Visalia City Council - File #: 25-0725

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Action Details	Meeting Details	Video
4/20/2026	1	Visalia City Council			Not available	Meeting details	Video

Agenda Item Wording:

title

Public hearing to adopt 2026 Annual Action Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment - Conduct a second public hearing to approve and adopt the Program Year (PY) 2026 Annual Action Plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) activities, and the PY 2025 CDBG Annual Action Plan Amendment.

body

Agenda Date: 04/20/2026

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 the City Council:

1. Receive a report from City staff regarding funding reductions received since the last meeting and the recommended adjustments.

2. Conduct a second public hearing, providing a final opportunity for citizen input and comment on the proposed PY 2026 Annual Action Plan and PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment.

3. Adopt and appropriate the proposed activities in the PY 2026 Annual Action Plan.

4. Approve and appropriate the PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment.

5. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute all contracts identified in the PY 2026 Annual Action Plan and PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment.

Summary:

The City of Visalia receives federal formula grants through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds benefiting low-income persons. HUD requires, a five-year Consolidated (ConPlan), including a Strategic Plan, and annual action plans to implement the use of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding for the years 2025/26-2029/30.

Staff is seeking final public comments on the priorities and activity allocations proposed for the Program Year (PY) 2026 Annual Action Plan and PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment. Tonight’s public hearing will complete the citizen participation process which has been conducted to obtain community input for the development of the proposed PY 2026 Annual Action Plan and PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment.

This is the second public hearing with the first being held on April 6, 2026. The draft PY 2026 Annual Action Plan was presented to Council on April 6, 2026, with estimated allocations prior to HUD releasing the 2026 allocations. HUD has since released the PY 2026 allocations. The City received a reduction in both PY 2026 CDBG and HOME annual allocations as shown below in Table 1: PY 2026 CDBG and HOME Allocations. The 2026 CDBG actual allocation is $75,483 less than the estimated allocation, and the 2026 HOME actual allocation is $9,726.87 less than the estimated allocation as shown in Table 1: PY 2026 CDBG and HOME Allocations. As a result, several line items were reduced to stay within the actual allocation amounts and described in further detail below.

Background Discussion:

As an entitlement community (EC) for CDBG and a participating jurisdiction (PJ) for HOME, the City of Visalia receives annual federal formula grants through HUD. This provides the City with annual direct grant funding primarily for the benefit of low-income persons and households. As required by HUD, the City develops a five-year Strategic Plan based on a Community Needs Assessment which is reviewed and approved by Council during the development of the Consolidated Plan (ConPlan). HUD also requires the City develop an Annual Action Plan each year for the purpose of implementing the activities included in the ConPlan. The Program Year (PY) 2026 Annual Action Plan is the second year of the current five-year ConPlan. The plan objectives have been produced based upon those established in the City’s five-year Strategic Plan.

Staff is seeking final public comments on the priorities and activity allocations proposed for the PY 2026 Annual Action Plan (Attachment A: PY 2026 Annual Action Plan), and PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment (Attachment C: PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment). Tonight’s public hearing will complete the citizen participation process which has been conducted to obtain community input for the development of the proposed Program Year (PY) 2026 Annual Action Plan, and PY 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment. This is the second public hearing with the first being held on April 6, 2026. Council is asked to consider the comments, recommendations, and requests for funding as provided in further detail below and provide final approval.

Notice of Funding Availability: The proposed activities for the PY 2026 Annual Action Plan were formulated based upon applications received in response to a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). To solicit proposals consistent with Council-approved ConPlan priorities (April 21, 2025), the City issued a NOFA from January 5, 2026, through February 5, 2026, to solicit applications for the administration of the City’s PY 2026 CDBG public services, Single-Family Home Repair Program, and Senior Mobile Home Repair Program. The NOFA was published in the Visalia Times Delta (January 2, and January 7, 2026) and posted on the City’s purchasing website, the Central Valley Purchasing System (BidNet), and the Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance listserv (~650 recipients).

Recommended PY 2026 Annual Action Plan Activities:

The proposed PY 2026 Annual Action Plan (AAP) activities and their respective funding are included, as Attachment B: 2026 AAP Amendment Table. The public hearing to be conducted tonight will allow Council a final opportunity to comment, discuss, and direct any necessary changes to the proposed activity allocations.

PY 2026 CDBG and HOME Annual Allocations: The draft PY 2026 Annual Action Plan was presented to Council on April 6, 2026, with estimated allocations prior to HUD releasing the 2026 allocations. HUD has since released the PY 2026 allocations. The City received a reduction in both PY 2026 CDBG and HOME annual allocations as shown below in Table 1: PY 2026 CDBG and HOME Allocations. The PY 2026 CDBG actual allocation is $1,074,517, a $75,483 reduction from the estimated allocation, and the 2026 HOME actual allocation is $415,273.13, a $9,726.87 reduction from the estimated allocation as shown in Table 1. As a result, several line items were reduced to stay within the actual allocation amounts and described in further detail below.

PY 2026 Proposed Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Resources and Expenses:

The PY 2026 CDBG resources consists of $1,074,517 in annual grant allocation, and $50,000 in estimated program income for a total of $1,124,517 as shown in Table 2: PY 2026 CDBG Projected Resources. *CDBG program income is generated from repayments of CDBG funded first-time homebuyer and owner-occupied rehabilitation loans.

CDBG Admin & Planning:

CDBG federal regulations restrict administration and planning to a 20% cap of the grant annual allocation and program income. Due to the reduced 2026 CDBG allocation, the 2026 administration budget has been reduced from an estimated amount of $240,000 to $224,900, which is a $15,100 reduction to remain within the 20% administration cap as shown below in Table 3: PY 2026 CDBG Administration Budget (20% Cap). The administration budget will pay for staff and operations to oversee the CDBG program.

CDBG Public Services:

CDBG Federal regulations also restricts public services to a 15% cap of the grant annual allocation and prior year program income. Due to the reduced 2026 CDBG allocation the 2026 public service budget has been reduced from an estimated amount of $180,000 to $168,000 to stay within the 15% cap as shown below in Table 4: PY 2026 CDBG Proposed Public Services (15% Cap).

The committee funding recommendations are based upon the priorities set by the current ConPlan and intended to provide funding where it will be most impactful. The committee funding recommendation is to provide the same amounts to the existing public services to maintain existing services and reduce funding to the new public service project that consists of Salt + Light’s street outreach and housing flex funds due to the reduction in 2026 CDBG annual allocation and to stay within the required public service 15% cap.

The proposed PY 2026 Annual Action Plan public services activities are listed below.

• Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance (KTHA): At $20,000.

o KTHA is the designated Continuum of Care (CoC) for our region. The CoC is recommended by HUD as a comprehensive approach and to promote communitywide cooperation to end homelessness. As the designated CoC, KTHA oversees the Point in Time (PIT) Count. KTHA oversees the administration of HUD funded Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and Rapid Rehousing (RRH) programs, as well as the Coordinated Entry System (CES) which begins the process of housing placement. KTHA also operates the Visalia weekly Local Initiatives Navigation Center (LINC) at the Visalia Rescue Mission to promote homeless services including mental health assessments/enrollments, document readiness, mainstream benefit enrollment, social security advocacy, substance abuse program enrollments, veteran services, clothing assistance, and food assistance.

• Family Services of Tulare County (FSTC): At $50,000.

o FSTC administers HUD CoC Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) rental voucher program that require a 25% match to secure funding. These CDBG funds will be used as a required match to secure PSH rental vouchers for chronically homeless individuals residing in Visalia. FSTC also provides ongoing case management and support services to chronically homeless persons already housed in Visalia who are currently receiving a PSH voucher. If PSH match is not secured, these currently housed chronically homeless individuals could return to homelessness.

• Community Services, Employment &Training (CSET): At $30,000.

o CSET will provide fair housing education outreach services and workshops to Visalia residents. Fair housing education services are a requirement to remain compliant with our Housing Element and five-year ConPlan. Target populations include low-income renters, households receiving housing subsidies, and low-income first-time homebuyers seeking guidance on fair housing protections, eviction prevention, sustaining tenancy, and pathways to safe and affordable housing. CSET will provide fair housing education to tenants, landlords, and first-time homebuyers.

• Salt + Light (S+L): At $68,000.

o S+L will provide direct homeless services which will include street outreach, case management, housing search and housing placement assistance, documentation assistance, landlord coordination, transportation assistance, completion of the VI-SPDAT assessment, Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data entry, and participate in the Coordinated Entry System. Direct client assistance includes rental application fees, security deposits, landlord migration funds, client moving costs, and basic palliative care items including hygiene kits.

CDBG Affordable Housing Projects:

The PY 2026 CDBG Proposed Affordable Housing Projects are listed below and included in Table 5: PY 2026 CDBG Proposed Affordable Housing Projects.

• Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) - Single-Family Home Repair Program - $100,000:

o SHE will administer a Single-Family Home Repair Program (SFHRP) to provide at least 3 low-income senior and/or disabled owner-occupied homeowners with necessary repairs including roof repair/replacement, accessibility improvements, floor repair/replacement, and energy efficient improvements. The SFHRP will provide up to $25,000 in assistance per household to allow for additional home repairs including roof repairs. The most sought-after repairs are roof repairs ranging from $20,000 to $25,000 per home.

• Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) - Senior Mobile Home Repair Program - $100,000:

o SHE will administer a Senior Mobile Home Repair Program (SMHRP) to provide at least 3 low-income senior and/or disabled owner-occupied mobile homeowners with necessary repairs including roof repair/replacement, accessibility improvements, floor repair/replacement, and energy efficient improvements. The SMHRP will provide a max of $25,000 in assistance per mobile home, for additional mobile home repairs; roof repairs being the most common range from $20,000 to $25,000 per mobile home.

• Code-Enforcement - $195,000:

Code Enforcement will provide inspections in CDBG eligible low-moderate income target areas to address substandard housing. This funding will pay the full cost of one staff position which is responsible for code enforcement in CDBG Target Areas. Code Enforcement activities were identified as an objective during the development of the five-year Consolidated Plan. HUD requires consistent CDBG drawdowns to prevent becoming an at-risk grantee by remaining in compliance with CDBG regulations and generates approximately $35,000 in CDBG program income.

CDBG Facility Improvement Projects:

The PY 2026 CDBG Proposed Facility Improvement Projects are listed below and included in Table 6: PY 2026 CDBG Proposed Facility Improvement Projects.

• Parks Improvements - Lincoln Oval Park (CP0752) - $140,000:

This project includes park improvements at Lincoln Oval Park, including installation of a wrought iron perimeter fence and LED lighting enhancements. The project supports safety, security, and overall usability of the park. Council previously approved $50,000 in CDBG funding for this project in the PY 2024 Action Plan. Additional CDBG funding of $140,000 is included in the current five-year Consolidated Plan, bringing the total project budget to $190,000 based on updated cost estimates.

At April 6, 2026 Council meeting, Council raised concerns if installation of an enclosed fence around the Lincoln Oval Park would impede public safety vehicles including police vehicles from entering the park. Both the Parks and the Police Department confirmed they had no objections with installation of a fence around the Lincoln Oval Park.

• ADA Compliance Project - ADA Tree Wells (CP0618) - $196,617:

This project includes the design and construction of tree well improvements in the downtown area to address accessibility barriers and improve compliance with ADA standards. Existing tree wells create obstacles for individuals with disabilities, and this project is identified as a priority to enhance accessibility and pedestrian safety. The project reflects a reduction of $48,383 based on the FY 2026 CDBG allocation. An additional $900,000 is included in the PY 2025 Action Plan Amendment, bringing the total project budget to $1,096,617 in CDBG funding. Any future increase or decrease in PY 2026 CDBG allocation or program income will be applied to this project.

PY 2026 Proposed HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Resources and Expenses:

The PY 2026 HOME resources include $415,273 in HOME annual grant allocation, and $100,000* in estimated program income for a total of $515,273 as identified in Table 7: PY 2026 HOME Projected Resources. *HOME program income is normally generated from repayment of HOME funded first-time homebuyers or owner-occupied rehabilitation loans.

The PY 2026 Proposed HOME funding is listed below and included in Table 8: PY 2026 HOME Proposed Funding.

• HOME Administration: $50,000 for PY 2026 HOME Admin and Planning. This amount is within the 10% allowed for administration of the HOME program by HUD.

• HOME CHDO - Crescent Meadows Senior Affordable Housing Project (CP0792):

$465,273 for the construction of Crescent Meadows a reduction of $9,727 based on actual 2026 grant allocation received. Crescent Meadows is an 80-unit senior affordable housing project within the City of Visalia for low-income seniors aged 62 years as approved by Council in the 5-year ConPlan. As a HOME Participation Jurisdiction, the City is required to provide at least 15% of the annual HOME funds awarded to a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) to develop affordable housing. Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) is currently the only CHDO for the City of Visalia. The HOME CHDO 15% has been combined with additional HOME funds to provide for a HOME CHDO senior affordable housing project as specified in the current 5-year ConPlan. The HOME CHDO - Crescent Meadows project CP0752 currently has a budget of $226,944 in HOME funds approved by Council on April 21, 2025, in the PY 2025 Annual Action Plan, bringing the updated budget to $692,217 in HOME funds. The City’s total HOME commitment is $1 million from FY 25/26, FY 26/27, and FY 27/28 of HOME funds to the Crescent Meadows Project, which was approved by Council on 7/21/2025. **Any additional increase or decrease of PY 2026 HOME annual allocation, program income, and/or prior year resources will be an adjustment to Crescent Meadows the HOME senior affordable housing project CP0792.

2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment (see Attachment “C”):

The Program Year (PY) 2025 CDBG Annual Action Plan Amendment includes reappropriating $900,000 of unspent emergency shelter development funds (CP0793) to the ADA tree well compliance project (CP0618), as shown below in Table 9: Proposed PY 2025 CDBG Annual Action Plan Amendment. The purpose of the PY 2025 CDBG Annual Action Amendment is to allow additional time to plan for the development of an emergency shelter.

Public Hearing for Adoption: The 30-day public comment period for the review of the draft PY 2026 Annual Action Plan, and PY 2025 CDBG Annual Action Plan Amendment began on March 20^th through April 20^th, 2026. During the 30-day public comment period the draft plans were available for public review on the City’s website at www.visalia.city <http://www.visalia.city>. Public notices were published on City’s social media outlets, and in the Visalia Times Delta on March 17^th, 20^th, and April 1^st, 2026. Public notices were also included in Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance and the Visalia Chamber of Commerce email listservs. The proposed plans were also presented at the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) on April 1, 2026, to receive additional public input. A public hearing was conducted on April 6, 2026, to allow public comment and input. Tonight’s public hearing is the final step in the public comment period. The adopted PY 2026 Annual Action Plan is due to HUD no later than May 15, 2026.

Fiscal Impact including annual maintenance and operating costs: Approval of this item will appropriate $1,074,517 of FY 2026/27 annual CDBG grant funds, $415,273.13 of FY 2026/27 annual HOME grant funds which are to be received on a reimbursement basis. This will require submission of the 2026 Annual Action Plan to HUD in the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS) to properly track and report on separate activities. In addition, this item will transfer $900,000 from emergency shelter project CP0793 to ADA tree wells project CP0618 as shown in Table 9: 2025 CDBG Action Plan Amendment.

Prior Council Action:

• April 15, 2024 - Adoption of the 2024 Annual Action Plan

• April 21, 2025 - Adoption of the 5-year (2025/26 - 2029/30) Consolidated Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan.

• July 21, 2025 - Authorized recertification of Self-Help Enterprises as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO); and commitment of $1 million in HOME funds for the development of Crescent Meadow a senior affordable housing project.

• April 6, 2026 - Review the draft 2026 Annual Action Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment.

Alternatives: None recommended.

Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):

recommendation

I move to:

1. Adopt and appropriate the proposed PY2026 Annual Action Plan activities.

2. Approve and appropriate the PY2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment.

3. Authorize City Manager or their designee to enter into all contracts as listed in PY2026 Annual Action Plan and PY2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment

Environmental Assessment Status: N/A

CEQA Review: N/A

Deadline for Action: 04/20/2026

Attachments:

Attachment A: 2026 Annual Action Plan

Attachment B: 2026 AAP Table

Attachment C: 2025 Annual Action Plan Amendment

Attachment D: 2026 AAP PPT

Strategic Goal: Indicates which City Strategic Goal(s) this item supports. Check all that apply.

☐Economic Vitality

☐ Organizational Excellence

☒Fiscal Strength

☐ Infrastructure & Growth

☒ Quality of Life

Legislation Details