Agenda Item Wording:
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Public Hearing on development of the 5-Year PLHA Plan - Conduct a public hearing to allow City Council and citizens to provide input on identifying priorities and activity allocations for the City’s next 5-year (FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30) Plan for the use of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program (PLHA) funds.
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Agenda Date: 09/08/2026
Prepared by: Margie Perez, Housing Specialist, margie.perez@visalia.gov (559) 713-4460; Nichol Ritchie, Finance Manager, nichol.ritchie@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4379; Renee Nagel, Finance Director, renee.nagel@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4375
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that Council provide direction and comment on the priorities and activity allocations proposed for the draft application and 5-year Plan for the use of Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds for FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30 and hold a public hearing providing the opportunity for the public to comment.
Summary:
The City of Visalia (City) is preparing a 5-year Plan for submittal along with the application required to receive its Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Program available from the State of California (State). Staff is bringing the activities proposed for inclusion in this Plan for Council review and comment. This is in preparation for opening a public review period prior to bringing the Plan back to Council for a public hearing and final approval on September 21, 2026. This Plan will allocate PLHA funding over the next 5 years, which is estimated to be approximately $2.3 million. The first year of funding for the City of Visalia has been set by the State Legislature at $442,789.
PLHA NOFA: On July 16, 2026, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released the Calendar Year 2024-2028 (FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30) PLHA Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). The PLHA NOFA will remain open throughout the 5-year term. At this time, jurisdictions can request funds for FY 2025/26 and FY 2026/27. Due to a delay at the State level in releasing the current PLHA NOFA, the FY 2025/26 allocation was not made available during that fiscal year. As a result, jurisdictions may now request both the FY 2025/26 and FY 2026/27 allocations concurrently.
Staff is seeking direction from the City Council and public comment on the priorities and activity allocations proposed for the draft application and 5-year Plan for the use of Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds for the FY 2025/26 - 2029/30. Staff will incorporate any requested changes and return to Council with the final 5-year PLHA Plan on September 21, 2026 to hold a second public hearing and request adoption. Staff is proposing the use of PLHA funding for eligible homeless activities since PLHA is the only non-competitive funding source that does not have a homeless operating cap.
Background Discussion:
The Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program (PLHA) was created by housing legislation passed in 2017 to address the shortage of affordable housing in California. This program receives 70% of the revenue generated by a new $75 recording fee on real estate documents. While this is planned to be an on-going source of funding for eligible housing and homeless activities, the annual revenue from the fee will fluctuate based upon the number of real estate transactions in any given year. The PLHA will make 90% of the program funding available to local governments, distributing the moneys using the allocation process established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for CDBG funding in the State of California. The remaining 10% of PLHA funding will be distributed to smaller local governments not currently eligible for CDBG allocations.
Annually funds are appropriated by the Legislature as part of the State budget act, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will issue a Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) detailing each city and county’s allocation of PLHA. The initial response to this NOFA is an application, which must include a 5-year Plan detailing the manner in which these funds will be used for eligible activities, in accordance with program guidelines. Upon approval of this initial application, the funding will be made available on an annual basis, in accordance with the approved 5-year Plan. Receipt of annual funding is contingent upon prior year funding being committed or spent. To apply for a new year’s funding, the City of Visalia’s uncommitted balance of PLHA must not exceed one year’s allocation. The City has a total of 48 months from the date of the initial allocation of each year’s funds to request them from HCD; however, all requests must be made in response to the annual NOFA which will be issued by HCD.
PLHA NOFA: The Calendar Year (CY) 2024-2028 (FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30) PLHA NOFA was released on July 16, 2026. The 5-year CY 2024-2028 PLHA NOFA is an Over-the-Counter application and will remain open throughout the 5-year term. At this time, jurisdictions can request funds for FY 2025/26 and FY 2026/27 allocations. The NOFA for FY 25/26 was delayed by the State due to revamping the requirements for the funds and therefore is being released with the FY 26/27 allocation.
Applications must be submitted through an online application portal. Awards will be made on a rolling basis as they are received, reviewed and determined to have met all threshold requirements. If an application is submitted and determined to be incomplete (including Housing Element compliance and Annual Progress Report submittal), the applicant will be alerted to the deficiencies that need to be addressed prior to award.
Staff is seeking direction from the City Council and public comment on the priorities and activity allocations proposed for the draft application and 5-year Plan for the use of Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds for the FY 2025/26 - 2029/30. Staff will incorporate any requested changes and return to Council with the final 5-year PLHA Plan on September 21, 2026 to hold a second public hearing and adoption of the plan.
Eligible Applicants: An applicant must be an entitlement local government, a non-entitlement local Government, or a Local or Regional Housing Trust Fund delegated by the local government pursuant to the PLHA program guidelines.
Authorizing Resolution: The application must include an authorizing resolution. The mayor must be listed as the authorized representative on the City’s resolution. The resolution should use the 5-year estimate of funding versus a specific annual allocation amount.
HCD will execute a standard agreement for the entire 2024-2028 allocation cycle; therefore, the resolution should include a 5-year estimate of PLHA formula allocations, as the maximum funding amount. The total of the actual allocation amounts for the 5-year allocation cycle may be lower, and all the disbursements will be based on the actual allocation amounts.
5-year Plan: Applicants must submit a 5-year Plan covering the 2024-2028
allocation cycle (FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30). The 5-year Plan must include the following items:
• The manner in which the allocated funds will be used for eligible PLHA Activities.
• A description of how the City will prioritize investments that increase the supply of housing for households at or below 60% Area Median Income (AMI) level and how the Plan is consistent with the City’s housing element.
• Evidence that the public had an opportunity to review and comment on the Plan’s contents prior to the Plan resolution adoption. The Plan must be made available to the public, including posting on the City’s website.
• The authorizing resolution should identify the activities the City plans to engage in.
• The following information is required for each proposed Activity:
o a description and the percentage of funding of each PLHA activity;
o the number of households to be served at each income level and a comparison to the unmet share of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation;
o a description of major steps and a proposed schedule required for the implementation and completion of each activity; and
o the period of affordability for each activity.
• The Plan shall be for a term of five years, illustrating how the allocations from 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 will be used.
Administration Cap: The PLHA administration cap is set at 5% of the annual allocation.
Eligible Activities:
All PLHA activities are required to address housing needs of low-income citizens of Visalia and planned activities must be limited to those eligible under program guidelines. The original ten eligible activities have been consolidated into the following three activity categories:
• Rental Activities (Up to 120% AMI)
o Development or rehabilitation of affordable multi-family rental housing.
o Match funds for Local or Regional Housing Trust Fund.
• Affordable Owner-Occupied Workforce Housing Activities (Up to 120% AMI)
o Development or rehabilitation of affordable single-family housing.
o Development or rehabilitation of an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU).
o Acquisition and rehabilitation of foreclosed or vacant properties.
o Accessibility modifications to owner-occupied housing.
o Downpayment assistance.
• Homelessness Assistance Activities (Up to 30% AMI)
o Rapid rehousing, rental assistance, case management, and motel vouchers.
o Operating and capital costs for navigation centers and emergency shelters.
o Development, rehabilitation, and preservation of permanent and/or transitional housing.
o Capitalized reserves of permanent supportive housing.
Most of the eligible uses for PLHA are also eligible uses of the City’s HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) or Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant funds. The State encourages local jurisdictions to leverage PLHA funding with other housing funds. It is important to note, one eligible use that has no other significant ongoing source of funding currently available to the City is included in the Homelessness category. A small portion (15%) of the City’s CDBG grant is available for public services each year, but there is a large demand for other services. PLHA funds are the only non-competitive funding source available for homeless operations without a restrictive cap.
PLHA Community Needs Assessment:
The City conducted an online PLHA survey from October 17, 2024 through November 4, 2024 in English and Spanish. 91 individuals completed the PLHA 5-year survey. 75% of the individuals surveyed lived in the City of Visalia and 30% worked or owned a business in the City of Visalia. 62% of those surveyed stated the target population in Visalia, most in need of housing resources are those experiencing homelessness and at-risk of homelessness. Those surveyed felt the most needed housing options are Affordable Rental Housing, Rental Assistance, Emergency Shelter, Permanent Supportive Housing, Transitional Housing, and Homeownership Assistance. Homeless and at-risk homelessness were ranked as the top housing need for the City of Visalia. The full PLHA survey results are included in Attachment C: FY 25/26 - FY 29/30 PLHA Survey Results.
Homelessness was also identified among the top priorities in the community needs assessment prepared as part of the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan submitted for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) grant funding. In the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Annual survey the top community priority response was also “homelessness”. A major obstacle to the creation of a low barrier navigation center has been the lack of funding to pay for the on-going operation of such a facility. For this reason, staff is recommending that a significant portion of the PLHA to be received over the next 5 years be focused on providing for a significant portion of the operating costs for the Visalia Navigation Center to allow this high priority need to be met. Funding for a seasonal emergency and transitional housing for the homeless is also proposed.
For this reason, staff is recommending the 5-year (FY 25/26 - FY 29/30) Plan for PLHA be dedicated to projects and programs to address homelessness.
PLHA Proposed 5-Year Plan
PLHA allows up to 5% for administration. Staff is recommending utilizing remaining PLHA funding to assist persons experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness and focus on activities which are established as high priorities for the City but currently have no other significant source of funding available from City sources. To prevent the need for budget amendments resulting from fluctuations in the actual amount received, HCD recommends the Plan to be submitted using percentages of annual funding. This reduces the need for minor budget adjustments along the way and streamlines the subsequent annual applications for funding. Table 1: Proposed PLHA Funding by Percentage shows the proposed activities to receive funding by percentage and Table 2: Estimated PLHA Funding by Activity shows the proposed amounts for each activity in this 5-year Plan. *Please note that years 3, 4, and 5 (FY 27/28, FY 28/29, and FY 29/30) are estimated amounts based year 1 and 2 (FY 25/26 and FY 26/27) actual allocations.
The approved Plan may be reallocated among eligible activities with minor amendments for changes of less than 10% of each activity’s allocation, or major amendments which will require proper notice, a public hearing, and final approval from the Council and HCD. This will allow adjustments to the Plan along the way to achieve the best allocation of this resource for housing needs in the City of Visalia.
Discussion of Proposed Activities:
• Administration (5%) - The PLHA administration cap is set at 5% of the annual allocation. The average PLHA administration annual allocation is estimated at $22,927 to manage the PLHA program.
• The Visalia Navigation Center (65%) - The proposed PLHA Plan includes 65% of the annual allocation to the Visalia Navigation Center operating costs. The average PLHA annual allocation is estimated at $298,051. The Visalia Navigation Center is a 20,000 square foot facility that provides transitional housing with robust on-site services including enhanced case management, trauma informed care, rapid rehousing services, housing search, landlord mitigation, mental health services, substance abuse prevention, financial literacy, life skills workshops, and job training/placement, to assist individuals experiencing homelessness transition into permanent housing placement.
The Visalia Navigation Center also provides a large dining room, a large common area, and a laundry room. Exterior amenities include a playground area, day-use area with green space, and animal kennel space for pets. The Visalia Navigation Center provides robust wrap around case management services including rapid rehousing services, housing search, landlord mitigation, mental health services, substance abuse services, job training programs, financial literacy, and life skills workshops that will lead to a life of stability into permanent housing.
• Seasonal Temporary Emergency Shelter (15%) - The proposed PLHA Plan includes 15% of the annual allocation to a seasonal temporary emergency shelter also referred to as a Warming Center. The average PLHA annual allocation is estimated at $68,781. The seasonal Warming Center provides overnight shelter to people experiencing homelessness during the winter months between December through March of each year.
• Eden House Bridge Housing (15%) - The proposed PLHA Plan includes 15% of the annual allocation to Eden House a transitional bridge housing project. The average PLHA annual allocation is estimated at $68,781. Eden House is a transitional bridge housing project that provides up to 12 months of transitional housing to those awaiting a permanent housing unit.
Next Steps and Public Comment Period:
Staff will incorporate any requested changes and return to Council with the final 5-year PLHA Plan on September 21, 2026 to conduct a public hearing and adoption. A 10-day public comment period is required prior to the public hearing adoption to allow the public adequate opportunity to review the draft 5-year PLHA Plan. The final Plan will include any comments provided by Council today, and all public comments received during the 10-day public comment period beginning September 11, 2026 through September 21, 2026.
Fiscal Impact including annual maintenance and operating costs: The annual allocation of PLHA funding from this State program is conservatively projected to generate a total of $2,292,703 to meet the housing needs of low-income Visalia residents over the next 5 years, with annual projected funding of $458,541.
Prior Council Action:
• July 20, 2020 - Approval of the first 5-year PLHA Plan for FY 2020/24 through FY 2024/25.
• December 3, 2024 - Work session to discuss the next 5-year PLHA Plan for FY 2025/26 through FY 2029/30.
Alternatives: None recommended.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to proceed with the proposed activity allocations for the 5-year PLHA Plan for FY 2025/26 through FY 2029/30 and direct staff to return the Plan to Council on September 21, 2026, for consideration of adoption.
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Deadline for Action: 09/08/2026
Attachments:
• Attachment A - CY 2024-2028 PLHA NOFA
• Attachment B - CY 2024-2028 PLHA Guidelines
•Attachment C - PLHA Survey Results
• Attachment D - PLHA Proposed 5-year Plan Tables
• Attachment E - PLHA 5-Year Plan PowerPoint
Strategic Goal: Indicates which City Strategic Goal(s) this item supports. Select all that apply.
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