REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director
Planning and Development Department
PHIL SKEI, Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: BRANDON SISK, Senior Management Analyst
Housing and Community Development Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan:
1. HEARING to obtain public comments regarding the Draft 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan; and
2. ***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan; approving submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for application of $6,897,161 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), $3,578,083 HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), $601,082 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and $990,192 Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS/HIV (HOPWA) program funds; providing for subrecipient agreements; and Authorizing the City Manager to sign all implementing documents required by HUD as approved to form by the City Attorney (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the City Council conduct a public hearing and thereafter adopt the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan in application to the HUD CPD entitlement grant programs including CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPWA; and authorize the City Manager to sign all reasonably required implementing documents, instruments, and funding agreements required by HUD as approved to form by the City Attorney.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City staff implemented a citizen engagement, planning, and application process beginning in October 2022 to develop the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan. The plan will be deemed approved 45 days after HUD receives the submission, unless HUD notifies the City before that date that the plans are disapproved. The City will submit the plans as early as feasible following City Council adoption to allow for timely approval at the start of Fiscal Year 2024.
BACKGROUND
2023-2024 Annual Action Plan Process
In order to qualify for and receive federal grant funding through HUD, the City is required to prepare an Annual Action Plan detailing the projects proposed for funding through CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPWA programs, and the benefits to low- and moderate-income persons. The 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan covers the period from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, and is the fourth year of the five-year Consolidated Plan. HUD requires that the Annual Action Plan be consistent with the City’s five-year Consolidated Plan and incorporate input from the community needs assessment conducted annually in support of each year’s plan.
To support these requirements, the City conducted four virtual and five in-person community needs workshops to introduce residents to the goals of the Consolidated Plan and the Annual Action Plan, and to request specific input on projects and activities to be considered for funding. A community needs public hearing was conducted at the December 1, 2022, meeting of the City Council. Additionally, a community needs questionnaire was distributed to all organizations who had participated in the development of the Consolidated Plan or Annual Action Plan over the past four years. Spanish, Punjabi, Hmong, and American Sign Language interpretation were provided at all meetings.
Following the community needs assessment, staff prepared a Consolidated Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) to request applications from qualifying non-profit organizations, units of local government, and City departments. The activities requested in the NOFA were selected to meet the goals of the five-year Consolidated Plan, and additional consideration was given to applications that addressed specific needs identified during the community needs workshops. Four technical assistance workshops were held to aide non-profits in applying for the NOFA. Staff evaluated the applications to ensure eligibility with the federal funding sources and scored the applications according to the evaluation criteria published with the NOFA. The results were reviewed with an ad hoc committee of the City Council, and the draft funding allocation was presented in the Annual Action Plan for a 30-day public review from March 6, 2023, through April 6, 2023. Public comments can be found in the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan Appendix B: Citizen Input and Public Comment. A summary of comments received by the City during the April 27, 2023, public hearing will be considered and included in the final 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan submitted to HUD.
Citizen Participation
A list of meeting, public review, and key notice dates is provided below. An exhaustive list of promotional and outreach activities is provided in the appendices of the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan.
• October 17, 2022 - Notice of upcoming meetings and planning process published in the Fresno Bee, City Clerk website, Housing and Community Development Division (HCDD) website, emailed to a list of 500+ persons who have requested to receive updates from HCDD, and posted to social media
• November 16, 2022 - Second public notice adjusting the Public Hearing date to December 1, 2022
• October 17, 2022, through November 28, 2022 - Workshops and public hearings promoted on social media; through digital flyers distributed to Fresno, Central, and Sanger Unified School District students and parents; on community calendars maintained by KMPH, KFSN, and YourCentralValley; through email to a list of 500+ persons who have requested to received updates from HCDD; and door-to-door through flyers in English, Spanish, Punjabi, and Hmong
• October 27, 2022, through November 28, 2022 - Five in-person community needs workshops were conducted at Romain Neighborhood Center, Teague Elementary School, Ted C. Wills Neighborhood Center, Mosqueda Neighborhood Center, and Legacy Commons. Four virtual community needs workshops conducted on Zoom
• December 1, 2022 - Community needs public hearing conducted at City Council meeting
• December 19, 2022 -NOFA posted to request applications for Homeless & Homelessness Prevention, Community Services, Owner-Occupied Home Repair, Fair Housing Services, and Infrastructure & Facility Improvement activities
• January 10, 2023, through January 11, 2023 - NOFA technical assistance webinars held; recordings published to HCDD website
• March 6, 2023 - Draft 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan published for public review and comment to the website of the City Clerk and HCDD; availability was promoted on social media, by email, and it was distributed to community centers and public libraries
• April 6, 2023 - End of written public comment period
• April 27, 2023 - City Council Annual Action Plan public hearing & consideration
• May 15, 2023 - Annual Action Plan due to HUD
• May 2023 - Target release of Affordable Housing Development and Substantial Rehabilitation NOFA
2023-2024 Entitlement Program Allocation
On February 27, 2023, HUD announced its annual entitlement award amounts for the City. Below is a comparison to the amounts received for the previous year.
|
Program |
2022-2023 |
2023-2024 |
Difference |
|
CDBG |
$6,839,072 |
$6,897,161 |
$58,089 |
|
HOME |
$3,625,073 |
$3,578,083 |
$(46,990) |
|
ESG |
$603,908 |
$601,082 |
$(2,826) |
|
HOPWA |
$875,943 |
$990,192 |
$114,249 |
|
Totals |
$11,943,996 $12,066,518 $122,522 |
|
|
Entitlement funds primarily address housing and community development needs of low-and moderate-income households, and as such the limited resources are prioritized to meet the greatest need. Activities that are multi-year in nature such as planning activities, infrastructure improvements, and rehabilitation programs that take more than one year to complete may be carried over into the next fiscal year. It is important to note that for timeliness reasons, it is essential that projects utilizing entitlement funds be implemented efficiently and projects that can expend the grant funds within the Program Year are prioritized for funding.
The City received 19 applications for funding. Staff reviewed the applications according to the evaluation criteria published with the NOFA. The activities recommended for funding in the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan include investments in street and sidewalk improvement projects as well as investments in public services administered by the City and by local non-profit agencies. A summary of the activities to be funded can be found in the attached Annual Action Plan under AP-35, Project Summary.
The City received nine applications under the Public and Community Services NOFA. Two were from the PARCS Department for its Youth and Senior Recreation Programs, and seven were from non-profits for various projects. The total of eligible requests received was more than the amount available under the Public and Community Services NOFA. The City is proposing to fully fund the PARCS Department Youth and Senior Recreation Programs; Central Valley Justice Coalition’s Youth Advocacy and Mentorship Program for Preventing Human Trafficking Program; Marjaree Mason Center’s Critical Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence; and Chinatown Foundation’s Open for Business Program.
The City received five applications under the Homeless and Homelessness Prevention NOFA. One application for HOPWA funding was received from WestCare California for its Living Room program which provides housing assistance and related supportive services for people throughout Fresno County who are living with HIV/AIDS. Two applications were received for ESG Emergency Shelter and Street Outreach which has a statutory cap of 60% of the City’s total ESG grant. The application from Poverello House for its Homeless Outreach Progressive Engagement (HOPE) Team was rated higher than the application received by Marjaree Mason Center for its Emergency Shelter Program. Finally, the City received two proposals for ESG Rapid Rehousing: one from Poverello House and one from WestCare California, Inc which received the highest NOFA score. WestCare California is recommended to receive a nearly full grant award for its Project UNITE program which will provide homelessness prevention services, rapid rehousing assistance, and case management services. Poverello House is also recommended to be awarded for its Rapid Rehousing program to provide direct case management and rental support for people experiencing homelessness.
One application was received from Fresno Interdenominational Ministries (FIRM) for Fair Housing services. FIRM will provide Fair Housing outreach and education through workshops, media, and targeted canvassing in low-income Southeast Asian, Spanish, and Arabic-speaking communities.
Self-Help Enterprises is recommended for funding for its Housing Rehab program to execute emergency minor and substantial housing rehabilitation to remedy property maintenance, age, health and safety, and housing code issues for homes owned by low-income households. Habitat for Humanity also applied for funding; however, staff is not recommending funding for the project to enable the organization to fully expend previously allocated funds.
The City received two applications under Public Infrastructure and City-Owned Facility Improvements from the Department of Public Works (DPW) for street improvement projects. The City is recommending funding both projects.
Additionally, staff is recommending to allocate $1 million in CDBG funds for the demolition of the building currently occupying the land acquired for the development of the senior center, and about $1.3 million for land acquisition in support of affordable housing development.
These recommendations were presented to a subcommittee of the Council on February 16, 2023, before the start of the public comment period, and again on April 13, 2023.
Upon adoption of the resolution, the City will use the Standard Subrecipient Agreements as approved to form by the City Attorney to enter into agreements with subrecipients for activities approved for funding by this resolution.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a project for purposes of CEQA pursuant to CEQA guidelines Section 15378. These plans, strategies and studies are an exempt activity under HUD NEPA Requirements (24 CFR 58.34 (1)).
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because of the use of federal funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of the 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan is required to allow the City to receive $12,066,518 of new entitlement funding.
Attachments: Resolution
2023-2024 Annual Action Plan for HUD CPD Entitlement Grant Funding
Proposed Funding Allocation Summary
Applications for Funding
Standard Subrecipient Agreements