Federal Zoning Reform Funding Available Now

A new federal competitive grant program — totaling $85 million — is now available to help local governments develop and implement policies that create and preserve housing options by breaking down barriers to zoning reform. 

The program was created and funded as part of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill passed at the end of last Congress.

Housing production is not meeting the increasing demand for attainable and available units in many areas — both rural and urban — across the US. The Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing Program (PRO-Housing) grants provide support and technical assistance to communities serious about boosting housing supply and lowering housing costs.

Affordable Housing Program Supports Communities

PRO-Housing supports communities that are actively taking steps to remove barriers to affordable housing development, such as:

• Barriers caused by outdated zoning, land use policies, or regulations;
• Inefficient procedures;
• Gaps in available resources for development;
• Deteriorating or inadequate infrastructure;
• Lack of neighborhood amenities; or
• Challenges to preserving existing housing stock such as increasing threats from natural hazards, redevelopment pressures, or expiration of affordability requirements.

Guidance for year one of the program is out now. Eligible uses for the funds are flexible to accommodate communities of all sizes and can support reform efforts, including:

• Planning and policy activities to allow for higher-density, multifamily, and mixed-use housing development;
• Streamlining processes for affordable housing development ;
• Infrastructure activities necessary for the development or preservation of housing ; and,
• Reducing requirements related to parking and other land use restrictions .

Eligible applicants are local and state governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities. Priority is given to applicants who "demonstrate a commitment to and progress toward overcoming local barriers to affordable housing and have an acute demand for affordable housing."

APA Focuses on PRO-Housing Future

The PRO-Housing Program is a direct result of planners' advocacy to secure federal investment for zoning reform in recent years.

Whether focused on the benefits of social equity and affordable housing or reducing regulations and spurring development, zoning reform has appeal across the political spectrum that is essential for making legislative advances in a divided Congress.

But a second year of PRO-Housing funding is still uncertain as Congress grapples with funding the government in the next fiscal year. The current continuing resolution expires on November 17, 2023.

As the drama unfolds in Washington, APA will remain focused on PRO-Housing and its future. We will soon need your help encouraging your legislators to support any final spending package that includes PRO-Housing.

Twenty-five planners joined APA in Washington, DC at our second annual Congressional Fly-In earlier this year to ask Congress for level support for year two funding for the PRO-Housing program. While in DC, planners spoke to HUD senior leadership about opportunities to improve the federal program for mid-size and smaller communities in future program years.