Increasing the availability of housing statewide is critical to bettering the quality of life for all Californians and to ending homelessness. The 2019-2020 Budget Act in California provided a spectrum of support, incentives, and accountability measures to meet California’s housing goals, and provided for the establishment of the State’s Pro-Housing Designation Program. This program encourages local governments to adopt policies and strategies that accelerate the development of housing, prioritize affordable housing, and reduce barriers to housing production. Through this initiative, communities are empowered to take proactive steps toward meeting the state’s housing needs while addressing issues such as homelessness, housing affordability, and sustainable development.

Receiving a Pro-Housing Designation highlights a jurisdiction’s commitment to implementing local policies that remove obstacles to new housing and recognizes work done by a jurisdiction to address California’s severe housing shortage and affordability crisis. Applicants seeking to build affordable housing projects in jurisdictions that receive the Pro-Housing Designation can receive priority processing or funding points when applying for several funding programs, including Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC), Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG), Transformative Climate Communities (TCC), and more.