Agenda Item Wording:
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Public Hearing on Development of the ConPlan. Conduct a public hearing to allow City Council and citizen input on identifying high priority needs for the City’s next 5-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26 - FY 2029/30 Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) for the use of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds.
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Deadline for Action: 9/3/2024
Submitting Department: Finance and Technology Services
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Margie Perez, Housing Specialist, 713-4460, margie.perez@visalia.city <mailto:margie.perez@visalia.city>;
Melody Murch, Assistant Finance Director, 713-4379, melody.murch@visalia.city <mailto:melody.murch@visalia.city>;
Renee Nagel, Finance Director, 713-4378, renee.nagel@visalia.city <mailto:renee.nagel@visalia.city>
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that Council:
1. Conduct a public hearing to receive public comment concerning high priority needs; and
2. Council provide ideas for staff to explore.
Background Discussion:
Executive Summary:
This is an overview of the Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) process which is required by The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding. A survey has been conducted to solicit priorities and comments from both local citizens and any organizations (stakeholders) that provide services to low-income and special needs populations within the City of Visalia. The results of this survey will be presented tonight, along with an overview of project categories that are eligible for CDBG and HOME funding. HUD requires that a public hearing be conducted to allow an opportunity for public comment on what eligible activities for the benefit of low- and moderate-income individuals will meet high priority needs for the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding for the next five-years. Staff is also requesting that Council provide their comments, and any direction needed to guide the preparation of the DRAFT ConPlan which will be brought back to Council for review and adoption as part of the public review process in the Spring of 2025.
Staff will return to Council this fall after final public comment has been received to develop the 5-year FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30 Consolidated Plan during a couple of Work Sessions.
Additional Information:
As required by HUD, the City develops a ConPlan every five years to guide the use of federal CDBG and HOME funding which is allocated to the City of Visalia annually. The 5-year ConPlan is the guiding document for allocating these resources which support projects and programs that benefit low-and moderate-income people by increasing housing and economic opportunities, strengthening low-income neighborhoods, and addressing public services and infrastructure needs.
On December 18, 2023, Council awarded a contract to Baker Tilly for professional services to perform analysis and assist the City with the preparation of the next five-year ConPlan for FY 2025/26 through FY 2029/30. The process includes preparing and disseminating public notices, information flyers and surveys, collecting and analyzing census data, planning documents, zoning, municipal codes, and surveys, conducting community public meetings and stakeholder interviews, and collecting the results to identify high priority needs. Baker Tilly is also conducting a Housing Windshield Survey analysis. The windshield survey will be conducted by driving through the city and recording direct observations of community needs, and provides data that supports affordable housing program needs.
Staff has prepared a summary of the Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) process to date and is requesting input on possible projects and programs based on identified high priorities and eligible activities. This is an opportunity for Council to provide ideas and priorities for the development of the next 5-year ConPlan for the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding. Input from the public and the Council received during this public meeting will guide staff in preparing components of the ConPlan including the draft Strategic Plan, and the first-year draft Action Plan, by determining which eligible projects, programs, and activities will best serve the community. The City of Visalia has estimated CDBG annual funding is $1,200,000 and estimated HOME annual funding is $500,000 for a total annual estimated funding of $1,700,000 and an estimated total of $8,500,000 for the next 5-years as shown below in Table 1: City of Visalia Estimated FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30 CDBG & HOME Funding.
Consolidated Planning Process: The Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) serves as a comprehensive strategy, that identifies community needs, prioritizes those needs, and details how they will be addressed. Components of the ConPlan include the Strategic Plan, and the Annual Action Plan for the first year of the 5-Year plan. Additional Annual Action Plans will be prepared annually in each of the remaining years of the ConPlan. The ConPlan strategy also incorporates the City’s Citizen Participation Plan (CPP), which governs how the City will conduct outreach to the community and encourage their participation in the ConPlan, Action Plan, Amendments, and Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) process for the next 5-year term. Also included in the ConPlan is the preparation of an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI), which assists in identifying any barriers to affordable housing, as well as examines policies and fair housing practices surrounding housing choices. The AI is the result of extensive research, public input, and analysis.
Community Survey, and Public Outreach: Staff has engaged the community and stakeholders to assess community development and housing needs, specifically identifying the highest priority needs related to the use of both CDBG and HOME funding over the next 5-years (FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30). Through public noticing of community meetings and online surveys, opportunities are being provided for the community to give feedback on spending priorities for the next 5-years. The feedback obtained will serve as the framework for a community-wide dialogue to determine housing and community development priorities.
The survey’s links and public notices were posted on the City’s website, and City social media outlets from July 12, 2024, through August 2, 2024. The survey announcements were also posted on the Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance listserv, the Tulare County Homeless Task Force email list, and the Community Care Coalition email list to approximately 1,000 stakeholders. A total of 116 citizens responded to the Community Needs Survey and 21 organizations responded to the Organizational survey. Please see below for a brief description of the organization and citizen survey results. Please see Attachment “A-1” for full organization and citizen survey results.
Organization Survey Results: Organizations that completed the organizational survey serve the following populations: low-income, homeless, youth, elderly, victims of domestic violence, disabled, protected class members, and individuals with HIV/AIDS. The top 5 gaps (needs) identified by various organizations include:
1) shortage of affordable housing,
2) homelessness prevention programs,
3) mental health services,
4) substance abuse treatment programs, and
5) job training programs.
Citizen Survey Results: The citizen survey top 5 public service needs include:
1) mental health,
2) domestic violence,
3) job training,
4) youth, and
5) homeless services.
The citizen survey top 5 housing needs include:
1) senior housing,
2) development of affordable rental housing,
3) emergency drop-in shelter,
4) rehabilitation of affordable apartments, and
5) rehabilitation of single-family homes.
The citizen survey top 5 economic development needs include:
1) job training,
2) job creation/retention,
3) workforce development,
4) small business assistance, and
5) business mentoring.
The top 5 citizen survey infrastructure improvements needed include:
1) streets/roads,
2) parks,
3) flood drainage,
4) street lighting, and
5) sidewalks.
The City also attended the Fall 2023 Farmworker Women’s Conference to collect feedback from the Spanish Speaking Community. As a result, 73 survey were completed in English and 34 surveys were completed in Spanish for a total of 107 surveys completed. The feedback provided from the Farmworker Women’s Conference is very important due to the lack of Spanish speaking respondents to the ConPlan survey, and the high percentage of respondents that were members of CDBG and HOME eligible populations. A brief description of the Farmworker Women’s Conference survey results is below. Please see Attachment “A-2” for the full Farmworker Women’s Conference survey results.
Farmworker Women’s Survey Results: The Farmworker Women’s conference survey top 5 public service needs include:
1) homeless,
2) homeless prevention,
3) youth,
4) senior, and
5) fair housing services.
The Farmworker Women’s conference survey top 5 housing needs include:
1) affordable rental housing,
2) homeless housing,
3) senior housing,
4) first-time homebuyer assistance, and
5) farmworker housing.
The Farmworker Women’s conference survey top 5 economic development needs include:
1) job training/placement,
2) job creation,
3) technical assistance,
4) small business assistance, and
5) commercial rehabilitation.
The Farmworker Women’s conference survey top 5 infrastructure improvements needs include:
1) streets,
2) sidewalks,
3) parks,
4) water/sewer, and
5) flood drainage improvements.
The Farmworker Women’s conference survey top 5 facilities needed include:
1) homeless facilities,
2) youth centers,
3) senior centers,
4) health centers, and
5) facilities for persons with disabilities.
Public Hearing and Community Meetings:
This presentation, discussion, and public hearing is a vital part of the public participation process. The following community meetings will also take place to collect more community input on the high priority needs within the City of Visalia.
• An in-person community meeting will be held by the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at 5:30pm at 220 North Santa Fe Street, and
• A virtual community meeting will be held on Monday, September 9, 2024, at 1:00pm. To participate in this meeting, please use the link in Attachment “D”, or contact Margie Perez at Margie.Perez@visalia.city <mailto:Margie.Perez@visalia.city> to receive a link by email:
Join the meeting September 9th at 1:00PM <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e83/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.microsoft.com%2Fl%2Fmeetup-join%2F19%253ameeting_NTVkMWRjODUtNmU1MC00ZGQ3LWI3OTEtODViYzUyYmUxM2U4%2540thread.v2%2F0%3Fcontext%3D%257b%2522Tid%2522%253a%2522619363bf-5bd8-4047-b094-587dd7327392%2522%252c%2522Oid%2522%253a%2522087cdbe5-a304-4f79-9f5d-38ed8d024fc7%2522%257d&data=05%7C02%7CMargie.Perez%40visalia.city%7Cc1812e4dfafe4c3acaa308dcc2b781b9%7Ce489c096dc4c4c25a985bc420f160fa2%7C0%7C0%7C638599340616294497%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bPM6jyT9xdGwvUH598qbfGR96OsB5Am%2BQbfuHTdWqio%3D&reserved=0> (9/9/24 1:00pm meeting link)
Funding Sources and Use of Funds
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): The purpose of the CDBG program is to enhance and maintain viable urban communities through the provision of decent affordable housing, a suitable living environment, and the expansion of economic opportunities for low - moderate income persons and households. HUD allows up to 20% of a CDBG award to be used towards general program administration and planning and permits up to 15% of the City’s total allocation to support Public Service activities. The remaining 65% is available for other projects vital to community development such as public facilities and improvements, economic development, and housing.
Although various types of infrastructure are also eligible for CDBG funding in low- and moderate-income areas, staff has limited the discussion of eligible activities to those lacking significant sources of other funding. A full list of the roughly 100 types of activities eligible for CDBG has been provided as an attachment to this item (Attachment “B-1”). Some items in this listing are noted as “not applicable” to the City of Visalia. This list of eligible activities also notes which have been excluded from this discussion based upon the availability of other funding sources, or the lack of survey responses identifying them as needs within the City of Visalia. Although this has been done to focus the discussion on eligible activities with the most limited funding options, staff welcomes comments and direction on any activities included in the full listing attached.
HUD Encouraged Funding (Public Services):
• Continuum of Care - HUD strongly encourages local jurisdictions to support the local Continuum of Care (CoC), as they oversee the HUD mandated Point-In-Time (PIT) count, Coordinated Entry Systems (CES), Homeless Management Systems Management (HMIS), and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) rental subsidies vouchers for our region. The local CoC ensures CES and HMIS grant compliance that allows for continued and additional federal and state grant funding opportunities for the City of Visalia.
• Fair Housing Services - A mandate in the Fair Housing Act of 1968 requires HUD and its recipients to promote fair housing choice, eliminate disparities and foster inclusive communities. As a result, HUD strongly encourages local jurisdiction support of fair housing services to affirmatively further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act.
CDBG National Objectives
To be eligible for CDBG funding, each activity must meet one of HUD’s three National Objectives. The National objectives are:
1. Benefit low- and moderate-income individuals.
2. Aid in the prevention or elimination of slum and blight.
3. Meeting other community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and other financial resources are not available.
The Benefit to Low and Moderate-Income Individuals (also known as Low/Mod or LMI) is considered the “primary” National Objective of the CDBG program, because federal regulations require that 70% of expended CDBG funds support LMI beneficiaries. The definition of a low or moderate-income person or household is having an income equal to or less than 80% of the area median income (AMI) as established by HUD. The qualifying FY 2024/2025 80% annual gross income for a family of four in Visalia is $70,300 or lower.
CDBG eligible activities include but are not limited to:
1. Public services (limited to 15%)
a. Homeless, rental/mortgage assistance, domestic violence, housing counseling, job training, senior disabled, youth, health/mental health, substance abuse, crime awareness, childcare, legal, and fair housing.
2. Acquisition & Disposition
a. Acquisition & disposition of real property, cleanup of contaminated sites, relocation.
3. Public Facilities & Improvements
a. Homeless facilities (emergency shelter or navigation center, senior centers, youth centers, water, sewer improvements, street, sidewalk, parks/recreation, and ADA accessibility improvements.
4. Economic Development
a. Acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, small business assistance, job creation/retention, technical assistance, and job training (limited to the 15% public services cap).
5. Housing
a. Homeowner assistance, housing counseling (limited to the 15% public services cap), rehabilitation of single/multi-family, emergency repairs, energy efficiency improvements, code enforcement, lead-based paint testing/abatement, and historical preservation.
HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME): The purpose of HOME funding is to create and/or retain affordable housing. HUD defines affordable housing as housing where a household pays no more than 30% of their gross income for housing costs, including utilities. Most HOME affordability housing developments are built for households with incomes at 60% or less than the area median income (AMI) level. For example, a qualifying Visalia family of four at 60% AMI in FY 2024/2025 has an income of $52,740 or lower and should not be spending more than $15,822 per year on housing. This measure of affordability reveals the housing challenges of low-income households. To assist with this need, HOME funding requires that at least 15% of the annual grant be provided to a certified Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) (501C non-profit) for the development of affordable housing (both rental and/or ownership). Self Help Enterprises (SHE) is currently the only local organization which meets the HOME CHDO certification requirements, and the City works with them to provide funding for their qualifying housing projects.
In addition to the required CHDO funding, HOME funds can be used for housing within four basic programs:
1. Development of Housing
a. Types: Affordable rental or owner-occupied housing, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing (PSH).
b. Special populations can include senior and/or homeless.
2. Homebuyer assistance;
3. Rehabilitation for owner-occupants;
4. Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA)
Below in Tables 2 and 3 are the CDBG and HOME funded activities approved in the current 5-year Consolidated Plan (FY 20/21 - FY 24/25) and is also included as Attachment “C”.
Next Steps:
Staff will return to Council this fall, after final public comment has been received, to develop the 5-year FY 2025/26 - FY 2029/30 Consolidated Plan.
Upon completion of the public meetings discussed above, and the upcoming work sessions staff will work with Baker Tilly to formulate the DRAFT Consolidated Plan. This will require completion of the remaining components, which include the Windshield Survey, the Strategic Plan, and the Annual Action Plan for the 2025/2026 Program Year based upon data collected, public comment, and Council direction received. The completed DRAFT Consolidated Plan will be available for review by Council and the Public in early 2025 as part of the Public Participation process which will be conducted before adoption of the plan in Spring of 2025.
Fiscal Impact:
The Consolidated Plan will control the use of CDBG and HOME grant funding for the 5-year period of July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2030. No appropriations or budget impacts are requested in this item. The DRAFT ConPlan will be brought to Council for review, adoption, and appropriation in the Spring of 2025.
Prior Council Action:
● April 20, 2020 - Adoption of the current FY 2020/21 - FY 2024/25 Consolidated Plan.
Other: None.
Alternatives: None.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
Staff is recommending that Council:
• Conduct a public hearing to receive public comment concerning high priority needs; and
• Council provide ideas for staff to explore.
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Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: ● Attachment “A-1” - Organization and Citizen Survey Results ● Attachment “A-2” - Farmworker Women’s Survey Results ● Attachment “B-1” - Eligible Activity Descriptions ● Attachment “B-2” - CDBG Eligible Activities Full List ● Attachment “C” - FY 2020/21 - 2024/25 ConPlan CDBG and HOME Activities ● Attachment “D-1” - ConPlan Public Notice English Flyer ● Attachment “D-2” - ConPlan Public Notice Spanish Flyer ● Attachment “E” - FY 2025/26 - 2029/30 ConPlan PowerPoint