Agenda #: 7.1
Meeting Date: July 18, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Fox, City Manager
TITLE: UPDATED PROGRAM POLICIES FOR THE DIAMOND BAR HOME
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
STRATEGIC
GOAL: Safe, Sustainable & Healthy Community
RECOMMENDATION:
A. Determine that the proposed action does not constitute a project and is therefore exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and B. Adopt Resolution No. 2023-29 approving the updated Program Policies for the City’s Home Improvement Program.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The updated Home Improvement Program is funded annually with federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and state Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds, and thus does not impact the City’s General Fund.
BACKGROUND & DISCUSSION
The City’s Home Improvement Program (HIP) was originally established in 2003 as a CDBG-funded program, providing interest-free, deferred loans to eligible homeowners for the maintenance of safe, decent and sanitary housing. HIP funds are used to correct hazardous structural conditions; to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities; to improve the overall exterior appearance of the home; to eliminate an appearance of blight; to provide energy-efficient upgrades; and to correct exterior code violations. The HIP Program Policies were last updated in 2016.
Because of the spending restrictions on CDBG funds, the households eligible to receive HIP loans have been limited to owner/occupants of single-family homes with household incomes not exceeding 80 percent of Los Angeles County’s Area Median Income (AMI).
PLHA funds, however, have fewer restrictions, and allow HIP loans to also be issued to
households earning up to 150 percent of AMI, as well as to owner/occupants of condominiums.
On June 20, 2023, the City Council approved the expansion of the HIP to utilize both CDBG and PLHA funds to broaden the scope of homeowners eligible to receive HIP loans. To implement the expanded program, the attached updated Program Policies (Attachment 2) have been prepared for Council consideration and will supersede the current policy document. A redline/strikeout version of the updated Program Policies is included as Attachment 3 to show how the document has been revised.
Summary of Updated Program Policies
Key changes to proposed updated HIP Program Policies are highlighted below:
• The maximum loan amount for single-family detached homes is increased from $20,000 to $30,000.
• Owner-occupants of condominiums that meet the household income requirements are now eligible for HIP loans for up to $20,000, provided that PLHA funds are available. The maximum loan amount is lower than the cap for single-family detached homes because costlier improvements, such as roof maintenance and exterior repairs, are the responsibility of the condominium homeowners associations, not the individual homeowners.
• PLHA funds may be used to issue loans to households (both single-family detached and condominium) earning up to 150% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Los Angeles County. CDBG funds continue to be restricted to owner-occupied households of single-family detached housing earning no more than 80% of AMI. • A minimum loan amount of $10,000 is now required. Previously, no minimum was specified. Establishing a minimum loan amount encourages homeowners to address more improvements at once, and provides economies of scale with respect to the administrative costs associated with processing loans.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The proposed revisions to the HIP Program Policies do not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). As such, this matter is exempt under CEQA.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Attachments:
1. 7.1.a Resolution No. 2023-29
2. 7.1.b 2023 HIP Program Policy
3. 7.1.c HIP Policies - Tracked Changes