California Governor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a plan to build low-income housing to replace property destroyed by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.
Newsom’s plan will put low-income housing in the heart of the rolling hills of Pacific Palisades, a highly affluent area of Los Angeles that overlooks the Santa Monica Bay.
The priority is for “geographic proximity to the fire perimeters of the Eaton, Hughes, and Palisades fires,” Newsom explained.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Notice of Funding Availability for the $101 million pool details how funding will be awarded.
Included is $101 million in funding for multifamily low-incoming housing. Such projects must allocate 40% of its units for the homeless, or individuals who have spent at least 15 days in jails, hospitals, prisons, and institutions for mental illness.
Jennifer Seeger, the HCD deputy director of the Division of State Financial Assistance, stated that Newsom’s grants will make “funds more accessible to support the development of safe, fire-resilient multifamily low-income housing that will provide long-term stability, protect vulnerable populations, and contribute to a more equitable and resilient Los Angeles.”
The plan includes scoring preference for projects that are closer to the fire burn radius, have local government funding commitments, and are ready to start construction within 180 days of awarded funds.
It’s also possible to stack funding, contractors could utilize multiple programs within the grant to increase their project’s portion of grant-funded low-income housing units, which Newsom hopes will incentivize a greater supply of low-income housing to completed.
The State also released their MFSN Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in February 2025 providing $382 million for development of affordable multifamily rental housing, which contractors could also leverage.
Newsom has also cut back some of California’s notorious red-tape on development to expedite construction. He additionally signed an executive order to remove certain permitting barriers for building homes and schools, accelerate permit approval, as well as delaying changes to the state’s building codes.
The debris removal effort was completed earlier this month, setting a record for the fastest disaster clean-up in American history. 16,000 first responders and recovery personnel have participated in the cleanup efforts.
Rare for California projects, this effort was completed ahead of schedule.
Local officials met with Newsom to unveil a blueprint for recovery, with step-by-step plans to accelerate rebuilding. The plan proports to focus on community needs, provide financial support to “cover gaps”, and ensure critical infrastructure is in place, and undergrounding powerlines.
“By prioritizing affordable housing projects that are ready to go, these funds will accelerate household stability, climate and health outcomes in communities,” said Tomiquia Moss, secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency
In the end, Newsom’s grand scheme isn’t about rebuilding, it’s about reshaping California into a socialist playground, forcing affluent communities to foot the bill for his virtue-signaling experiments.
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