The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) today announced that Sacramento County has earned the state’s Prohousing Designation. Sacramento County, along with Placer County and the City of El Cerrito, joins seven other jurisdictions recognized for a commitment to policies that increase housing supply such as accelerating production, promoting equitable and sustainable zoning and land use, reducing development costs and providing financial subsidies. Sacramento County is also now eligible for the Prohousing Incentive Pilot (PIP) Program that rewards Prohousing communities for such commitments.
To earn the Prohousing Designation, cities and counties must demonstrate they are promoting climate-smart housing in a variety of ways, including but not limited to streamlining multifamily housing development, up-zoning in places near jobs and transit to reduce emissions, and creating more affordable homes in places that historically or currently exclude households earning lower incomes and households of color.
Sacramento County’s application highlights include the modification of development standards and other applicable zoning provisions to promote greater development intensity. In addition, the county provides impact fee reductions for residential development and permits “missing middle” housing in typically lower-density, single-family residential zones. Lastly, the county uses holistic planning strategies in an effort to reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Planning and Environmental Review Division has been hard at work updating its Zoning Code to allow for streamlined residential development," said Troy Givans, Sacramento County Community Development Director. “These updates have allowed for an expedited permitting process, which we believe will accelerate housing development in the unincorporated County."
“The County offers a one-stop shop for fee deferral/waivers for County of Sacramento, Sacramento Area Sewer District, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, and Sacramento County Water Agency impact fees on regulated affordable residential projects to allow for streamlined fee deferral/waiver process. In addition, the County’s participation in Statewide Community Infrastructure Program (SCIP) provides additional financing tools to ease development impact fees for public infrastructure needed for residential projects.”
The State of California budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 established the
Prohousing Designation Program as part of a spectrum of support, incentive and accountability measures to help meet California’s housing goals. Increasing the availability of housing statewide is critical to bettering the quality of life of all Californians and to ending homelessness. Communities that earn the Prohousing Designation receive incentives in the form of additional points and/or other preferences in the scoring of competitive housing, community development and infrastructure funding programs administered by HCD.
Prohousing jurisdictions are also eligible for community development resources through the new PIP Program. The competitive program has $25.7 million in additional flexible funding available to help accelerate housing production and expand the preservation of affordable housing.
