2026 Agenda at a Glance
Two days of keynotes, panel discussions and networking, with arrivals and registration the afternoon before. Session titles, descriptions and themes are on the Featured Sessions page.
✈ Plan your travel
Arrive Sunday, December 6. Registration and exhibitor setup open 3:00–7:00 PM, followed by a pre-conference happy hour at the JW Marriott Lobby Bar (5:00–6:30 PM). The program closes Tuesday, December 8 at 1:00 PM — plan return flights for mid-afternoon or later.
Agenda at a Glance
Arrive Sunday, then two full program days. Tap any session card to read its description. Sessions are also grouped by program theme further down this page.
Day Zero · Arrivals & Pre-Conference
Day One
Day Two
Agenda subject to change. Times are Pacific.
From Housing Goals to Homes
California has ambitious housing goals, a growing set of policy tools, and significant public and private resources. The challenge is turning those commitments into homes that are financially feasible, supported by communities, delivered effectively, and kept affordable over time.
The California Housing & Community Development Conference brings together public agency leaders, policymakers, housing authorities, developers, investors, lenders, and community partners to examine the decisions that move housing forward. Across five connected themes, the program looks at how California can set clear priorities, finance projects, put land and partnerships to work, deliver housing, and preserve it for the people and communities who depend on it.
What will it take to turn California’s housing goals into homes that can be financed, approved, built, preserved, and operated for the people who need them?
The program follows that question from start to finish: set direction, make projects feasible, open paths to production, deliver housing, and sustain it for residents.
Select a theme to jump to its sessions.
How do federal, state, and local policy and housing agency leadership shape what can get built?
Mon, Dec 7 · 9:05 AM
Leadership from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will open the conference with a federal perspective on the housing and community development issues shaping the field. The opening remarks will set the stage for two days of discussion among California's housing agencies, community leaders, developers, and partners.
Mon, Dec 7 · 9:30 AM
Housing authority leaders from across California will discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping their agencies, from expanding and preserving affordable housing to serving residents and building effective public and private partnerships. This conversation will offer an executive perspective on local priorities and the strategies agencies are using to meet them.
Mon, Dec 7 · 10:20 AM
California has more tools and funding for affordable housing than ever, but turning them into homes at the pace the state needs is still a challenge. Developers, agency leaders, and state policymakers will discuss which approaches are working, where production is stalling, and what new resources and policy changes could help. Topics include putting state-owned land to work for housing and the impact of statewide housing measures on this November's ballot.
Mon, Dec 7 · 11:30 AM
In recent years, the laws impacting how local jurisdictions can and cannot control housing development have changed in numerous ways. Using a Jeopardy! game show format, learn about recent changes in California housing laws, with a focus on the Housing Accountability and Housing Crisis acts, density bonuses, accessory dwelling units, SB 9, and other housing law issues.
Tue, Dec 8 · 8:00 AM
Session description coming soon.
Tue, Dec 8 · 8:55 AM
This presentation will focus on the evolving federal landscape with respect to rules regarding Fair Housing Act enforcement, local assistance, and challenges to California's own Fair Employment and Housing Act. It will also discuss recent challenges throughout California, as local agencies seek to preserve existing senior mobile home parks, consistent with the Fair Housing Act and through local zoning, to support this important form of unsubsidized affordable housing.
Tue, Dec 8 · 9:45 AM
This panel will cover the biggest housing developments of 2026, including the latest California housing legislation, the federal ROAD to Housing Act, recent guidance from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and more. Panelists will also look ahead to what to expect in the legislative and regulatory landscape in 2027.
How can public resources, bonds, tax credits, ratings, private capital, and new financing approaches make more projects possible?
Mon, Dec 7 · 1:00 PM
California's affordable housing goals cannot be met through policy alone. Closing the gap between policy ambitions and project feasibility will take public policy, private capital, and financial innovation working together. This executive session will examine the forces reshaping affordable housing finance, including production economics, the preservation of at-risk affordable homes, and the growing role of mission-driven lenders in attracting private investment. It will also discuss the public securitization of tax-exempt affordable housing loans and what this structure could mean for expanding lending capacity. Designed for senior housing, finance, and public sector leaders.
Mon, Dec 7 · 11:30 AM
Join us for an informative session exploring the role of credit ratings, credit risk research, and benchmarks in supporting public housing authorities and CDFIs. Experienced analysts will offer guidance on how credit ratings and sustainable finance products can serve organizational objectives. The session is designed to deepen understanding of credit ratings and answer questions about applying these tools to meet development goals.
Mon, Dec 7 · 2:10 PM
California’s regional housing finance authorities (RHFAs) can pool resources across jurisdictions, unlock powerful new funding streams, and coordinate housing policy at a scale that individual cities or counties may not achieve alone. Prior to 2024, California’s RHFAs—like the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) and the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA)—were created on an ad hoc basis by act of state law. However, SB 440 (enacted September 27, 2024) empowered California’s regions to create their own housing finance agencies, expanding the BAHFA and LACAHSA model statewide to accelerate affordable housing development and preservation.
This panel explores the advantages, challenges, and requirements of creating an RHFA under SB 440 and highlights the significant impact existing RHFAs are making in the fight to expand access to affordable housing across the Golden State.
Mon, Dec 7 · 2:10 PM
Mixed-finance deals remain one of the most important tools for building and preserving affordable housing, but rising costs, complex capital stacks, and shifting federal resources make them harder to close. Housing authority, development, finance, and legal experts will share how they are structuring deals today and the new approaches that can keep projects moving forward.
Mon, Dec 7 · 3:05 PM
More than $400 billion sits in donor-advised funds (DAFs) across the United States. What if the investment returns on that capital could help solve homelessness, without requiring donors to give up their principal?
This panel introduces DAF Homes, an innovative initiative of Urban Vision Alliance designed to turn philanthropic investment income into privately funded rental subsidies. By connecting donors, housing authorities, and nonprofit housing providers, the model aims to create a scalable new source of funding that complements existing government programs. Panelists will explore how the model works, the opportunities and challenges of mobilizing DAF capital, and what it would take to scale this approach across California and beyond.
Mon, Dec 7 · 4:00 PM
As California's housing crisis continues to outpace traditional funding solutions, innovative financing programs are emerging to fill the gap. This session examines how the California Municipal Finance Authority (CMFA) has expanded beyond LIHTC to create additional affordable housing opportunities. Speakers will discuss 501(c)(3) affordable housing financings, along with CMFA's Charitable Affordable Housing, Middle-Income Housing, and Recycled Bond programs, tools designed to drive housing production and affordability at scale.
Mon, Dec 7 · 4:00 PM
Affordable housing organizations are increasingly turning to the capital markets to finance and preserve housing. This discussion will bring together issuer, investor, rating agency, and underwriting perspectives on what makes housing credits attractive to the market. Panelists will explore credit fundamentals, disclosure practices, investor expectations, rating considerations, and financing structures that can strengthen market access and help lower borrowing costs.
Tue, Dec 8 · 8:55 AM
The federal Opportunity Zones program has led to over $100B invested in real estate and businesses in qualified census tracts, with housing one of the largest asset classes. Now that the program is permanent, it's timely for governments, developers, and investors to get creative about how to direct investment into affordable and workforce housing long-term. OZ 2.0 includes changes to the tax benefits, tract designation, and enhanced benefits for rural investments. This panel breaks down the new program guidance, approaches to effective public-private partnerships, how OZ equity can work within certain types of housing deals, and how to align with California's development landscape.
Tue, Dec 8 · 8:55 AM
Federal law has lowered the bond financing threshold for affordable rental projects seeking 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, creating new opportunities and questions for California's affordable housing community. This panel will explain how the 25% test works, how it connects to California's private activity bond volume cap and the CDLAC allocation process, and what the change means for financing and delivering affordable housing. Public agencies, developers, lenders, and municipal advisors will discuss practical deal considerations and how to make limited bond authority go further.
How can public agencies, school districts, developers, and community partners put land and new housing approaches to work?
Mon, Dec 7 · 11:30 AM
Session description coming soon.
Mon, Dec 7 · 2:10 PM
Successful housing development depends on effective collaboration between public housing authorities and their partners. This panel will explore what developers, lenders, attorneys, consultants, and other partners actually need from a PHA to make a development partnership succeed, and what agencies can do internally to become stronger, more effective partners. Panelists from both sides of the partnership will share practical lessons from California projects.
Mon, Dec 7 · 3:05 PM
LAUSD and its partners are exploring how district-owned sites can help meet the need for employee housing. This discussion will cover the initiative's approach to site selection, financing, affordability, and partnerships, along with lessons other school districts can apply to their own land.
Mon, Dec 7 · 4:00 PM
Workforce housing for teachers, first responders, and other middle-income households often falls between the gaps of traditional affordable and market-rate financing. This panel will look at the tools and policy changes that can help close that gap, including construction defect liability reform, CEQA streamlining, current development and financing tools, and public-agency structures such as joint powers authority (JPA) models, along with the legal questions they have raised.
Tue, Dec 8 · 8:55 AM
Teachers, nurses, first responders and skilled trades workers earn too much for subsidized housing and too little for the single-family homes in their communities, and they need two or three bedrooms, not a studio. New research from San Diego and Los Angeles shows that eliminating minimum lot sizes on single-family parcels can produce family-sized, fee-simple townhomes priced an average of 42% below surrounding single-family homes, with no public subsidy, while generating new property tax revenue for cities, counties and schools. This panel will present the findings, debate the policy choices that keep homes family-sized and feasible, and outline how other California cities can apply the model. Attendees will leave with a tested policy framework, a feasibility screen for their own jurisdictions, and a fiscal argument built for elected officials.
Tue, Dec 8 · 9:45 AM
In built-out communities where vacant land is scarce, public agencies and housing organizations often have to evaluate acquisition opportunities quickly and with limited information, including buying existing naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) or market-rate properties and preserving affordability through long-term covenants. Drawing on the experience of two regional housing trusts, this workshop will share practical approaches to identifying, screening, and underwriting acquisition and development opportunities. It will include a demonstration of the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust's Site Acquisition Evaluation Resource and a look at how AI tools can support feasibility analysis and due diligence. Attendees will leave with strategies for focusing limited staff and financial resources on the most promising opportunities.
Tue, Dec 8 · 10:45 AM
Public agencies across California hold land that is vacant, underused, or no longer needed for its original purpose, and they face growing pressure to put it to work for affordable and workforce housing. This conversation will explore how cities, counties, transit agencies, school districts, and other public owners can identify promising sites, choose the right disposition or partnership structure, navigate surplus land requirements, and attract development partners. Panelists will share lessons from projects that turned public land into housing, along with the common obstacles that slow these efforts and practical steps agencies can take to move from inventory to groundbreaking.
Tue, Dec 8 · 10:45 AM
In two years, California has given colleges some of the strongest housing tools in the state. Community colleges can now build near campus regardless of local zoning (AB 648). Student housing is exempt from CEQA (AB 1732), shielded from bad-faith lawsuits (SB 916), and eligible for richer incentives when it serves low-income students (AB 2480). Foster youth and unhoused students now get priority for campus beds (AB 2766), and Proposition 1's housing bond was on the November ballot. The question now is whether any of this is producing beds students can afford. Using live projects, including San Diego City College's 797-bed development and San Bernardino's Legacy Village, panelists from community college districts, development, and housing advocacy will show what the new laws let projects skip, what still stalls a deal, and what a bed costs to build and to rent. Attendees will leave knowing which new tools fit their sites and capital stacks, where local agencies and housing authorities can partner with colleges, and what fixes belong on the 2027 legislative agenda.
What helps teams navigate environmental review, construction choices, procurement, and the cost and coordination challenges that can stall projects?
Mon, Dec 7 · 7:30 AM
Join industry leaders for breakfast and an interactive conversation tailored specifically to the needs of owners. This pre-conference session is designed for those beginning to explore alternative delivery structures and wanting a better understanding of where they apply. Learn when alternative delivery makes sense to advance, the major considerations to weigh when choosing this route, how these models can save money and time on system repairs and maintenance, and the crucial first steps to take.
Mon, Dec 7 · 11:30 AM
This panel follows the delivery process from site selection and feasibility through funding, permitting, modular construction, and neighbor engagement. It will also cover launch operations, supportive services, and transitions to permanent housing, including how Housing Choice Vouchers support ongoing operations. Panelists will discuss common delays, such as funding timelines, permitting bottlenecks, and community opposition, and how partners can address them. Attendees will get a practical view of how agencies, developers, contractors, philanthropy, and service providers can divide the work.
Mon, Dec 7 · 3:05 PM
Environmental review is often seen as one of the most challenging parts of project delivery, but the greater challenge is often identifying environmental risks early enough to avoid impacts to funding, schedules, permitting, and implementation. This moderated discussion will provide a practical roadmap for integrating environmental compliance into housing project planning and delivery. Designed for municipalities, developers, nonprofit partners, and housing authorities, the session will clarify when the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) apply, identify key review milestones, and highlight critical due diligence considerations, including historic and cultural resources, biological resources, hazardous materials, and agency coordination. Drawing on affordable, workforce, community development, and supportive housing projects across California and the nation, panelists will show how early environmental planning can help maintain funding eligibility, streamline permitting, and reduce project delays. An interactive Q&A will conclude the discussion.
Tue, Dec 8 · 10:45 AM
A project's capital structure can shape what gets built, how quickly it moves, and what it costs. Drawing on examples from developers using alternative delivery models, this session will examine how public-private partnerships, philanthropic and other private equity, factory-built construction, and fewer funding sources can affect project scale and delivery. Panelists will discuss where these approaches offer advantages, where savings or speed are harder to achieve, and how site conditions and regulatory requirements affect the outcome.
Tue, Dec 8 · 10:45 AM
Standardized design and factory construction have promised less expensive housing for decades. Yet the results have been inconsistent: efficiencies achieved in design and manufacturing are often lost elsewhere in the development process, and projects still end up too expensive to build. Why haven't the promised efficiencies consistently translated into lower costs—and what does it actually take to reduce the total development cost of affordable housing? This session will examine that question from the perspectives of a funder, an affordable housing developer, and an industrialized housing delivery partner. The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) will draw on lessons from across its portfolio, highlighting the different approaches developers are using to contain costs and accelerate delivery. The panel will then go deeper on two factory-built affordable housing developments—a 146-unit modular project in San Francisco and a 172-unit modular project in San José—to demonstrate how those concepts are applied in practice. Using these projects as case studies, the panel will candidly unpack why previous attempts to achieve cost savings through offsite construction have struggled and what needs to be different to produce better results: moving from one-off projects to repeatable pipelines; productizing design rather than redesigning every building from scratch; aligning financing with earlier design, procurement, and factory commitments; integrating factory and field delivery; and evaluating savings based on total installed cost and schedule rather than factory pricing alone. Rather than advocating for any single solution, the panel will explore the conditions under which different cost-containment strategies work, where they do not, and what developers should evaluate before committing to a new approach. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating cost-containment strategies—and a clearer understanding of what it takes to translate greater standardization and efficiency into lower total development costs.
Tue, Dec 8 · 11:35 AM
Getting housing built takes more than securing an approval. It requires sustained community support and effective coalitions. This panel will look at the practical work of engaging residents, mobilizing supporters, and working through local approval processes. Using Fourth & Central as a case study, the discussion will explore how neighborhood groups, housing advocates, environmental organizations, businesses, service providers, and faith leaders built a coalition around a project. The panel will focus on practical strategies for moving projects from proposal to construction and keeping engagement constructive and solution-oriented.
Tue, Dec 8 · 11:35 AM
Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements can affect affordable housing project funding, procurement, and construction. This roundtable will bring together perspectives from an affordable housing compliance specialist, a general contractor experienced in BABA-compliant construction, and a public housing authority or Moving to Work agency that administers federal funds. Using real project examples, panelists will discuss how to determine whether BABA applies, understand relevant funding and obligation dates, plan procurement, document compliance, use de minimis provisions, avoid common pitfalls, and navigate waivers. The discussion will also address emerging federal guidance and what it could mean for PHAs and their development partners. Attendees will leave with practical steps for assessing BABA requirements and planning projects.
Tue, Dec 8 · 11:35 AM
What should elected officials and public employees know when industrialized construction is proposed for a housing project? This session explains the fundamentals, examines the current state of the industry, and explores emerging approaches that could shape housing delivery. Drawing on research, current student housing projects, and federal projects, the presentation will move beyond buzzwords to examine practical applications, opportunities, and limitations. Participants will learn what questions to ask when evaluating proposals, which project conditions influence success, and how growing federal investment in industrialized construction could support advances in affordable housing over time.
How can California protect existing affordable housing, improve operations, and respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness, older adults, and residents navigating complex housing programs?
Mon, Dec 7 · 2:10 PM
This panel will explore the Bakersfield Senior Center and Affordable Apartments project through the perspectives of the county housing authority, the senior center, and the project's design team. Speakers will share the project's goals, how the partners worked together, and lessons from bringing affordable housing and senior services together.
Mon, Dec 7 · 3:05 PM
Street homelessness crosses city and county boundaries, so this session makes the case for planning, funding, and building interim housing regionally. It will explain functional zero as having enough interim housing capacity that no one needs to sleep outside, then show how a county and city can work together to size the need, identify land, align funding, and bring beds online. Attendees will leave with a framework for assessing their region's shelter gap and the roles needed to close it.
Mon, Dec 7 · 4:00 PM
Getting a deal closed is only the beginning. Over a 15-, 30-, or 55-year compliance period, rising operating costs, insurance premiums, aging building systems, and layered regulatory requirements can erode the financial health of even well-underwritten properties. In this panel, developers, lenders, and funds each name their top five asset management challenges and the fixes that are working, from controlling operating expenses and planning for capital needs to using property data to spot underperforming assets early and streamlining compliance reporting across multiple funders. Attendees will leave with practical strategies they can apply to their own portfolios, whether they manage five properties or five hundred.
Tue, Dec 8 · 9:45 AM
Asset management is changing fast, as agencies and owners face aging portfolios, tighter budgets, and growing expectations for performance and accountability. Panelists from HUD, California housing authorities, and the private sector will discuss the tools, data, and strategies that are helping them protect long-term asset value, improve operations, and better serve residents.
Tue, Dec 8 · 9:45 AM
Older adults need more than an affordable home. They need housing that can remain stable and workable as their incomes, health, and support needs change. This panel will examine how senior housing finance, public benefits, care and service partnerships, and changing economic conditions affect older adults' ability to remain housed. Lenders, housing providers, public agencies, and service leaders will discuss practical ways to pair affordability with support, the barriers to financing those models, and what California communities can do to expand options for aging in place.
Join public agency leaders, housing authorities, developers, investors, lenders, and community partners in Los Angeles this December.
Sessions, titles, and descriptions are subject to change as the program is finalized.
Registration · December 7–8, 2026 · JW Marriott L.A. LIVE
Current rates end Friday, October 30 at 11:59 PM PT. Rates increase on October 31 and November 21.
Recommended for most participants
$995
Rises to $1,195 on October 31
Enhanced access and premium benefits
$1,295
Rises to $1,495 on October 31
For public sector employees only
Free
Complimentary, with no deadline
For 501(c)(3) organizations only
$595
Rises to $795 on October 31
Exhibiting? See exhibit packages. Rates change at 11:59 PM PT on Friday, October 30 and Friday, November 20. Government registration is always complimentary, with no deadline.
Exhibit at the Conference
Meet housing authorities, public agencies, developers and housing decision-makers face to face. Exhibit spaces sit in the conference's networking areas, with registration passes and attendee list access included.
Standard
$3,500
Premium
$4,500
