Prohousing Designation
Public Hearing Item
Visalia City Council
September 21, 2026
Planning & Housing Divisions
Introduction
• State HCD offers a Prohousing Designation Program to incentivize jurisdictions that go above/beyond & use innovative ways to increase housing opportunities. • Prohousing is completely optional and offers non-competitive funding to be used toward housing development or assistance programs. • Visalia City Council provided direction March 16, 2026, to proceed with application process.
• Staff has completed a draft application, released for a 30-day public comment running August 21 to September 21, 2026.
What is Prohousing ?
The Prohousing Designation Program was created through 2019-2020 Legislature.
Receiving a Designation offers two primary incentives:
1. Gives additional scoring points in many state competitive funding programs, which have supported projects like The Lofts at Fort Visalia, Rancho Colegio & Crescent Meadows.
2. Access to the Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP), a non-competitive funding program to assist jurisdictions with implementing Prohousing Policies.
Funding Available Through PIP
Base Award Amount: $750,000
+
*Bonus Award: up to $500,000, equal to a jurisdiction’s Designation Score x 10,000 =
Maximum Possible: $1,250,000
County of Tulare was awarded $1,106,356 in PIP funds.
Project Activities that can be funded with PIP
• Affordable housing development
• Visalia Navigation Center operational assistance
• Eden House operational assistance
• Warming Center operational assistance
• An emergency shelter development and/or operational assistance • Tenant-based rental assistance
City Activities that can be funded with PIP
• Updates to general plans.
• Updates to zoning ordinances.
• Environmental analyses that eliminate the need for project review. • Local process improvements that expedite local planning & permitting.
Prohousing Application Requirements
• Resolution – Recommended be adopted by Visalia City Council today • Demonstration of Prohousing Policies & Programs with Self-Scoring Sheet • Demonstrates compliance across four categories
• Statement of Practices Towards Homeless Encampments
• Two-page summary describes how the City uses best practices related to the treatment of people experiencing homelessness in camps on public property • Public Participation – 30-day diligent public participation process Demonstration of Prohousing Policies & Programs with Self-Scoring Sheet Demonstrates compliance across four categories:
1) Favorable Zoning and Land Use,
2) Acceleration of Housing Production Timeframes,
3) Reduction of Construction and Development Costs, and 4) Providing Financial Subsidies
Total Score is 56 Points based on Policies & Enhancement factors Public Participation
Period to receive public comment on the application runs August 21 - September 21, 2026. The following forms of outreach are being used:
1. Emailed directly to 100+ housing stakeholders and targeted organizations.
2. Informational tables at the Multicultural Festival, Visalia Home EXPO & Farmer’s Market.
3. In-person public meetings to discuss the application and allow for verbal comments, Citizens Advisory Committee (9/2), Planning Commission (9/14), and City Council (9/8 & 9/21).
4. City Press Release and posts on the City’s social media channels.
5. Legal advertisements in the Visalia Times Delta (8/18 & 8/21) in English and Spanish.
NEXT STEPS
• Staff will respond to all comments.
• Any changes to the application will be reposted for
a minimum of 7 days.
• Following submittal, State evaluation &
determination (expected to be 3-6 months)
Questions
&
Discussion