REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Planning & Development Department
BY: ASHLEY ATKINSON, AICP, Assistant Director
Planning & Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
***RESOLUTION - Authorizing Application to and Participation in the 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 created the Prohousing Designation to acknowledge and support jurisdictions that take local actions to accelerate housing production. The City of Fresno received a prohousing designation in March 2023 that was revoked in May 2025. In order to be re-designated, the City must meet all the criteria of the program and submit a qualifying application to HCD. A draft application was released for public comment from August 12 to September 12, 2025.
BACKGROUND
Prohousing Designation
The State’s 2019-2020 Budget Act provided for the establishment of the Prohousing Designation Program (PDP). The program seeks to acknowledge and support jurisdictions that go above-and-beyond state housing law to help accelerate housing production. A jurisdiction with a Prohousing Designation may 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), Solutions for Congested Corridors (SCCP), Local Partnership Program (LPP), Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), and Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program (STPG).
Receiving a Prohousing Designation also allows jurisdictions to apply to the Prohousing Incentive Program. PIP is designed to reward local governments with additional funding to accelerate affordable housing production and preservation.
The designation is valid for three years, after which a jurisdiction must apply for a new designation. As of May 28, 2025, more than 60 California jurisdictions have prohousing status.
Initial Designation & Current Application
The City of Fresno submitted a prohousing designation application in November 2022 and received the prohousing designation on March 30, 2023.
The normal three-year expiration of this designation would have occurred in January 2026; however, HCD monitors designations on an ongoing basis, and the City had received points for proposed actions that had an implementation deadline of November 30, 2022. Because these policies had not yet been implemented, HCD revoked the designation May 2025.
At this time, the City is permitted to submit a new application for designation. Although some elements are shared with the initial application, the State has since adopted new program regulations. HCD will review this application as a new application, rather than a revision of the initial application.
No new programs are policies are proposed in this application. The draft application reflects Fresno’s existing actions, completed policies, and achievements that meet program criteria.
The minimum score to receive the prohousing designation is 30 points, however, there is a benefit to having a higher score to prevail when there is a tie for competitive funding sources. Staff anticipates that the City’s application will surpass the minimum score threshold.
Application Requirements
In order to submit a qualified application, the City must complete the requirements listed below. Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.
Resolution
The application must include an adopted resolution from the City Council that authorizes the submission of the application to HCD (see Exhibit A).
Demonstration of Prohousing Policies and Programs with Self-Scoring Sheet
The application must demonstrate how the City has implemented or will implement policies that align with four prohousing categories, showing a commitment to housing production. 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.
Homeless Encampment Best Practices Statement
The application requires a one-page summary that describes how the City uses best practices related to the treatment of people experiencing homelessness in camps on public property. These practices must be consistent with the “7 Principles for Addressing Encampments,” published in 2022 by the US Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Public Participation Checklist
The checklist affirms that the City posted its draft application for a period of 30 days to allow for public comment and that a variety of outreach methods in multiple languages were used to promote the comment period.
Public Participation
The draft application was posted on the City’s Prohousing webpage (www.fresno.gov/prohousing <http://www.fresno.gov/prohousing>) for a public comment period starting August 12 through September 12, 2025. Staff has conducted the following outreach to promote the public comment period:
1. Released the application to an email list of approximately 650 housing stakeholders, with additional targeted communication to organizations representing lower-income and special-needs households, for-profit and non-profit developers, and service providers
2. Staffed informational tables at Art Hop and farmer’s markets
3. Hosted an informational webinar on August 15, 2025 in English, with translation services provided for Spanish, Hmong, and Punjabi
4. Hosted an in-person meeting at Ted C. Wills Community Center on August 20; presentation in English, with translation services provided for Spanish, Hmong, and Punjabi
5. Distributed information about the public comment period and meetings through the City’s social media channels
Once the public comment period closes, staff will review comments and incorporate them in the final application. If any significant changes are made to the draft application, the updated version will be posted online for seven-day public review period, in accordance with the rules of the Prohousing Designation Program.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
The submission of an application to receive the prohousing designation will not cause a direct or foreseeable physical change to the environment, therefore it is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
LOCAL PREFERENCE
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT
N/A
Attachments:
Exhibit A - Prohousing Designation Resolution