Existing law establishes, among other housing programs, the Workforce Housing Reward Program, which requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to make local assistance grants to cities, counties, and cities and counties that provide land use approval to housing developments that are affordable to very low and low-income households.
This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the department to administer a program to provide incentives in the form of grants allocated as provided to local governments that rezone idle sites used for a big box retailer or a commercial shopping center to instead allow the development of workforce housing. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. In order to be eligible for a grant, the bill would require a local government, among other things, to apply to the department for an allocation of grant funds and provide documentation that it has met specified requirements. The bill would make the allocation of these grants subject to appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the department to issue a Notice of Funding Availability for each calendar year in which funds are made available for these purposes. The bill would require that the amount of grant awarded to each eligible local government be equal to the average amount of annual sales and use tax revenue generated by each idle site identified in the local government's application over the 7 years immediately preceding the date of the local government's application, subject to certain modifications, and that the local government receive this amount for each of the 7 years following the date of the local government's application.

Statutes affected:
SB1299: 50550 HSC
02/21/20 - Introduced: 50550 HSC
04/01/20 - Amended Senate: 50550 HSC
SB 1299: 50550 HSC