The City of Mountain View has received $870,000 in Prohousing Incentive Program funding, boosting the city’s ability to fund affordable housing initiatives. This funding follows Mountain View’s Prohousing Designation, awarded in January 2024. Mountain View is currently the only city in Santa Clara County to hold this distinction.
The Prohousing Designation Program, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), recognizes cities and counties committed to enacting policy changes and providing incentives to eliminate barriers to housing development. Prohousing designation of a city allows access to Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP) grants and additional points in scoring competitive housing, community development, and infrastructure funding programs administered by HCD. As of now, fifty California communities have earned this designation.
The City of Mountain View met the program’s threshold requirements, which include adopting a compliant housing element and demonstrating a strong commitment to promoting new housing development, encouraging innovative growth policies, and reducing fees. The city adopted an internal process to streamline building and planning permits for 100 percent affordable housing development. They made affordable housing developments within the city exempt from multiple fees and directed in-lieu fees to a trust fund for affordable housing. The city also adopted maximum parking requirements at or less than ratios prescribed by the State Density Bonus Law.
The funding granted to the City of Mountain View is part of the state’s broader $33 million commitment to accelerate affordable housing production and preservation. The flexible nature of PIP awards allows local governments to use the funds in various ways, including expanding prohousing programs, preserving existing affordable housing, bridging financial gaps for housing development, and covering operating costs for permanent supportive housing programs such as Homekey, No Place Like Home, and those supported by Proposition 1.
HCD continues to accept applications for the Prohousing designation on a rolling basis, working with jurisdictions to help them achieve the designation. Cities can apply for the PIP award after securing the Prohousing designation.
On August 15, 2024, HCD released the Notice of Funding Availability for the third round of the Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP Round 3 NOFA). PIP Round 3 makes approximately $8 million available for jurisdictions with a Prohousing Designation. The PIP Round 3 Application is due on December 31, 2024.
Further Resource:
HCD’s Prohousing Designation Program