Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) has announced that the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has awarded a $150,000 Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant to the City of San Juan Capistrano to help create more housing supply.

“I am pleased to see the City of San Juan Capistrano receive funding to encourage more housing production,” said Senator Bates, a member of the Senate Housing Committee. “The LEAP grant will help lay the foundation needed to provide for the city’s housing needs now and in the future.”

Funding for the grants comes from the 2019-20 state budget, which allocated $250 million to help prioritize planning activities that accelerate housing production. HCD established LEAP with $119 million in one-time grant funding for cities and counties.

San Juan Capistrano will use its grant to support environmental review concurrent with the update of its “Housing Element” document. A Housing Element provides an analysis of community housing needs for all income levels, and strategies to provide for those needs.

The LEAP grants are in addition to SB 2 (2017) planning grants that Senator Bates announced earlier this year. On January 6, she announced SB 2 grants for Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, and Rancho Santa Margarita. On February 20, she announced SB 2 grants for San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.