Dewling Strategies · Pro Planning Tool

California Education Workforce Housing Planner Pro

Limited-time offerPro is free until November 30, 2026. Every feature included, no payment needed.

For California school districts and county offices of education thinking about housing for their own staff. Screen district-owned sites against the allowable-use law for local educational agency land (Gov. Code § 65914.7, as amended by AB 1021), see which staff your county’s income limits cover and who is priced out of local rents, and test a unit mix against the statute’s affordability options. Then cost the project, build its operating pro forma and funding stack, find the funding gap, and take the result to your board as a report or a presentation.

How to read your results

Welcome. Tell us who you are to get started.

The Pro planner is free until November 30, 2026. We ask for a few details the first time you use it on this device, so we know who the tool is helping.

Your district data never leaves your browser. The details above are sent to Dewling Strategies Inc. through Mailchimp, our email platform, to record who is using the planner and your acknowledgement. We will only send you emails if you tick the first box. Dewling Strategies Inc. · Spruce Grove, Alberta · greg@dewlingstrategies.ca · 780-907-4542

Workforce housing plan
Workforce housing plan

How the law and the tests work

The allowable-use law (Gov. Code § 65914.7)

Who it covers. A school district or county office of education, on land it owned as of January 1, 2026. Housing that meets the tests is an allowable use under local zoning, with no rezoning, use permit, or variance.
Size and affordability. At least 10 units, deed-restricted for at least 55 years under one of two options: A, at least 30% lower income and 20% moderate income; or B, at least 12% very low, 15% lower, and 20% moderate income.
Who can rent. Units go first to the agency’s own employees, then employees of other education agencies, then local public employees, then the public. The same order applies every time a unit turns over.
Density and height. The greater of local zoning or twice the housing element default density for the jurisdiction. Height is the greater of local zoning or 35 feet, rising to 45 or 65 feet within half a mile of a major transit stop when the site is not surrounded by single-family zoning.
Other conditions. Inside any urban limit line or growth boundary, meets local infrastructure requirements and impact fees, and the agency keeps ownership for the 55 years. The section is in effect until January 1, 2036.
What it removes. The Surplus Land Act and the Education Code surplus property procedures do not apply, and a school district may choose not to appoint a surplus property advisory committee.

How the planner tests it

Income limits. The 2026 California State Income Limits from HCD (revised June 23, 2026) for your county, by household size. A staff household qualifies for a tier when its income is at or under that tier’s limit.
Rents. The law uses Tax Credit Allocation Committee rent limits. The planner estimates them the TCAC way: 30% of the income at your chosen share of area median income, at 1.5 people per bedroom, less a utility allowance. Confirm against TCAC’s published limits before you set rents.
Counting the mix. The planner counts each unit once, in its own tier. Very low income units also count toward the 30% lower income share in option A. Your counsel may read the shares differently.
Priced out. A staff household is priced out when market rent for the unit it needs is more than your cost-burden threshold (30% of income by default).

Privacy

Staff are entered as job groups with average salaries, never as individual records, so no employee personal information enters the planner. Everything stays in this browser on this device unless you save a planner file.

Workforce housing report to the board

1. District and county

Choose your county to load its 2026 income limits. Every staff and rent test uses them.

2. Candidate sites

One entry per district-owned site you might build on. The planner works out the density and height the law allows and screens each site against the statute.

3. Staff and housing need

Enter local market rents, then one entry per group of staff with similar pay: headcount, average salary, typical household size, and the share likely to want district housing. Never enter names or individual salaries.

Local market rent ($ a month)

Staff groups

The Excel template comes filled with your current staff groups and includes instructions. Uploading adds groups to the ones already here; select Start a blank plan first to replace them.

4. Housing program and rents

Pick the site to build on, set the unit mix by income tier, and choose the rent level for each tier. The tier mix is tested against the statute’s two affordability options.

Rent level for each tier (% of area median income)

Utility allowance ($ a month, subtracted from restricted rents)

Unit mix (number of units)

5. Development budget

Costs for the section 4 program on its site. The defaults are planning placeholders for a California infill project; replace them with your cost estimator’s figures as soon as you have them.

Unit sizes (net square feet)

Construction

Soft costs and construction financing

District land

6. Operating assumptions

Rents come from section 4. These figures turn them into net operating income, the cash available to pay debt.

7. Funding stack

How the project gets paid for. The permanent loan is sized from the project’s own income; everything else is entered here. Whatever the sources do not cover is the funding gap.

Permanent loan

Low-income housing tax credits

Other sources

8. Results at a glance

What the plan is saying

    9. Site screen

    Each site against Gov. Code § 65914.7. Eligible meets every test you have answered, Confirm has open questions, and Not eligible fails a test.

    10. Staff affordability

    Interested staff households and program units, by income tier

    11. Program rents and affordability mix

    Monthly rent by unit type and tier

    Affordability mix against the statute

    Which staff groups qualify for each tier

    12. Development cost

    13. Operating pro forma

    14. Sources and uses

    15. Readiness checks

    On track meets the statute and good practice, Watch needs an answer before the board commits, and Action should be fixed now. The list covers the site, the program, and the finances.

    Save, share, and export

    Your work saves in this browser on this device. Use Save planner file to keep a copy you can open anywhere or share with a colleague.

    Taking workforce housing to your board?

    Dewling Strategies acts as the district’s owner-side advisor on workforce housing: site strategy, delivery models, partner selection, and board governance. Email greg@dewlingstrategies.ca or call 780-907-4542.

    Book a virtual call

    This tool supports early workforce housing planning and board discussion only. Its statutory screen reflects Gov. Code § 65914.7 as amended by AB 1021 (Chapter 503, Statutes of 2025), in effect January 1, 2026, and the 2026 California State Income Limits (HCD, revised June 23, 2026). Rents are estimates of TCAC rent limits. Confirm eligibility, rents, CEQA, and title questions with your counsel and your planning department before you commit. It is not legal or financial advice.

    The Sierra Vista Unified School District example is a fictitious teaching case; its sites, staff, and figures do not represent any real district. Your plan is stored only in your own browser. Registration details you enter on first use are sent to Dewling Strategies through Mailchimp.

    The California Education Workforce Housing Planner Pro is the property of Dewling Strategies Inc. and is provided free of charge until November 30, 2026, with its permission. Materials that use or are based on the planner or its results must credit Dewling Strategies Inc.

    © Dewling Strategies Inc. · Clarity. Strategy. Execution. · dewlingstrategies.ca