REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Opportunity for Public Comment on the 2020-2025 DRAFT Consolidated Action Plan and FY2020-2021 Draft Annual Action Plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funds (CDBG & HOME)
Report
BACKGROUND
As an “entitlement jurisdiction,” the City of Santa Clara receives annual funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the form of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds. CDBG funds are used to provide public services to Santa Clara’s low-income residents and funding for capital improvement projects. HOME funds are generally used for the development of affordable housing programs.
Entitlement jurisdictions are required by HUD to develop a Five-Year Consolidated Action Plan (ConPlan) that identifies goals and needs within the community that could be addressed using annual HUD funding allocations. The ConPlan is a five-year planning document that covers the period of fiscal year 2020-2021 through fiscal year 2024-2025. The City of Santa Clara worked collaboratively with the County of Santa Clara and other entitlement jurisdictions in the County to identify and prioritize housing-related needs across the region, and strategies to meet those needs through the ConPlan. The entitlement grantee jurisdictions involved in the collaborative outreach efforts included: City of Cupertino, City of Gilroy, City of Mountain View, City of Palo Alto, City of San José, City of Santa Clara, City of Morgan Hill, and City of Sunnyvale.
The City is also required each year to prepare an Annual Action Plan (AAP) to document how the City will use HUD funding consistent with the goals and needs identified in the current ConPlan. Preparation of both plans must allow for public input through two public hearings: one during the drafting phase and one to present the final version prior to submission to HUD for approval. The March 31, 2020 City Council hearing is serving as the first public hearing for the proposed 2020-2025 ConPlan as well as for the proposed 2020-21 AAP.
DISCUSSION
The City Council is being asked to take public input on both the ConPlan and AAP documents and provide direction to staff on any modifications that should be made to either plan before returning to the City Council for their final adoption. The final action on both is scheduled for the May 5, 2020 City Council meeting.
Consolidated Plan (ConPlan)
The proposed 2020-2025 ConPlan was prepared through a regional collaborative effort undertaken by the County of Santa Clara and eight entitlement cities within the County. The County hired a consultant, Michael Baker International, to conduct a community engagement process to identify needs, priorities, goals, strategies, and activities for future housing and community development activities which the County should collectively address over the five-year ConPlan period. Engagement activities included a community survey, public outreach, stakeholder consultations, focus groups, and “pop-up” outreach events. City staff also held two public meetings on November 14, 2019. The results of this combined effort were synthesized and analyzed to identify goals and needs within the community that could be addressed by each participating jurisdiction using their annual HUD allocations of CDBG and HOME funds.
ConPlan Goals as identified through the collaborative outreach process:
Goal Description
Affordable Housing Assist in creation and preservation of affordable housing for low
income and special needs households through continuation of the
Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program (NCIP),
rehab of rental units occupied by low income tenants, tenant-based
rental assistance (TBRA) rental subsidies, and new construction.
Homelessness Support activities, consistent with Continuum of Care strategies, to
prevent and end homelessness. This includes building affordable
housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness as
well as the provision of support services.
Public Services Support activities that provide basic needs to lower income
households and special needs populations. Services would be
provided to low-income households, elderly individuals, homeless
persons, people with disabilities, and victims of domestic violence.
Fair Housing Promote fair housing choice, through the following activities: fair
housing education, fair housing testing, housing assistance
hotline, and landlord/tenant mediation.
Public Facilities Improve accessibility for persons with physical disabilities by
identifying and repairing intersections for accessibility, mostly
through installation of sidewalk curb cuts.
The ConPlan also identifies Goal Outcome Indicators to evaluate the performance of Annual Action Plan activities.
ConPlan Goal Outcome Indicators:
Annual Action Plan (AAP)
The 2020-2021 AAP is a one-year Plan that directs how the HUD funds will be spent on projects and activities to address Goals identified in the ConPlan. The following table details the City’s Expected Resources and the projects/activities for the FY2020-2021.
Note: Numbers highlighted in yellow are subject to change between DRAFT and FINAL versions.
As part of the AAP, the City identifies a proposed distribution of CDBG funds to Public Service Agencies (PSAs). PSAs are local non-profits that provide services within the community which are eligible to receive CDBG funding. The City allows PSAs to apply for funding on a three or two-year cycle. HUD restricts the amount of funds that can be set aside for Public Service Agencies. Of the $1.6 million in FY2020-2021 CDBG funds, $252,027 is set aside for this purpose. Based upon the applications received for the current cycle, staff is recommending the following distribution of funds.
Proposed CDGB Funding Distribution to PSAs:
Attachment A (“Funding Proposals Summary”) provides a more detailed breakdown of the City’s FY20-21 Expected Resources and how staff proposes to spend said resources. Attachment A details the proposed Public Service Agencies and their funding levels as well as funds set aside for Capital Improvements (e.g., the City’s Neighborhood Conservation Improvement Program, Rebuilding Together Minor Home Repair program, City Curb Ramp project, and LifeMoves Generator Purchase project). Further, Attachment A details HOME fund resources and activities that HOME funds will be used to fund.
PSA submissions were ranked based on whether the proposed activity was deemed a high priority in the ConPlan, years of service, amount of funds leveraged, the majority of beneficiaries to be served that were extremely low and low income, and the agency’s history of drawing funds down. Other considerations were number of people served versus amount of funds granted, and whether other agencies provide similar services.
Staff is asking City Council to consider the recommendations and any public comment received in order to direct staff to approve these recommendations, or to make any necessary changes or adjustments as provided by City Council. Approved agencies will enter into one-year contracts with the option to renew for a second and third year subject to Federal appropriations.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is a governmental organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimated resources for FY20/21 are $1,581,874 in CDBG funds, $1,656,257 in HOME funds, $105,100 in General Fund, $275,697 in the City Affordable Housing Fund and $250,000 in the Housing Successor Agency Fund. This proposed allocation of the City’s available resources would be used to support the goals set forth in the City’s Consolidated Plan.
The combined (CDBG and HOME) FY 20/21 federal entitlement funds, General Fund, City Affordable Housing Fund and Housing Successor Agency Fund will be incorporated as part of the budget amendments to FY 2020/21 Operating Budget.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
Preparation of the ConPlan follows a procedure determined by HUD and has included two public hearings to identify community needs and objectives, and to review priorities for the City’s HUD funding allocations. The first public hearing will be held at the March 31, 2020 Council Meeting, and the second will be held on the May 5, 2020 City Council meeting. Comments made at the two public hearings will be noted in the final ConPlan.
The ConPlan will also be made available for public review and comment for a 30-day period from April 1 - May 5, 2020. Noticing of the 30-day public comment period was published on March 12, 2020 in The Santa Clara Weekly. Noticing was also e-blasted to community stakeholders and posted on the City Manager’s blog. The ConPlan was also made available on the City’s website, and at public locations including the City Clerk’s Office, the Housing and Community Services Division, and City libraries. Notification of the availability of the AAP was also emailed to interested parties which include local nonprofit agencies.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Note and File Public Comment on the 2020-2025 DRAFT Consolidated Action Plan and FY2020-2021 Draft Annual Action Plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funds (CDBG & HOME).
2. Approve the DRAFT 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan and FY2020-2021 Draft Annual Action Plan, and direct staff to incorporate all public comments into the Final versions to be presented to City Council on May 5, 2020 prior to submitting to HUD by May 15, 2020.
3. Any other Council direction.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Note and File Public Comment on the 2020-2025 DRAFT Consolidated Action Plan and FY2020-2021 Draft Annual Action Plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funds (CDBG & HOME).
2. Approve the DRAFT 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan and FY2020-2021 Draft Annual Action Plan, and direct staff to incorporate all public comments into the Final versions to be presented to City Council on May 5, 2020 prior to submitting to HUD by May 15, 2020.
Staff
Reviewed by: Andrew Crabtree, Director of Community Development
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2020-2025 DRAFT Consolidated Action Plan
2. 2020-2021 DRAFT Annual Action Plan
3. FY20/21 HUD Funding Proposal - Attachment A
4. Public Comment