STAFF REPORT - CITY COUNCIL/SUCCESSOR AGENCY/PUBLIC FINANCE AUTHORITY

Staff Is recommending that the City Council take the following actions:

• Approval of Resolution No. 3982 authorizing and adopting the Local government Plan and certifying that the public had adequate opportunity to review and comment on the Plan.

• Approval of Resolution No. 3983 authorizing the City Manager or Assistant City Manager to execute the PLHA Program Application, the PLHA Standard Agreement and any subsequent amendments or modifications thereto, as  well as any other documents which are related to the Program or the PLHA grant awarded to Applicant, as the Department may deem appropriate

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (Department) released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $195 million in funding for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program for Entitlement and Non-entitlement Local governments. The NOFA is funded from moneys deposited in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund (Fund) in calendar year 2019.

Funding for this NOFA is provided pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 2 (Chapter 364, Statutes of 2017). SB 2 established the Fund and authorized the Department to allocate 70 percent of moneys collected and deposited in the Fund, beginning in calendar year 2019, to Local governments for eligible housing and homelessness activities.  The intent of the bill is to provide a permanent, on-going source of funding to Local governments for housing-related projects and programs that assist in addressing the unmet housing needs of their communities.

For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the Department will issue two separate NOFAs to award the (PLHA) funds:

• Entitlement and Non-entitlement Local government formula component NOFA; and
• Non-entitlement Local government competitive component NOFA (anticipated in August 2020)

The Entitlement and Non-entitlement formula allocation NOFA outlines threshold and application requirements, as well as defines the method in which funds will be distributed for Entitlement and Non-entitlement Local governments.  Ninety percent of the money will be allocated based on the formula used under Federal law to allocate CDBG funds within California, as specified in Title 42 United States Code (USC), Section 5306 and will be distributed to Entitlement Local governments and Non-entitlements local governments via a competitive grant program.  Non-entitlement Local government allocations come from ten percent of the moneys available and allocated equitably among Non-entitlement local governments.  Allocations are distributed on an annual basis in response to an application defining the eligible planned use of funds for five years.

Eligible activities include:

• Predevelopment, development, acquisition, rehabilitation and preservation of multifamily, residential live work, rental housing that is affordable to extremely low-, very low-, or moderate-income households, including necessary operating subsidies.

• Predevelopment, development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable rental and ownership housing, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), that meets the needs of a growing workforce earning up to 120 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), or 150 percent of AMI in High-cost areas. ADU’s shall be available for occupancy for a term of no less than 30 days.

• Matching portions of funds into local or regional housing trust fund.

• Matching portions of funds available through the Low- and Moderate Housing Asset Fund pursuant to subdivision (d) of HSC Section 34176.

• Capitalize reserves for Services connected to the preservation and creation of new permanent supportive housing.

• Assist persons experiencing or At risk of homelessness, including, but no limited to, providing rapid rehousing, rental assistance, supportive/case management services that allow people to obtain and retain housing, operating and capital costs for navigation centers and emergency shelters, and the new construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of permanent and transitional housing.

• Accessibility modifications in Lower-income Owner-occupied housing.

• Efforts to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed or vacant homes and apartments.

• Homeownership opportunities, including, but not limited to, down payment assistance.

• Fiscal incentives made by a county to a city within the county to incentivize approval of one or more affordable housing projects or matching funds invested by the county in an Affordable housing development project in a city within the county, provided that the city has made an equal or greater investment in the project.

The proposed plan must describe the manner in which the allocated funds will be used for eligible activities.  Describe the way the Local government will prioritize investments that increase the supply of housing for households with incomes at or below 60% of AMI.  Describe how the Plan is consistent with programs set forth in the City’s Housing Element.  Be authorized and approved by resolution, and ensuring the public had adequate opportunity to review and comment on the contents of the Plan.  The annual allocation for the City of Coalinga is $103,109 for a five-year total of $618,655.

The City of Coalinga proposed five-year plan activities are:

• Provide accessibility modification for owner-occupied homeowners, with incomes at or below 60% of AMI, and will provide Homeownership, via closing cost assistance, to households with incomes below 60% of AMI, to approximately 13 households per year in years one and two.

• Provide financing to two households per year for the development of an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in connection with the City’s, “Cottage Home” Program (currently under development) in years three, four and five.

• Five-percent of each annual allocation can be used to cover administrative cost associated with the administration of the plan.  Staffing and overhead cost directly related to carrying out the eligible activities are “activity costs” not subject to the cap on “administrative cost.”

The application and approved five-year plan are due by 5:00 PM on July 27, 2020.   Department anticipates issuing award letters between August 2020 and October 2020.