To increase the overall supply of housing affordable to lower income households by providing financial incentives to cities and counties with documented housing starts for newly-constructed units affordable to very low- or low-income households.

Assistance Type and Terms

Grants for creation of new parks or rehabilitation or improvements to existing parks.  Grant amounts are based on the numbers of bedrooms in newly-constructed rental and ownership units restricted for very low- and low-income households for which building permits have been issued during the designated program year covered by the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Units substantially rehabilitated, converted from market rate to affordable, and preserved with certificates of occupancy issued during the designated program year are also eligible to receive funding provided they meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 65583.1 of the Government Code.

Qualifying rental units must be rent-restricted for at least 55 years.  Ownership units must be initially sold to qualifying households at affordable cost.  Any public funds used to achieve affordability in ownership units must be recovered on resale and reused for affordable housing for at least 20 years.  Grants for very low-income units will be greater than grants for low-income units.

Very low income means not over 50 percent of area median income adjusted for family size.  Low income means not over 80 percent of area median income adjusted for family size.

Bonus grant funds will be awarded for the following:

• Newly constructed units
• Units affordable to extremely low-income households
• Units developed as infill projects
• Jurisdictions demonstrating progress in increasing their overall supply of housing
• Park projects which will serve disadvantaged communities
• Park projects located within park deficient communities
• Park projects supporting an infill project or located within a jurisdiction included in an adopted regional blueprint plan

Eligible Activities

Creation of new park and recreation facilities or improvement of existing park and recreation facilities.

Eligible Applicants

Cities, counties, and cities and counties that, by the date set forth in the applicable NOFA, have adopted housing elements that HCD has found to be in substantial compliance with housing element law, and have submitted to HCD the annual progress report required by Section 65400 of the Government Code.

A city, county, or city and county that receives funds may subcontract through a recreation and park district or nonprofit organization that has among its purposes the conservation of natural or cultural resources.