Tuolumne County Seeks Prohousing Designation

Sonora, CA– Tuolumne County is applying for the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) Prohousing Designation Program, aiming to unlock incentives for housing development. The public draft of the application is now available for review and comment on the Community Development Department’s website. The Prohousing Designation provides jurisdictions with benefits such as funding opportunities and preferential scoring for housing and infrastructure projects.

An earlier draft was posted on April 29, with a community meeting held on May 8. The Board of Supervisors authorized the County’s participation in the program on June 18. Since then, ongoing stakeholder feedback and technical assistance from HCD have helped refine the current application, which includes both enacted programs and proposed initiatives aimed at increasing affordable housing availability.

The current draft, shaped by stakeholder input and HCD guidance, includes both implemented programs like the OpenGov online permitting system and proposed initiatives such as boosting accessory dwelling unit (ADU) construction and fast-tracking certain housing types. Public comments will be accepted until November 11. Residents can email feedback to Tamera Blankenship at tblankenship@co.tuolumne.ca.us.