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What is Prohousing Designation?
The City of Irvine is moving forward with an application for a Prohousing Designation from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (Open in new window) (HCD). This designation is awarded to jurisdictions that take meaningful steps to increase housing production, reduce barriers to development, and adopt policies that support the City’s commitment to housing for the community.
Achieving Prohousing status would expand access to additional state funding opportunities and provide the City, along with local developers, a competitive advantage when applying for select housing and infrastructure programs. For more information about HCD’s Prohousing Designation Program, please visit HCD’s Prohousing Designation webpage (Open in new window).
- Public Review and Comment Period: July 23, 2026 – September 22, 2026
- Planning Commission Presentation: August 20, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.
- City Council Meeting: September 22, 2026, at 4 p.m..
- Application submitted to HCD for Review: September 24, 2026.
Receiving a Prohousing Designation demonstrates the City’s strong commitment to addressing its housing requirements and affordability challenges. This designation also recognizes the policies and programs already in place as well as the work the City has already undertaken to expand and preserve housing opportunities.
With a Prohousing Designation, the City becomes eligible to apply for Prohousing Incentive Program funds that support the creation and preservation of affordable housing. In addition, the designation provides the City with priority processing or additional points when applying for several infrastructure and community investment programs, including:
- Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities
- Infill Infrastructure Grant
- Transformative Climate Communities
- Solutions for Congested Corridors
- Local Partnership Program
- Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program
- Continued Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Grant Funding
The City will submit its Prohousing Designation application to HCD after completing a public participation process with multiple opportunities to participate and provide input. This process includes community outreach and an opportunity for the public to review and comment on the draft application, which is made up of the threshold requirements and seven supporting appendices.
A key component of the application is Appendix 3, the self‑scoring worksheet. To qualify for a Prohousing Designation, the City must earn at least 30 points across four main categories:
• Favorable zoning and land‑use practices
• Streamlining and shortening housing production timeframes
• Lowering development and construction costs
• Providing financial support for housing
Points are awarded for meeting baseline criteria within each category, as well as for additional enhancement factors that show alignment with state goals such as climate resilience, fair housing, and anti-displacement efforts. The City can receive credit for both existing policies and those proposed for future adoption, though any proposed policies must be fully implemented within two years of submitting the application.
Beyond the scoring criteria, the application also addresses the City's approach to homelessness response. Appendix 5 asks the City to describe how it addresses encampments through the seven principles established by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) a framework designed to help communities develop and implement their response to encampments.
The City remains dedicated to ensuring an open and participatory process. The Draft Prohousing Designation Application will be available for public review and feedback during a public comment period from July 23, 2026, through September 22, 2026.
| Outreach Type | Date | Materials and Links |
|---|---|---|
| Irvine Prohousing Designation Newsroom Article | July 23, 2026 | Newsroom article |
| Hard copy of Prohousing Designation Packet Available at City Hall | July 24, 2026 | |
| Irvine Prohousing Designation Social Media | July 24, 2026 | |
| Irvine World News Notice of Public Comment Period | July 30, 2026 | |
| Informational Webinar | August 5, 2026; 5:30 p.m. | Webinar Link (Open in new window) |
| Inside Irvine magazine | August 15–16 | |
| Planning Commission Presentation | August 20, 2026 | |
| City Council Hearing | September 22, 2026 |