Background

Technical assistance on accelerating housing production is made available through the Senate Bill 2 Planning Grants Program. In 2017, the Legislature passed SB 2, which established a permanent source of funding intended to increase the affordable housing stock in California. The first year of SB 2 was spilt between planning grants and homelessness programs. Five percent of SB 2 directs HCD, in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), to develop a technical assistance program to assist localities in planning efforts that accelerate housing production and streamline the approvals of housing.

The ”Housing Planning Hub” page provides more details on the technical assistance program, and resources including tools and services to help local governments accelerate and streamline housing production.

Learn more about the SB 2 Planning Grants program.

Purpose

The goals of the technical assistance program provided through HCD, OPR, and PlaceWorks consulting team are to:

• Ensure geographic equity and promote access so that all local governments are able to benefit from the planning grants funding and technical assistance.
• Provide support and ongoing expertise to local governments as they implement activities related to the priority policy areas and other planning efforts.
• Regionally tailor technical assistance to meet the unique needs of each region.
• Develop long-term partnerships between local, regional, and state government to create a peer-to-peer learning environment, maximize resources, and leverage all funding opportunities.

Priority Policy Areas

In consultation with stakeholders, developers, planners, local governments, and academics, HCD has developed six policy areas that are evidenced-based practices to streamlining housing approvals, accelerating housing production, and becoming more housing friendly. HCD technical assistance teams will make toolkits and resources available to help local governments implement these strategies.

• Rezone to Permit By-right: Rezoning for significant additional housing capacity without or with lesser discretionary review or establishing zoning to permit residential development by-right, particularly multifamily, without discretionary action pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(h) and (i).
• Objective Design and Development Standards: Developing objective design standards or pre-approved site and architectural plans that facilitate non-discretionary permitting.
• Specific Plans or Form-based Codes Coupled with CEQA Streamlining: Designating and rezoning for additional housing capacity or preparing specific plans or form codes that include zoning and development standards and plan-level environmental analysis that can be used to streamline future housing projects and facilitate affordability.
• Accessory Dwelling Units or Other Innovative Building Strategies: Encouraging Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and other innovative building types through actions above state law requirements such as, outreach, fee waivers, pre-approved plans, website zoning clearance assistance, and other homeowner tools or finance tools. Also, establishing other approaches to intensify existing lower-density residential areas and “missing middle” typologies to encourage significantly more residential development (e.g., duplexes, triplexes) in lower-density residential areas.
• Expedited Processing: Speeding up approvals and permit processing, including instituting programs that streamline or consolidate the review process or create a separate process for expedited review of housing projects.
• Housing Related Infrastructure Financing and Fee Reduction Strategies: Developing and implementing approaches to local, regional, or sub-regional housing-related infrastructure financing. Creating plans and programs to finance and increase infrastructure with accompanying enhanced housing capacity, such as enhanced infrastructure financing districts. Fee reduction and rationalization approaches, such as reassessing fees to adhere to best practices in reducing costs, deferrals, sliding scales, or proportionate impacts fees (e.g., ADUs, transit-oriented and infill development, special needs housing), or fee transparency measures including publicly available fee calculators.

Technical Assistance Program

HCD in coordination with OPR is working with a team of consultants led by PlaceWorks, Inc, to provide technical assistance on both a regional and statewide level with an emphasis on the priority policy areas.

The program components include:

Applicant assistance is specific to helping local governments obtain a planning grant through the SB 2 Planning Grants program. Assistance includes: Identifying eligible activities and brainstorming ideas on how to best utilize the Planning Grants program Answering questions Reviewing draft applications and providing feedback before they are officially submitted to HCD Housing element compliance for jurisdictions that do not have a compliant housing element Jurisdictions who need additional assistance in submitting their 2017 or 2018 Annual progress reports Sample applications Scopes of work and RFPs Please contact your TA team to receive technical assistance.

Ongoing regionally tailored technical assistance includes a menu of services and tools that are available to all local governments and can be customized to serve the unique needs of the different regions throughout the state. Tools and resources include: Toolkits on the priority policy areas Samples, best practices, and model ordinances Webinars and workshops Peer-to-peer learning collaboratives

Planning Grants and Local Housing Strategies Map

The Planning Grants and Local Housing Strategies Map will keep you up to date on : Cities’ and counties’ local planning practices and solutions for accelerating housing production Where HCD’s technical assistance (TA) teams are conducting outreach and providing TA Which cities/counties have submitted planning grant applications Which jurisdictions are eligible for planning grants The goals of the map: Promoting transparency in planning grant funding and distribution Illustrates HCD’s commitment to geographic equity and access. Creates a peer-learning environment by sharing jurisdictions’ implementation efforts on accelerating housing production throughout the state.

 

 

Technical Assistance Teams

Your TA regional liaison, HCD, and OPR can answer any questions and help you with eligibility, draft grant applications, implementing the priority policy areas and more!

Contact your SB 2 TA Team Today!

California Department of Housing and Community Development sb2planninggrant@hcd.ca.gov

Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Helen Campbell: helen.campbell@opr.ca.gov Natalie Kuffel: natalie.kuffel@opr.ca.gov

TA Regional Liaisons

North State Mark Teague: mteague@placeworks.com	Greater Sacramento Region Jennifer Gastelum: jgastelum@placeworks.com Heidi Gen Kuong: heidi.genkuong@ascentenvironmental.com	San Francisco Bay Area Joanna Jansen: jjansen@placeworks.com Charlie Knox: cknox@placeworks.com	Monterey Bay Region Charlie Knox: cknox@placeworks.com Amy Sinsheimer: asinsheimer@placeworks.com
Sierra Nevada Region Adam Lewandowski: adam.lewandowski@ascentenvironmental.com Charlie Knox: cknox@placeworks.com	San Joaquin Valley Sara Allinder: sallinder@ppeng.com	Central Coast Region Amy Sinsheimer: asinsheimer@placeworks.com	Los Angeles County Region Jonathan Nettler: jnettler@placeworks.com Colin Drukker: cdrukker@placeworks.com
Orange County Colin Drukker: cdrukker@placeworks.com	Inland Empire / Imperial County Mark Hoffman: mhoffman@placeworks.com Colin Drukker: cdrukker@placeworks.com	San Diego Matt Gelbman: matthew.gelbman@ascentenvironmental.com

Tools and Resources

Check back for new tools and resources, such as toolkits, model ordinances, best practices, and more.

• OPR and HCD’s Integrated Planning Concepts: This guide provides concepts on different ways to integrate various policy topics to meet and keep-up with changing state requirements when updating local plans. This document was created by OPR in collaboration with HCD. It highlights changes to state laws regarding updating different local planning documents such as General Plans, Housing Elements, and other local plans.
• SACOG Housing Policy Toolkit is focused on a menu of key policy areas and best practices that promote housing development and streamline the approval process for housing. Much of what is included in the toolkit directly aligns with the program objectives of the SB2 Planning Grants Program. The toolkit includes examples on zoning, ADU ordnances, development review processes, and fee strategies.
• ABAG Housing Policy and Data Explorer includes extensive research, data, and examples on 26 policies and actions that preserve and produce housing.
• Terner Center for Housing Innovation formulates bold strategies to housing families from all walks of life in vibrant, sustainable and affordable homes and communities.
• Department of Conservation Maps : This is a comprehensive series of GIS resources and tools for planners and land use decision-makers. Includes interactive, subject-specific maps and curated dated collections related to land use planning, agriculture, geothermal resources, oil and gas, mines and mineral resources, California geology, and geologic hazards.
• Department of Conservation TerraCount : This is a scenario planning tool for cities, counties, districts, and other land use planners and decision-makers. TerraCount models the greenhouse gas and natural resource implications of different development patterns and management activities.
• Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) has partnered with HCD to provide technical assistance as part of the SB2 Planning Grants Program.
• Institute for Local Government (ILG) and HCD Public Engagement Toolkit

Other Planning and Land-Use Funding

• Working Lands Riparian Corridors Program : This program offers funding to support the development of natural and working lands components of climate action plans, sustainable communities strategies, general plans, and specific plans. Eligible applicants include cities, counties, councils of governments, municipal planning organizations, regional transportation planning agencies, other regional planning agencies, municipally owned special districts, resource conservation districts, water districts, other special districts and federally recognized California Native American tribe or California Native American tribes on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission.
• Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALC): This program offers funding to develop and implement plans to protect agricultural land at risk of conversion to non-agricultural uses. Eligible applicants include cities, counties, special districts, and LAFCOs.