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Committee Forwards $1.5 Million HCD Planning Grant Resolution to Full Board
Summary
The committee voted to forward a resolution authorizing the Planning Department to apply for and expend $1.5 million in state Local Early Action Planning funds for the housing-element EIR and West Side PDA planning; staff said the application deadline is July 1 and the grant is not limited to affordable housing.
The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted to send to the full Board a resolution authorizing the Planning Department to apply for, accept and expend $1,500,000 in Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant funds from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Planning Department representative James Glick said the funds would support two main city projects: the housing-element environmental impact report (EIR) and planning for housing in West Side Priority Development Areas (PDAs). He described the grant as designed to "streamline housing approvals and accelerate housing production" and said that the resolution is required by the state as part of the application.
Supervisor Dean Preston asked whether the grant specifically prioritized affordable housing. Glick replied the LEAP grant is not restricted to affordable housing and can be applied to a range of planning activities — rezoning, environmental clearance, pre-approved site and architectural plans, and objective design standards — but said the Planning Department intends to emphasize affordable opportunities, particularly in the West Side PDA work. Glick also said the application must be submitted by July 1, though projects and the grant agreement can be refined afterward through negotiation and technical assistance from HCD.
Miriam Chiong of the Planning Department said the housing-element update places racial and social equity at its center, described more than a year of West Side engagement with supervisors and community groups, and named HOMES (Housing Outreach, Media, Engagement Strategy) as a framework for outreach and coordination.
With no callers in the public-comment queue, the committee moved to forward the resolution to the full Board with a committee recommendation. A roll-call vote recorded three ayes and the motion carried.
