Housing element: prohousing designations: prohousing local policies.

Senator Wahab's housing legislation expands California's prohousing designation criteria to include policies that maintain housing stability, adding to existing incentives for jurisdictions that facilitate new housing development. The measure modifies Government Code Section 65589.9, which awards additional points in state program applications to localities meeting prohousing standards.

The bill adds three categories of qualifying prohousing policies: safe parking programs with bathroom facilities and security for vehicle residents, safe camping locations for unsheltered individuals, and expedited approval processes for navigation centers, emergency shelters, and supportive housing. These additions complement current qualifying policies such as housing trust funds, reduced parking requirements, and by-right residential development. The legislation caps the additional points available for these new categories at the minimum value awarded for direct housing development policies.

Under the amended law, the Department of Housing and Community Development must develop criteria that account for varying needs across rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions when evaluating prohousing designations. Qualifying jurisdictions receive scoring preferences in state programs including the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, Transformative Climate Communities Program, and Infill Infrastructure Grant Programs. The department maintains responsibility for designating prohousing jurisdictions and reporting these determinations annually to the Office of Planning and Research.