Pro-Housing Community Program

Overview

In July 2023, Governor Hochul signed Executive Order 30 creating the Pro-Housing Community Program – an innovative policy designed to reward local governments that are working hard to address New York’s housing crisis.

Localities that achieve the “Pro-Housing Communities” designation will receive priority in their applications for key discretionary funding programs, including the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), the NY Forward program, the Regional Council Capital Fund, capital projects from the Market New York program, the New York Main Street program, the Long Island Investment Fund (LIIF), the Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund, and the Public Transportation Modernization Enhancement Program (MEP).

Upcoming Webinar

Please join New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)
for an informative webinar to learn more about
Governor Kathy Hochul's Pro-Housing Community Program

Wednesday, November 29, 2023
12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM
Click here to join the webinar

Program Requirements

The Pro-Housing Community Program will provide prioritization in scoring for certified Pro-Housing Communities. Municipalities can apply for certification based on factors assessing their success in promoting housing growth and commitment to identifying impediments to housing growth.

Municipalities must submit an application to HCR to be designated as a “Pro-Housing Community”. Municipalities can start the process by sending a letter of intent from an authorized official to the program email at [email protected].

Next, all applicants will fill out templates provided below to document and verify local zoning codes and information detailing local housing permit approvals over the past five years.

If a municipality can show through the permitting documentation that they have approved either:

Permits increasing their housing stock by 1% (downstate) or 0.33% (upstate) over the past year OR
Permits increasing their housing stock by 3% (downstate) or 1% (upstate) over the past THREE years,

After their data submission has been reviewed, they will be notified of their certification within 90 days.

For localities that have not seen housing growth, they can still be certified as a Pro-Housing Community by submitting their data and having the municipal governing body pass the Pro-Housing Resolution (linked below). After the municipality submits the executed resolution and the data has been reviewed, they will be notified of their certification within 90 days.

To support communities that receive this certification, the Governor’s executive order requires the prioritization of those municipalities who have been certified as Pro-Housing over those that have not in applications for specific discretionary funding programs.

HCR will review program applications on a rolling basis, providing approval or denial within 90 days of submission. Localities must resubmit their housing permit data and any updates to their zoning on an annual basis by the end of Q1 (March 31) of the next year to remain certified and qualify for prioritization.

Pro-Housing Submission Requirements

Step 1: Submit a letter of intent from an authorized official to HCR at [email protected]. Once HCR receives the letter of intent, the team will send the municipality the link to submit the documentation.

Submission Requirements: Option 1

Zoning map file in a format readable by standard GIS software (shapefile, etc.
Zoning Code Summary
Housing Planning and Building Permit information from prior five years (2018-2022)
Note that this template includes the documentation of growth by 1% in the last year or 3% in the last three years (Downstate) or 0.33% in the last year or 1% in the last three years (Upstate)

Submission Requirements: Option 2

Executed Pro-Housing Community Resolution by relevant governing body (town/village council, board, etc.)
Zoning Map File in a format readable by standard GIS software (shapefile, etc.)
Zoning Code Summary
Housing Planning and Building Permit information from prior five years (2018-2022

As your municipality completes the required documentation, you may upload the files to HCR at the link provided after your letter of intent.

Additional Information

Read the one-page summary of the program here.
Instructions for the zoning code summary are here; instructions for the planning/permit summary are here.
Read the Frequently Asked Questions here.
HCR will schedule a webinar to review the program and how to complete the documentation in September; the recording will be posted here afterwards.
If you have specific questions, you can email the team at [email protected].

Executive Actions on Housing

Governor Kathy Hochul has laid out a bold vision to address New York’s housing crisis by increasing the housing supply, and she remains committed to working with the Legislature to make the State more affordable and more livable for all New Yorkers.

The actions include a program to advance residential projects halted by the expiration of 421-A that include affordable housing in the Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn; an executive order establishing preference in certain discretionary funding programs for localities across the state that comply with a new “Pro-Housing Community” certification process; a new requirement that all State entities identify the potential for their state-owned lands to support housing; recent and forthcoming regulatory initiatives to identify opportunities for greater efficiencies to promote housing growth; and the launch of the beta version of a new, interactive portal to collect and share community-level housing and zoning data and information on an ongoing basis.

Tracking Housing Growth

A beta version of the Housing Data Dashboard has been launched in order to share currently available housing production data, help local governments identify challenges, and track progress on housing growth in communities across the state.

Find the Dashboard here: https://www.governor.ny.gov/new-york-state-housing-statistics