Report 2021-114 Recommendation 7 Responses

Report 2021-114: State Surplus Property: The State Should Use Its Available Property More Effectively to Help Alleviate the Affordable Housing Crisis (Release Date: March 2022)

Recommendation #7 To: General Services, Department of

To identify additional state-owned land suitable for affordable housing development, DGS should, beginning by July 2023 and every four years thereafter, conduct and document a review of all state-owned property and identify parcels that are potentially viable for affordable housing based on the established criteria. Once this review is complete, follow up with all possessing agencies to finalize property availability. Finally, DGS should work with HCD to prioritize the identified properties for development.

1-Year Agency Response

Pursuant to AB 2233 (Chapter 438, Statutes of 2022) and SB 561 (Chapter 446, Statutes of 2022) by September 1, 2023, effective July 1, 2024, and every four years thereafter, DGS will review the inventory of all state-owned real property, applying the evaluation criteria and screening tools developed in conjunction with HCD, to identify additional excess sites for affordable housing.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

While there is legislation currently pending (AB 2233, Quirk-Silva and SB 561, Dodd) on the subject, it is unclear whether those bills will ultimately become law. However, DGS and HCD continue to discuss potential refinements to the screening criteria to align with changes to affordable housing funding criteria. Such an update is expected to occur by the end of September 2022.

With respect to the re-screening of state property, those conversations are ongoing, subject to the deliberative budget and legislative process.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

These conversations are ongoing, subject to the deliberative budget process.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2021-114

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.