Administrative Evaluation Recommendations for California’s Inland Empire

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Brandy N. Chappell
February 27, 2026

Given California’s state housing mandate known as the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and Allocation, local governments can continue to plan for community re-entry services and housing production alignment by using a database index. The region known as the Inland Empire in Southern California comprises both San Bernardino County and Riverside County. Along with Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire contains the highest number of federally designated Qualified Opportunity Zone census tracts in California, according to the California Department of Finance.

Though these regions share this designation, they differ significantly in size and geography. The Inland Empire includes two of the largest counties in the United States and, when combined for analysis, becomes the largest inland region in the country.

Jobless then Homeless

Both Riverside and San Bernardino counties meet standards for urban areas and are suburban sprawl regions expected to experience significant growth, according to the Rose Institute of State and Local Government. This growth makes them appealing locations for housing developers and large employers. Prisoner re-entry occurs across communities in Southern California beyond the Los Angeles area. While Los Angeles County has the highest number of returning residents, the Inland Empire ranks second in California.

State funded correctional institutions provide rehabilitative services that create opportunities for employment post incarceration. However, successful re-entry depends on access to employers willing to hire justice involved individuals. It is important to maintain an accessible registry of companies that participate in these efforts. Second Chance employers are businesses with adaptable hiring policies that allow managers to employ individuals who have been involved with the justice system.

In Riverside County, 35 percent of jobs are concentrated in retail, construction, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and utilities. The county has 28 incorporated cities, 49 Opportunity Zones and a labor workforce of more than one million. Similarly, close to 40 percent of jobs in San Bernardino County are in retail, construction, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and utilities. The county has 24 incorporated cities, 57 Opportunity Zones and a labor workforce of more than 950,000, according to U.S. Census data.

Capturing Local Needs

The Southern California Association of Governments must submit the RHNA to the state’s Housing and Community Development Department using information adopted and provided by local governments. In these housing elements, managing affordable housing production can include consideration for justice involved populations who are often hard to house and at risk of homelessness.

The federal government established Qualified Opportunity Zone communities in part because these areas experience elevated poverty levels and health related social challenges. Investors receive tax benefits for financially supporting enhancements to the built environment through housing production and job creation.

According to the Institute for Local Government, there are 8,700 Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ) nationwide and 879 are located in California. There are 274 designated Opportunity Zones in Los Angeles County and 106 in the Inland Empire. The County of Los Angeles and the Inland Empire have the most federally designated QOZ census tracts in the state of California, according to the California Department of Finance. But these counties are quite different. In re-entry communities such as the Inland Empire, it is important to assess through data collection the formal adoption of community development and planning activities that resulted from implementation of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Priorities identified in housing elements can be transformed into accessible data. This conversion can be based on adjustments made to local codes and ordinances that support implementation of federal policies designed to spur development in high risk areas.

Why Use an Index?

An index can capture re-entry housing production in QOZ census tracts by serving as a record of project completion dates and housing availability based on specific production plans and housing requirements. Local governments already oversee housing production through land use and permitting procedures. An index could also provide documentation related to California’s environmental justice standards and planning activities that support low income housing production in Opportunity Zones.

Developing such an index could improve how local governments track initiatives that assist people with housing needs as they exit carceral facilities and rejoin communities in Opportunity Zones. Creating or updating a dataset that includes housing, land use and environmental justice information drawn from administrative reports takes time. Academic researchers and public sector professionals must translate government report data into coding language and numerical indicators that can be consistently analyzed.

Inland Empire community development leaders and local researchers can engage with experts from higher education institutions to strengthen data collection methods that support a quality index. Outreach to community leaders, local business leaders, industry experts and major employers is also important. Professionals from school districts who oversee workforce development programs, along with affordable housing developers connected to the Southern California Association for Non-Profit Housing, are additional stakeholders who should be involved in developing the index described in this article.

Author: Brandy is an assistant professor in the Urban and Regional Planning program at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, specializing in the intersection of space, place and public policy. Her research examines housing transformation and community development, and she previously served in senior state and local government roles advancing housing, transportation and homelessness policy initiatives. She continues to engage in executive leadership and professional planning networks focused on regional development and governance.

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