Prohousing Designation Program
ACCELERATING HOUSING PRODUCTION
California Department of Housing and Community Development
PROHOUSING
DESIGNATION
Created by the Legislature
through the 2019-2020 Budget
Act, the Prohousing Designation
and Incentive Programs seek to:
1. Increase housing
opportunities throughout
California and address the
state's housing crisis
2. Offer flexibility in achieving
Designation (many pathways
through scoring)
Over the counter process & in-
house TA
WHY BE
PROHOUSING?
Receive priority processing
and additional funding points when
applying for select grant programs:
• Affordable Housing & Sustainable
Communities Program
• Infill Infrastructure Grant Program
• Transformative Climate
Communities
• Solutions for Congested Corridors
• Local Partnership Program
• Transit and Intercity Rail Capital
Program
• Sustainable Transportation
Planning Grant Program
Also receive eligibility for the
Prohousing Incentive Program
PROHOUSING PRINCIPLES
Increase
development
capacity and
variety
Streamline
housing
process
Planning
consistent with
state priorities
Collaborate to
align policies
and programs
Promote
equitable
communities
(as of April 2025)
Prohousing Designated Jurisdictions
1. Alameda
2. Berkeley
3. Brea
4. Citrus Heights
5. Crescent City
6. El Cerrito
7. Emeryville
8. Eureka
9. Fairfield
10. Fontana
11. Healdsburg
12. Long Beach
13. Los Altos
14. Los Angeles
15. Los Angeles County
16. Moreno Valley
17. Mountain View
18. Napa
19. Needles
20. Oakland
21. Petaluma
22. Pinole
23. Placer County
24. Rancho Cordova
25. Rancho Cucamonga
26. Redwood City
27. Richmond
28. Riverside
29. Rohnert Park
30. Roseville
31. Sacramento
32. Sacramento County
33. Salinas
34. San Diego
35. San Diego County
36. San Francisco
37. San Leandro
38. San Luis Obispo
39. San Luis Obispo County
40. Santa Cruz
41. Santa Monica
42. Santa Rosa
43. Sonoma County
44. South Lake Tahoe
45. South San Francisco
46. Stockton
47. Tulare County
48. Ukiah
49. Walnut Creek
50. West Hollywood
51. West Sacramento
52. Windsor
53. Yuba County
APPLICATION PROCESS
• Submit existing and proposed policies related to housing development, with supporting documentation
• Minimum one policy per topic area
• 30 points required out of 154 possible points
• HCD has 60 days to review your application then provide feedback • Proposed Policies must be completed within two years of applications submittal • Designation expires 3 years from the January 1st following your designation award date.
Favorable
Zoning and
Land Use
Acceleration of
Housing
Production
Timeframes
Reduction of
Construction
and
Development
Costs
Providing
Financial
Subsidies
Enhancement
Points
THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTS
Compliant
housing element
and annual
progress reports
All current
cycle rezones
complete –
per Gov Code
65583(c)(1)
Compliance
with all relevant
housing laws,
including no
active HAU
violations
Compliance with
7 Principles for
Addressing
Encampments
Signed Formal
Resolution
Diligent Public
Participation
Process
Current on all
Housing Element
Commitments
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
• Applicants must complete a "diligent" public participation process that includes outreach to all segments of the community
• "Diligent" means:
• Outreach through a variety of methods and languages – (ex. outreach through email lists used for the Housing Element is appropriate)
• Includes effort to engage individuals or representatives of lower- income and special needs households and other stakeholders • Posting the complete Prohousing application (including scoring criteria and thresholds) for minimum of 30 days
• Following HCD's review, if substantive changes are required, subsequent versions must be posted for 7 days
• The application must be part of a public hearing or informative meeting, presenting at a Council or BoS meeting at the start of the 30 days is appropriate
• Consider comments and incorporate
as needed
7 PRINCIPLES FOR HOMELESS
ENCAMPMENTS
• Submit a summary confirming
treatment of homeless encampments
and how will comply with the
constitutional rights of persons
experiencing homelessness
• Best practices must be consistent with
the United States' Interagency Council
on Homelessness: "
7 Principles for
Addressing Encampments"
• Template available in Appendix 5 of
the application
• HCD is providing technical assistance
to local governments
30 point
minimum
Minimum 1
item per
category
Favorable zoning and
land use
Accelerate housing
production
timeframes
Reduce construction
and development
costs
Provide financial
subsidies
Enhanced
scoring
• Demonstrates
policies aligned
with Principles
• Additional points
per scoring item
SCORING REQUIREMENTS
FAVORABLE ZONING AND LAND USE
Rezones sufficient sites to accommodate 150% or more of regional housing needs by total and income category
Permits missing middle (duplex, triplex, four-plex, etc.) housing uses
Eliminates parking requirements, and establishes parking maximums
+3
+3
+2
ACCELERATING PRODUCTION TIMEFRAMES
Establishes ministerial approval processes for a variety of housing types
Documents practice of streamlining housing development
Priority permit processing for ADUs, multifamily, affordable housing +3
+2
+1
REDUCING CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT COSTS
Provides impact fee waivers or reduction
Promotes innovative housing types that reduce costs
Reduces transportation-related infrastructure costs
Provides pre-approved or prototype plans for missing middle housing types
+3
+1
+1
+1
PROVIDING FINANCIAL SUBSIDIES
Local Housing Trust Funds
ADU grants and Low Interest Loan Programs
Land Donations Through Surplus Land
Program
Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts
+2
+2
+2
+2
ENHANCED SCORING
Applicants may seek to add enhancement
points for any one category
• Only one enhancement per category (ex.
Enhancement #1 for category 1A)
• Jurisdictions must provide a description of
how their policies meet enhancement
criteria
Enhancements range from:
• #1. A policy or program representing one
element of a unified, multi-faceted strategy
to promote multiple planning objectives.
to
• #8. Policies that involve meaningful actions
towards Affirmatively Furthering Fair
Housing.
BEST PRACTICES (RURAL)
• City of Needles Category 1E: Going above
ADU law by permitting up to five ADUs by-
right.
• City of Crescent City Category 2D: Maintains
a streamlined permitting review and
processing that does not exceed four
months.
• City of Ukiah Category 4H: Created the
Housing Services Division to administer
federal, state, and local housing
development programs.
BEST PRACTICES
(SUBURBAN)
• City of Emeryville Category 1A: Identified 19 sites to exceed their Regional Housing Needs
Assessment by 203%. Locations
prioritize enhancing connectivity and livability.
• City of Walnut Creek Category 1D: Adopted the
Community Benefits program, provides
opportunities to developers to receive
greater height limits, FAR, & density bonuses
• City of Salinas Category 3D: Approved modular
construction for a 50-unit affordable housing
development for low-income households in the first
project to utilize modular construction methods on
the Central Coast.
BEST PRACTICES (URBAN)
• City of Riverside Category 2C: Public Permit Portal
streamlines development projects without visiting
City Hall. Applicants remotely submit permit
applications, electronic plans, pay fees, track
progress, complete permit issuance, and schedule
and receive inspection results.
• City of Redwood City Category 3B: Pre-approved
ADU construction plans with over-the-counter
approval within a week.
• City of Santa Monica Category 4B: Directs general
sales tax funds from a 2016 voter initiative into
its Housing Trust Fund to create new affordable
housing projects.
Monitoring and Revocation (Purpose)
• The Department shall monitor Prohousing Designations on an ongoing basis and may revoke a Prohousing Designation at any time for:
• Failing to enact or implement a proposed Prohousing Policy • Failing to facilitate the planning, approval, or construction of a variety of housing types
• Failing to implement integrated planning and development consistent with state planning priorities
• Failing to meets its obligations to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing • Failing to comply with state housing law
• Failing to take action or has taken action inconsistent with a housing element
Monitoring and Revocation (Process)
• The Department shall notify the Jurisdiction within 30 days, in writing, of any review that it commences
• Jurisdiction will have 30 days to respond and include a schedule of corrective action • The Department shall issue a preliminary finding to the jurisdiction within 75 days of its notification of review
• Preliminary findings will include: a preliminary determination that a violation has been made, a corrective action plan, and deadline to comply
• Deadline to comply shall be no later than 90 days from the preliminary finding • Jurisdiction will respond within 30 days of notification of the preliminary finding • The Department shall issue a final determination within 75 days of the deadline for the jurisdiction’s response to the preliminary finding
• Final determination shall state whether the violation has been resolved and, if not, that the jurisdiction’s designation has been revoked
• Jurisdictions may reapply to the program after remedying the violations identified in the final determination
Thank you for your time and we look forward to
assisting you develop your jurisdiction’s application!
If you have any questions regarding the Prohousing Designation Program (PDP), please contact [email protected].
FAQ and other technical assistance materials available at https://www.hcd.ca.gov/planning- and-community-development/prohousing-designation-program Subscribe to HCD’s Email Signup to be notified of any program updates