Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program: project eligibility.

Assembly Member Arambula's expansion of California's Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program would extend funding eligibility to transit and development projects near planned high-speed rail stations. The measure modifies the program's existing framework, which funds projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through integrated land use, housing, and transportation initiatives.

The legislation creates a new category of eligible projects encompassing transit infrastructure, active transportation facilities, and transit-oriented development near future high-speed rail stations. To qualify, projects must be located in proximity to stations with environmental documentation published on the High-Speed Rail Authority's website. The bill establishes that these projects meet greenhouse gas reduction requirements based on their location near planned rail stations, regardless of when rail service begins operations.

This addition complements the program's current eligible project types, which include affordable housing developments, transit capital investments, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, complete streets programs, and agricultural land preservation. The Strategic Growth Council maintains administrative oversight of the program, evaluating projects according to the expanded criteria while operating within existing funding mechanisms.