Riverside will seek the renewal of its state housing designation that has helped bring millions of dollars to the city, even as state officials continue reviewing whether the city's recent rejection of a permanent supportive housing project could put that status at risk.
The City Council's Housing and Homelessness Committee unanimously supported reapplying for Riverside's California Prohousing Designation on Monday, directing staff to begin the process before the city's current designation expires in January.
The designation, awarded by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), can give cities an advantage when competing for certain housing, community development and infrastructure grants.
Riverside first received the designation in March 2023. Since then, the city has received $2.44 million in funding through a related state program, money that has helped support construction of 172 affordable housing units, according to a staff report.
But renewing the designation may be more difficult this time.
The state adopted permanent scoring criteria for the program in January 2024, replacing the provisional rules in place when Riverside first applied. The new criteria are more rigorous, in part because policies that previously earned cities points have since become minimum requirements under state housing law.
Under the current rules, cities must earn at least 30 points to qualify. Riverside staff estimate the city could receive up to 39 points based on its existing policies, but only 16 of those points are considered likely with a high degree of confidence. The remaining 23 would be subject to review by the state housing department.
If Riverside falls short, the city could potentially adopt additional housing policies to earn the points needed for redesignation, Principal Planner Matthew Taylor told the committee.
Ward 3 resident Dan Hoxworth said the question comes at a particularly important time for Riverside.
The state housing department warned the city in February that its decision to reject the University Terrace permanent supportive housing project could raise concerns about the city's compliance with state housing law and potentially affect its Prohousing status.
That warning followed the City Council's January vote to reject $20.1 million in state funding for a proposal to convert the former Quality Inn at 1590 University Ave. into 114 units of permanent supportive housing. The California Civil Rights Department later opened an investigation into whether the decision violated state anti-discrimination law.
Hoxworth urged the city to reaffirm its commitment to its Housing Element and the Housing First approach as part of the reapplication process.
"It really puts us at risk of losing millions of dollars for homeless services, housing [and] et cetera if we lose our pro housing designation — and we are already on notice that we may lose it due to University Terrace and the failure to deliver affordable housing for Riverside since 2021," Hoxworth told the committee.
"Our housing element specifically highlights housing first as a philosophy that we have to adhere to, to be a pro-housing designated city," Hoxworth said. "So given the decision of University Terrace, I think it'd be very important for the city council to pass a resolution re-endorsing their housing element, re-endorsing the use of housing first to ensure that our application on a pro-housing designation is complete."
Councilmember and Committee Vice Chair Sean Mill asked whether Riverside was currently in jeopardy of losing the designation.
Taylor said he could not say that the city was in jeopardy, but confirmed that HCD has been reviewing Riverside's existing designation and requested information about the city's housing policies and implementation of its Housing Element.
"I don't know if I can say that we are in jeopardy," Taylor said. "I can say that the Housing and Community Development Department has been looking at our existing designation."
In addition to meeting the program's scoring requirements, Riverside will have to demonstrate compliance with several threshold requirements, including maintaining a certified Housing Element, complying with state housing laws and showing that its treatment of homeless encampments complies with constitutional protections.
The city will also be required to conduct public outreach and bring a formal resolution authorizing the application to the full City Council.
Taylor said staff would work with HCD to determine whether any additional policies or commitments would be necessary before submitting the application.
Committee members said they supported moving forward despite the uncertainty.
"I think for myself, absolutely fully support us reapplying for this," said Ward 2 Councilmember and committee member Clarissa Cervantes, adding that the city should try to maintain the designation and the funding opportunities that come with it.
The committee unanimously approved the direction to reapply.
Riverside's current Prohousing Designation expires Jan. 1, 2027.
