REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director Planning & Development Department BY: CASEY LAUDERDALE, Planner Planning & Development Department SUBJECT ..Title ***RESOLUTION - Authorizing and directing submission of an application to the State of California Prohousing Designation program (Subject to Mayor's Veto) ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends approval of a resolution to authorize submission of an application to the State's Prohousing Designation program to designate the City of Fresno as a "prohousing" city, allowing for preferential scoring in certain housing-related State grant opportunities. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) created the Prohousing Designation program to provide incentives to designated jurisdictions in the form of added points or preference in competitive housing, community development, and infrastructure funding programs. In order to be designated as a prohousing jurisdiction, the City must submit a qualifying application to HCD that details its current and proposed prohousing policies and actions. BACKGROUND The State 2019-2020 Budget Act provided for the establishment of the Prohousing Designation Program that provides incentives to cities and counties in the form of additional points or other preference in the scoring of competitive housing, community development, and infrastructure programs. Local governments may request to receive a designation by submitting an application to HCD. The application must show how the jurisdiction has implemented or will implement policies that align with categories which show a commitment to housing production. Proposed policies must be completed within two years from the date of submission. The four prohousing categories are: 1. Favorable Zoning and Land Use, 2. Acceleration of Housing Production Timeframes, 3. Reduction of Construction and Development Costs, and 4. Providing Financial Subsidies. The minimum score to receive the prohousing designation is 30, however, there may be benefit to having a higher score in the event HCD elects to use the total score in a competitive manner (ex. using the higher prohousing score to break a tie). Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. To date, the City of Sacramento is the only jurisdiction to have received a prohousing designation with a score of 64. At least sixteen other jurisdictions have applied. As proposed, the City of Fresno application score is projected to be 66 points. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS N/A - not a project under CEQA LOCAL PREFERENCE N/A FISCAL IMPACT N/A Attachments: 1. Prohousing Designation Resolution 2. City of Fresno Prohousing Designation Application DRAFT