Governor Newsom Awards $11.3M in Prohousing Grants to Accelerate California Infill Construction

SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Gavin Newsom announced the disbursement of $11.3 million in state Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP) grants Thursday afternoon, rewarding 13 California cities and counties that have eliminated local regulatory barriers to speed up residential housing construction.

Prohousing Designation and Zoning Deregulation

Administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the Prohousing designation is awarded to local governments that enact forward-looking zoning reforms, such as eliminating mandatory parking minimums, creating ministerial approval processes for multi-family infill, and waiving development impact fees for deed-restricted affordable housing. The newly funded cohort includes Sacramento, Long Beach, Riverside, Oakland, and several Central Valley communities.

Governor Newsom emphasized that local governments actively solving the housing affordability crisis will receive preferential access to state infrastructure capital.

Local Infrastructure and Infill Acceleration

Municipalities will utilize the flexible grant funding to finance underground utility connections, stormwater mitigation, and off-site pedestrian improvements necessary to unlock shovel-ready affordable housing developments.

Housing advocacy groups praised the incentive model, noting that pairing statutory housing mandates with direct grant rewards creates durable incentives for city councils to reform obsolete municipal land use codes.

Statewide Housing Targets and Accountability

California’s Statewide Housing Plan mandates the creation of 2.5 million new homes by 2030, with at least one million designated as affordable to lower-income households.