REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Planning and Development Department
PHILIP SKEI, Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: VANESSA NAVARRO, Senior Management Analyst
Community Development Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan
1. HEARING to obtain public comments regarding the Draft 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan
2. ***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan; approving submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for application of $6,907,129 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), $2,766,057.28 in HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), $623,922 in Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and $1,268,358 in 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
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council conduct a public hearing and thereafter adopt the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan in application to the HUD Office of Community Planning and Development 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 November 2025 to develop the 2026-2027 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 Program Year 2026.
BACKGROUND
2026-2027 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 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan covers the period from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and is the second 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 two virtual and six 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 4, 2025 meeting of the City Council. Additionally, a community needs questionnaire was distributed to all organizations that were consulted for previous Annual Action Plans/Consolidated Plans, as well as any organizations that applied previously for Notices of Funding Availability, or residents who signed up for the HCDD email distribution list. Spanish, Punjabi, Hmong, and American Sign Language interpreters were available upon request 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. Six pre-recorded webinars were also published with the NOFA to provide prospective applicants with technical assistance that included contact information for the appropriate Community Development Division staff to request one-on-one technical assistance. 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 by staff and funding recommendations were made to the administration for review and consideration. The draft funding allocation including recommended subrecipients was presented in the Draft 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan for a 30-day public review from April 13, 2026 through May 12, 2026. Public comments can be found in the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan Appendix B: Citizen Input and Public Comment. A summary of comments received by the City during the May 21, 2026 public hearing will be considered and included in the final 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan submitted to HUD.
Citizen Participation
A list of meetings, public review, and key notice dates is provided below. An exhaustive list of promotional and outreach activities is provided in the appendices of the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan.
• November 5, 2025, - 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 800+ people who have requested to receive updates from HCDD, and posted to social media.
• November 12, 2025, through November 21, 2025 - Workshops and public hearings broadly promoted through social media, newspaper, and flyer distribution; local media; and through email to a list of 800+ people who have requested to receive updates from HCDD.
• November 12, 2025, through November 21, 2025, - Six in-person community needs workshops were hosted at the Pinedale Community Center, Legacy Commons, Ted C. Wills, The Word Community Church, Ambassador, and Clarion. Two virtual community needs workshops were conducted on Zoom.
• December 4, 2026 - Community needs public hearing conducted at City Council meeting.
• December 15, 2025 - Consolidated NOFA published to the HCDD website to request applications for Homeless Housing & Services (ESG), Homeless Housing & Services (HOPWA), Owner-Occupied Home Repair, Infrastructure and Public Facility Improvements, and Public Services (Including Microenterprise Assistance and Fair Housing).
• December 15, 2025 - Pre-recorded NOFA webinars for the 2026-2027 Consolidated NOFA published to the HCDD website to provide technical support.
• April 13, 2026 - Draft 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan published for public review and comment to the website of the City Clerk and HCDD; availability was promoted on social media and by email, and it was distributed to community centers and public libraries.
• May 12, 2026 - End of written public comment period. Five public comments received.
• May 21, 2026 - City Council 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan public hearing & consideration.
• June 3, 2026 - 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan due to HUD.
2026-2027 Entitlement Program Allocation
On April 3, 2026, HUD announced its annual entitlement award amounts for the City. Below is a comparison to the amounts received for the previous year.
|
Program |
2025-2026 |
2026-2027 |
Difference |
|
CDBG |
$7,098,936 |
$6,907,129 |
$191,807 |
|
HOME |
$2,874,896.70 |
$2,766,057.28 |
$108,839.42 |
|
ESG |
$616,438 |
$623,922 |
($7,484) |
|
HOPWA |
$1,074,810 |
$1,268,358 |
($193,548) |
|
Totals |
$11,665,080.70 |
$11,565,466.30 |
$99,614.42 |
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 program 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 twenty-five applications for funding in response to the 2026-2027 Consolidated NOFA. Staff reviewed and scored the applications according to the evaluation criteria published in the NOFA. The activities recommended for funding in the Draft 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan include investments in park improvements, street improvement projects, affordable housing, and investments in services administered by the City and by local non-profit agencies. The applications received can be reviewed in the attached Applications for Funding. The Proposed Funding Allocation Summary attachment provides a summary of the applications received, amount requested, and scores of each. Additionally, the activities to be funded can be found in the attached Annual Action Plan under AP-35, Project Summary.
The City received five applications under the Public and Community Services NOFA. All five 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 top three scoring applications from Boys & Girls Club of Fresno and Madera County for its Educate and Inspire Fresno Youth 2026+ program; Central Valley Justice Coalition for its Youth Advocacy Mentorship Program; and Poverello House for its Culinary Workforce Development Program.
Self-Help Enterprises was the sole applicant under Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation and is recommended for funding for its Housing Rehabilitation Program. The City of Fresno also recommends the continued funding of its Senior Exterior Repair Program and Housing Rehabilitation Program.
The City received eleven applications under Infrastructure and Public Facility Improvements. Applicants included the PARCS Department, Department of Public Works (DPW), Fresno Fire Department, Fresno Ideaworks, and Self-Help Enterprises. The City is recommending full funding for three projects including Lafayette Park, Balderas Elementary, and Highway City. PARCS’s project at Lafayette Park received the highest NOFA score and will fund the renovation of its sports courts and installation of new lighting that will improve safety and useability of Lafayette Park. DPW’s Highway City project will complete the construction phase of the project which received previous CDBG funds for design and is in the final phase of a multi-year request. DPW’s Balderas Elementary project is recommended for funding due to the total project cost aligning with the remaining funds available. Finally, the City recommends partially funding the Station 3 Security Fence project submitted by the Fresno Fire Department as a backup project if sufficient funds are identified through cost savings throughout program year 2026-2027.
The City received a total of five applications under the Homelessness Housing and Services (ESG) NOFA. 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. Applicants included Poverello House and Clinica Sierra Vista. The City is proposing to fully fund the highest scoring application from Poverello House for its HOPE Team homeless outreach project. Three additional applications were received for Rapid Rehousing. Applicants included 9163 LLC which was deemed ineligible as a for profit entity, Central Unified School District (CUSD), and WestCare California, Inc. The City is proposing to fund the highest scoring applicant, WestCare California, Inc. for its Project Unite. Lastly, the City received two applications for Homeless Prevention. Applicants included CUSD and WestCare California Inc. The City is proposing to partially fund both CUSD’s Student Services Rapid Outreach Project and WestCare California Inc.’s Project Unite using Homeless Prevention funds given the challenges organizations have historically experienced fully expending funds under this activity.
Finally, three applications under Homelessness Housing and Services (HOPWA) were received from WestCare California, Inc., Community Medical Center, and South Tower Community Land Trust. The City recommends funding the top two scoring applications with 60% of the available funds to WestCare California, Inc. and 40% to Community Medical Center.
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 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan is required to allow the City to receive $11,565,466.30 of new entitlement funding.
Attachments:
Resolution Adopting the 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan
2026-2027 Annual Action Plan for HUD CPD Entitlement Grant Funding
Proposed Funding Allocation Summary
Applications for Funding
Standard Subrecipient Agreements