Staff seeks Planning Commission input on Ventura County's Pro Housing Designation application to the state

Ventura County staff presented a draft application to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) seeking Pro Housing Designation and asked the Planning Commission to receive and file a report and provide input as part of the 30-day public participation period (April 30'May 29, 2026).

Rob Moline, director of the Resource Management Agency, said the Board of Supervisors recently authorized submitting the application and that the designation helps jurisdictions compete for state affordable-housing grants. "The designation allows the county to be much more competitive to obtain funding for affordable housing projects," Moline said.

Joy Werner, assistant planner and project manager for case PL25-0035, outlined the application structure and scoring. Appendix three will document enacted and proposed pro-housing policies and award points; staff said the county anticipates scoring about 93 points against a 30-point minimum to receive the designation. Werner described four appendix categories: favorable zoning/land use, accelerated production timeframes, reduced construction and development costs, and financial subsidies. Examples cited included ministerial ADU clearances in all residential zones, reduced parking for qualifying projects, a residential high-density (RHD) zone inclusionary provision, and fee waivers for 100% affordable projects.

Staff said it will include three programs assigned to the Planning Division in the board-approved 2026'2029 work plan and expects to complete them by June 2028. Among proposed efforts is a Countywide Farm Worker Housing Study to assess housing needs across jurisdictions.

Commissioners asked how the county will make pre-approved ADU plans available; staff said Building and Safety maintains pre-approved plans and staff will coordinate posting or linking those files on the Pro Housing webpage. Commissioners also pressed staff on outreach and language accessibility for communities such as Mixteco speakers; staff confirmed materials are currently in English and Spanish and said outreach to additional communities can be added during the still-open participation period. On funding, staff said the designation provides priority scoring for the county when applying for grants (for example, the Pro Housing Incentive Program and future Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program rounds) and also gives developers seeking state funding priority consideration when building in the jurisdiction.

Staff requested that the Planning Commission receive and file the report on the Pro Housing application and provide input; no formal county action on the application was taken by the commission during the meeting.