2023 California Code › Health and Safety Code - HSC › DIVISION 31 - HOUSING AND HOME FINANCE › PART 2 - DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › CHAPTER 3.15 - Regional Early Action Planning Grants Program of 2021 › Section 50515.08.

50515.08. (a) The funds described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 50515.07 shall be available only to the following entities before any suballocation:
(1) The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, representing the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma, and the City and County of San Francisco.
(2) The Sacramento Area Council of Governments, representing the Counties of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba.
(3) The San Diego Association of Governments, representing the County of San Diego.
(4) The Southern California Association of Governments, representing the Counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.
(5) The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, representing the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz.
(6) The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, the Fresno Council of Governments, the Kern Council of Governments, the Kings County Association of Government, the Madera County Transportation Commission, the Merced County Association of Governments, the San Joaquin Council of Governments, the Stanislaus Council of Governments, the Tulare County Association of Governments, the Butte County Association of Governments, Shasta County Regional Transportation Agency, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency created by interstate compact and ratified by Title 7.4 (commencing with Section 66800) of the Government Code. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the eligible entities described in this paragraph may apply directly to the department for funds pursuant to the program.
(7) Eligible entities in the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Tuolumne, and Trinity. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, eligible entities within the counties listed in this paragraph or tribal entities may apply directly to the department for funds pursuant to the program. The department may approve a fiscal agent to receive funds on behalf of a consortium of entities listed in this paragraph.
(b) (1) The department shall calculate the amount of each maximum grant allocation in accordance with the methodology described in subdivision (a) of Section 50515.09.
(2) An eligible entity shall, in consultation with the department and consistent with the requirements of this chapter, determine the appropriate use of funds and suballocations within its boundaries in a manner that appropriately addresses its unique housing, land use, transportation, climate change, equity and other planning priorities.
(c) (1) Subject to paragraph (5), until December 31, 2022, an eligible entity described in subdivision (a) may request an allocation of funds pursuant to this section by submitting an application, in the form and manner prescribed by the department, developed in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research, the Strategic Growth Council, and the State Air Resources Board, that includes all of the following information:
(A) An allocation budget for the funds provided pursuant to this section.
(B) The amounts retained by the eligible entity and any suballocations.
(C) An explanation of how the proposed uses will meet the definition of transformative planning and implementation activities and, as applicable, constitute high-impact and innovative projects and actions.
(D) An explanation of how the proposed uses will implement and achieve housing goals that also result in per capita vehicle miles traveled reductions in furtherance of the region’s sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy, as applicable.
(E) The application shall reference one or more of the following categories of allowable uses of the funds:
(i) Accelerating infill development, including housing.
(ii) Supporting residents through realizing multimodal communities.
(iii) Shifting travel behavior through reducing driving.
(iv) Increasing transit ridership.
(F) An explanation of the targeted outreach the MPO has conducted to disadvantaged and historically underserved communities and how that outreach was incorporated into the proposed uses.
(G) An explanation of how proposed uses will advance equity by benefiting disadvantaged and historically underserved communities.
(2) The department, in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research, the Strategic Growth Council, and the State Air Resources Board, shall review an application submitted pursuant to this subdivision in an expeditious manner. Upon approval of an application for funds pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall award the moneys for which the eligible entity qualifies.
(3) Commencing January 1, 2022, an eligible entity described in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (a), as applicable, may request up to 10 percent of the funding available to it under this section in advance of a full request for funding made pursuant to paragraph (1) to develop and accelerate the implementation of the requirements described in paragraph (1), including, but not limited to, regional engagement in the development of the full application and of an education and outreach strategy. The department shall award funds requested pursuant to this paragraph to the relevant eligible entity in an expeditious manner after receiving that request.
(4) The department may develop a streamlined application procedure that accounts for the limited resources generally among the regional entities listed in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a).
(5) If an amount of funds described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 50515.07 remains unallocated after December 31, 2022, the department, at its discretion, may make those funds available through a subsequent notice of funding availability in which funds are offered on a competitive basis pursuant to this chapter. An eligible entity described in subdivision (a) may request an allocation of funds made available through the subsequent notice of funding availability by submitting an application, in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
(d) In consultation with the department, any entity that receives an allocation of funds pursuant to this section shall establish priorities and use those moneys for eligible transformative planning and implementation activities that include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Providing jurisdictions and other local agencies with technical assistance, planning, temporary staffing, or consultant needs associated with updating local planning and zoning documents and other actions that accelerate infill housing production.
(2) Administering any programs described in this subdivision.
(3) Covering the costs of temporary staffing or consultant needs associated with the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2), inclusive.
(4) Accelerating infill development, including through all of the following:
(A) Rezoning and encouraging development by updating planning documents and zoning ordinances, including general plans, community plans, specific plans, sustainable communities strategies, and local coastal programs.
(B) Revamping local planning processes to accelerate infill housing production and other infill development.
(C) Completing environmental clearance to eliminate the need for project-specific review for infill development.
(D) Establishing and funding an affordable housing catalyst fund, trust fund, or revolving loan fund for location efficient projects.
(E) Performing infrastructure planning and investing in upgrading infrastructure, including for sewers, water systems, transit, roads, or other public facilities necessary to enable reduction in per capita vehicle miles traveled, including accelerating housing production.
(5) Supporting residents through realizing multimodal communities, including through all of the following:
(A) Establishing and implementing a vision-zero policy and program, a safety plan, and a slow streets program.
(B) Developing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure plans and other multimodal plans or policies.
(C) Investing in infrastructure projects and other programs to expand active transportation and implement bicycle or pedestrian plans.
(D) Producing multimodal corridor studies associated with developing specific planning documents or implementation actions.
(6) Shifting travel behavior through reducing driving, including through all of the following:
(A) Studying and implementing road pricing.
(B) Funding the establishment of a local vehicle miles traveled impact fee or regional vehicle miles traveled mitigation bank.
(C) Funding and implementing parking and transportation demand management programs or ordinances.
(D) Accelerating infill housing production near jobs, transit, and resources.
(7) Increasing transit ridership, including through all of the following:
(A) Funding and implementing actions to establish more seamless regional transit systems between and across communities, including establishing common fares, schedules, service design, and wayfinding.
(B) Developing and implementing multimodal access plans to and from transit facilities.
(C) Planning for additional housing near transit.
(f) (1) In consultation with the department, any entity that receives an allocation of funds pursuant to this section may suballocate moneys directly to eligible entities in the form of grants. Following awards to eligible entities, eligible entities shall award suballocations within 60 days.
(2) All suballocations pursuant to this subdivision shall consider geographic equity, including the needs of rural and urban communities, transformative and collaborative approaches, including through subregions, and the degree to which the suballocation will be in furtherance of all of the requirements of transformative planning and implementation activities described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 50515.06.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 255, Sec. 8. (AB 175) Effective September 23, 2021.)