A recently published mapping project is the first step toward California leveraging some of it surplus land for the purposes of developing affordable housing.
California's Department of General Services (DGS) and Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) have created a map of surplus state-owned properties with the potential for development as affordable housing development.
The map is the result of an executive order by California Governor Gavin Newsom, issued in January 2019, ordering the creation of the map.
"State properties that were under-utilized or excess to need were identified and then screened to determine which sites would be potentially suitable for affordable housing development," according to a press release announcing the new map.
"The resulting GIS-enabled map is searchable, fully interactive, showing each site identified in the inventory, with a 'heat map' overlay indicating where housing is most needed in the state."
The press release also promises that DGC and HCD will begin in September 2019 to issue requests for proposals for development of some of the sites.
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