Roseville earns California Prohousing Designation, expected to streamline workforce housing

“Opportunities for people who work in the community to live in the community”

Roseville, Calif.- Affordable, or workforce, housing projects in Roseville will be easier for private developers to fund and build with the City of Roseville’s earning of the Prohousing Designation from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

The designation makes private affordable housing projects planned in Roseville much more competitive for limited state and federal funding and could accelerate the timeline for future projects.

Range of Housing Choices

“For more than two decades, Roseville has effectively set the stage for the development of a wide range of housing choices. Workforce housing provides more opportunities for people who work in the community to live in the community. There’s real value in that.”
Roseville Mayor Krista Bernasconi

“These communities have stepped up to implement policies that aggressively eliminate bureaucratic obstacles and drive the growth of housing throughout the state,” said Governor Newsom. “This is one of many innovative approaches the state is taking to create greater accountability and reward municipalities willing to do their part to help collectively tackle the need for more housing. This is the right approach and I look forward to seeing more communities join in this effort.”

Dependent on State and Fed Funding Assistance

Affordable housing projects throughout California depend on state and federal funding assistance to be viable. It can take private developers several years to find enough funding to build their projects. The Prohousing Designation will make projects more competitive in obtaining funding, which could reduce that timeline for projects planned to be built in Roseville.

“We estimate this designation will push several projects forward producing as many as 1,200 affordable units in Roseville within the next 18-24 months,” said Mike Isom, City of Roseville Development Services Director.

Workforce housing is designed to be affordable for families of four earning 80 percent of the area median income. In Roseville, this would mean earning about $80,000 a year.

“This income level typically includes a broad variety of workers that serve our community, like teachers, tradespeople, police officers, and other entry level professionals,” said Isom.

Prohousing Designation Program

The Prohousing Designation Program was established by the state in 2019 to help meet California’s housing goals. The Prohousing Designation is given to cities that have sufficiently removed barriers to housing.

“Prohousing cities demonstrate they are ready and willing to be part of the statewide housing solution to getting at least 2.5 million new homes by 2030, by eliminating many of the barriers to building affordable housing near daily destinations,” HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez said. “As promised, the state is ready and willing to award grants to Prohousing cities with the new Prohousing Incentive Pilot Program, to help get smart planning over the finish line.”

Setting the stage

“The City itself does not build housing. That is the role of private developers. Our responsibility is to set the table for development and provide a clear, predictable and efficient permitting process that allows much needed housing to be built more quickly,” said Isom.

Developing the streamlined processes and policies pertaining to housing, and doing the work to get his designation are another example of Roseville going above and beyond. It sets Roseville apart.”

Actions taken by the City of Roseville to help attain the Prohousing Designation include but are not limited to:

A full-service City with strong internal coordination between departments involved in the development process and consistent and transparent communication to applicants
Streamlined approval for housing development projects (faster and less costly processing)
Concurrent review of an application with its building permit and engineering permit
Online permitting with quick review timeframes
Prioritized processing for affordable housing and multifamily housing projects
No public hearings required approval for affordable housing
Multiple existing and proposed infill plan areas with streamlined housing approval processes
Housing permitted by right in mixed use zones and conditionally permitted in many commercial zones
Low fees, fee reductions for age-restricted housing
Housing Trust Fund to support affordable housing production
Housing Rehabilitation Program for 0% interest loans (including deferred payments) and grants for seniors for home repairs