenue Management Officer, Valerie Valentine on September 30, 2026.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
HCD is currently accepting applications for the first two years of funding available under the current PLHA funding cycle. The City currently has a pipeline of proposed projects needing financial assistance that aligns with the proposed PLHA Plan and needs the funds to advance.
City staff request that the City Council adopt the resolution on October 13, 2026, in order to submit the application for funding in a timely manner.
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommended action approves the application for PLHA grant funds, which will help the City address the need for affordable housing. The Community Development Department will appropriate up to the estimated $12,840,025, based on the final award, during the annual budget development process. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the budgeted scope of duties and is consistent with existing City Council priorities. There is no fiscal or local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
Christopher Koontz
Director
Community Development
ATTACHMENTS:
A -PLHA 2024–2028 FORMULA ALLOCATION FIVE-YEAR PLAN
B - RESOLUTION
C -SEPTEMBER 16, 2026, LBCIC PLHA FIVE-YEAR PLAN PUBLIC HEARING