California designates Santa Monica as ‘prohousing’ community

The city of Santa Monica has received commendation from California Gov. Gavin Newsom for its efforts to build more housing.

On Wednesday, Santa Monica was among seven California communities to be designated as “prohousing.”

The designation is given to communities that are making a concerted effort to build more homes to help address the state’s critical need for housing, officials said.

California currently has a statewide goal of building 2.5 million new homes by 2030. One million of those homes are specifically to be designated as “affordable.”

But the designation isn’t just a fancy title. Communities that are considered prohousing receive priority for resources to build housing, as well as other incentives.

“Prohousing cities move to the front of the line when it comes to incentives, funding and other state resources,” Newsom said in a news release. “It’s critical for more communities to join in this distinction and build their fair share of housing.”

Newsom says the state needs to “aggressively build more housing to support Californians.” Since taking office, he has called for the state and its cities to cut through the “red tape” that often slows down or prevents new development in regions that are in most desperate need of housing.

The seven communities named this week are among those who have done just that, he says.

The communities to receive the designation this week are Santa Monica, Eureka, Healdsburg, Mountain View, Petaluma, San Luis Obispo and Tulare County.

The state says the prohousing designation is not handed out on a whim. It takes “commitment to policies that accelerate housing production and minimize obstacles,” officials said.

Communities that receive the designation are also recognized for having leaders that the state says are actively working to address homelessness and affordable housing concerns.

“Communities whether large or small, rural or urban, are actively working to accelerate the development of housing for Californians at all income levels,” said Gustavo Velasquez, director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. “We are pleased to be able to reward our Prohousing partners with incentives to help them build on their innovative efforts to break down barriers to development.”

Los Angeles, Long Beach, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Fontana and Needles are the other communities in the greater Los Angeles area to receive the designation. The city of San Diego and San Diego County have also been designated prohousing.

For more information on the program and the complete list of prohousing communities, click here.

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