REPORT TO HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Forward Recommendation to City Council to Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City to Apply to and Participate in the State of California's Prohousing Designation Program
Report
BACKGROUND
In 2019, Assembly Bill ("AB") 101 established the Prohousing Designation Program to provide an incentive for jurisdictions that have adopted policies that facilitate housing production and are compliant with State housing element requirements. The program, which is administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), created a special "Prohousing Designation" for qualifying jurisdictions. In order to receive Prohousing Designation, jurisdictions must demonstrate that their local policies go beyond existing State law to increase housing production in the following four categories:
* Favorable zoning and land use
* Acceleration of housing production timeframes
* Reduction of construction and development cost
* Providing financial subsidies
Jurisdictions seeking Prohousing Designation must submit an application to HCD that details relevant Prohousing policies in these four categories. The application must be accompanied by an authorizing resolution adopted by the jurisdiction's governing body, in this case the City of Sunnyvale City Council. A draft of the authorizing resolution is provided as Attachment 2 to this report. Applications are awarded points based on the jurisdiction's existing and proposed policies that will increase housing production. Proposed policies must be enacted within two years of application submittal. In order to receive Prohousing Designation, applications must score at least 30 points total. To date, only one jurisdiction, the City of Sacramento, has been awarded Prohousing Designation.
Jurisdictions that are awarded Prohousing Designation will receive a competitive advantage in the form of additional points when applying for specific State affordable hous...
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