The California Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) and the California Department of General Services (DGS)
have released an
interactive map showing excess state-owned property that may
be used for housing development. Parcels are located in the
unincorporated areas in 17 counties across the state, presenting
a great opportunity for counties to partner with local affordable
housing developers and the Administration to build new,
affordable homes.
CSAC encourages counties to examine the sites potentially
available for affordable housing development in their
jurisdictions and consider working with developers and the
Administration on redeveloping state lands as affordable housing.
Counties have the opportunity to leverage additional state and
local resources to redevelop surplus state property, including
housing infill infrastructure grants that will be available
pursuant to the recently-approved state budget.
In April, DGS released an initial inventory of state property
potentially available for housing development, pursuant to
Executive Order N-06-19, which Governor Newsom issued in
January. These properties were screened to determine which sites
would be potentially suitable for affordable housing development.
The screening criteria included factors such as relative size,
proximity to schools, transportation and amenities, and general
location to determine which sites would have a better chance of
being successfully developed.
The interactive map shows each site identified in the inventory
with a “heat map” overlay indicating where housing is most needed
in the state. The following 14 counties have parcels in
unincorporated areas in the heat map:
Northern Region: Alameda, Del Norte, El
Dorado, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Placer, Santa
Cruz, Sonoma
Central Region: Kern, San Luis Obispo
Southern Region: San Diego
In September 2019, DGS, in consultation with HCD, will begin
issuing Requests for Proposals to begin developing affordable
housing at selected sites. Developing entities would receive a
long-term ground lease from the state and would build, own and
manage the housing they develop, subject to oversight from the
state.
CSAC would like to assist counties interested in potentially
working with the Administration on redeveloping state lands as
affordable housing. If counties wish to explore state-owned
parcels in their jurisdictions where there might be opportunities
to develop affordable housing, please contact Marina Espinoza.
