Local governments are increasingly being held to higher accountability standards when accessing state homelessness funds. The seventh round of Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) money, totaling $500 million, will be “contingent on enhanced accountability, and performance requirements,” Governor Gavin Newsom has announced.
The state is pushing cities and counties to adopt ordinances that discourage public camping. The state also wants localities to get a “prohousing” designation (read more about that here).
San Jose has the type of anti-camping ordinance that the governor is looking for, but the city was left off the latest list of official “prohousing” communities. So far, just 60 jurisdictions have made the list (California has a combined total of 541 cities and counties).
“We’re making this way too complicated,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told CalMatters.
“It has felt, at times, like the goal post keeps moving a little bit,” said Robert Ratner, who heads Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health program.
Mendocino County’s HHAP funds have been held up. The county’s Department of Social Services senior program manager Megan Van Sant said the state is pressuring the county to pass an encampment ordinance — or at least lay out its plans to do so.
“They’re holding the counties’ feet to the fire,” said Van Sant.
Right now, the state seems mostly satisfied if a locality can show it is taking concrete steps to achieve the prohousing designation and get a camping ordinance in place. But many cities and counties rightly worry that the requirements will be even more stringent this year.
More will be known soon. Additional language about HHAP funding requirements is expected to be released in February. The proposed language will be a subject of discussion between Gavin Newsom and the Legislature before the final budget deadline in June.