LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 8: California Governor Gavin Newsom (R) tours the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to over 2,900 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate while a second major fire continues to burn near Eaton Canyon in Altadena. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
Sacramento, California – Six months after the wildfires that scorched thousands of acres across Los Angeles County, displacing families from Pacific Palisades to Altadena, California officials have announced a new $101 million push to help rebuild affordable multifamily rental housing in the region. The funding, part of a special disaster-focused release of the state’s Multifamily Finance Super NOFA, comes as displaced residents face a tightening housing market, prolonged uncertainty, and a long road to recovery.
Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) unveiled the plan as part of an effort to speed up the production of affordable housing in fire-affected neighborhoods. The goal, according to state officials, is to prioritize projects that are shovel-ready, close to wildfire burn zones, and designed to serve households displaced by the fires.
While Newsom is framing the funding as a milestone in the state’s recovery effort, it arrives against a backdrop of deep structural strain. Thousands of families are still without stable housing. Some are living with relatives, in temporary shelters, or motel rooms. Others have been priced out of their neighborhoods entirely. The wildfire disaster only magnified the region’s long-standing affordability crisis.
“This is about moving fast,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez, noting that the structure of this special NOFA was deliberately designed to bypass bureaucratic delays and get projects started as soon as possible. “We’re trying to get housing to the people who lost everything.”
The $101 million announcement is a supplement to the $382 million in statewide affordable housing funding announced earlier this year. It follows other recent moves by the Newsom administration to streamline post-disaster recovery, including executive orders to remove rebuilding barriers and a debris removal effort that officials say is ahead of schedule.
But even with the funding in place, housing experts and community advocates caution that progress may be slow. Construction costs are high, labor is in short supply, and permitting remains a significant challenge in many jurisdictions. Projects funded through the Multifamily Finance Super NOFA will be required to remain affordable for at least 55 years—but getting them built at all will be the immediate challenge.
The application window for the first phase opens July 21. Developers who already have sites lined up and plans approved are likely to benefit most, raising concerns that smaller, community-based groups may be left behind without additional technical assistance.
Still, for thousands of families displaced by the January fires, any movement is welcome. For some, it may be the first concrete step toward returning home.
What remains to be seen is whether the speed and scale of the state’s response will meet the urgency of the moment—and whether families who lost everything will find more than just policy promises waiting for them.
