DATE:
April 4, 2023
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
Charles S. Bryant, Community Development Director
SUBJECT:
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A Professional Services Contract With Hello Housing To Provide Assistance To The City’s Affordable Homeownership And Rental Programs For A Term Of Three Years From April 5, 2023 To March 30, 2026 For A Total Contract Amount Not To Exceed $740,256 Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the above-entitled resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract with Hello Housing to provide assistance to the City’s Affordable Homeownership and Rental Programs for a total contract amount not-to-exceed $740,256 for the three-year period from April 5, 2023 to March 30, 2026.
Background
The City has policies and programs to support affordable housing through the creation, maintenance, and preservation of home ownership and rental opportunities for income-eligible households. Prior to the dissolution of redevelopment agencies statewide in 2012, the City implemented affordable housing objectives primarily through two activities:
Creation of deed restricted Below Market Rate (“BMR”) units through the City’s Affordable Housing Set-Aside Ordinance, frequently supported by additional financial assistance from the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency.
Down payment assistance directly to income-eligible buyers for both market rate and BMR units in the form of fully deferred “silent second” mortgages delivered through the following programs:
Redevelopment Funded Programs:
First Time Homebuyer Loan Program (“FTHB”), available to moderate income households for market rate and BMR units.
Ownership Housing Assistance Program (“OHAP”), available to low income households for BMR units.
State of California Funded Programs (These programs are governed by regulations and guidelines provided by the State):
CalHome Program, available to low income first time homebuyers for market rate and below market rate units.
Housing Enabled by Local Partnership (HELP) Program, available to low income buyers for market rate and below market rate units.
After the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency was dissolved, the housing obligations and assets of the former Agency were transferred to the City of Emeryville as Housing Successor. These homeownership and rental assets include over 230 BMR ownership units, 180 homebuyer loans, 14 homeowner rehab loans, and over 600 existing BMR rental units. The management activities related to these assets include handling resales of units, processing requests for loan payoffs and subordinations, monitoring owner-occupancy requirements, and responding to inquiries from program participants and other interested parties.
To provide these services, the City previously contracted with Michael Baker International from 2014 to late 2018, Placeworks from early 2019 to 2020, and Hello Housing from 2020 to early 2023.
On January 13, 2023, staff issued a Request For Proposals (“RFP”) to seek firms to provide assistance to the City in managing the City’s affordable homeownership and rental portfolio. The RFP was emailed to consulting firms that provide affordable housing program services, and was also posted on the City’s website. Staff received one response to the RFP by the February 10, 2023 submittal deadline from Hello Housing. A panel of three City staff reviewers rated the sole proposal received for responsiveness and qualifications and concluded that the proposal received from Hello Housing demonstrated that the firm is qualified to provide the services requested by the City.
Discussion
Qualifications
Hello Housing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that was established in 2005. Hello Housing has provided management and administration services for various BMR Homeownership, BMR Rental, and First Time Homebuyer Programs to the cities of Concord, Cupertino, Livermore, Menlo Park, Novato, and Pleasanton, County of Alameda, Housing Authority of the City of Alameda and the Town of Los Gatos within the past three years, and has also provided these services to the City of Emeryville since March 2020. Hello Housing has offices located in San Francisco and Oakland, has staff fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Spanish, and has an account with the Language Line that can be utilized by the City to provide translation services in other languages if needed.
Staffing Structure and Experience
Hello Housing’s staffing structure will include four employees operating out of the Oakland Hello Housing Office. This office is located at 1970 Broadway in downtown Oakland across from the 19th Street BART station, and is set up to receive members of the public, potential applicants, and existing program participants with questions.
As noted above, Hello Housing has provided Affordable Housing Program Assistance services to the City of Emeryville for the past three years, which has simplified the housing programs for end users, provided relief to City staff through education of end users on program requirements, and sustained the investment Emeryville has made to produce and preserve affordable housing. Therefore, staff recommends entering into a Professional Services Contract with Hello Housing (Exhibit A of the attached Resolution) for a term commencing in April 2023 and extending for three consecutive years for a total amount not to exceed $740,256.
Fiscal Impact
Funding for affordable housing program assistance services for the period of April 5, 2023 through June 30, 2023 is included in the Operating Budget for FY 2022-23 from the Affordable Housing Fund budget for Professional Services (Account 299-80050). The contract’s continuation through Fiscal Year 2025-26 is contingent upon the City’s inclusion of sufficient funding in those years’ operating budgets.
Staff Communication with the Public
There has been no staff communication with the public on this issue.
Conflict of Interest
None.
Conclusion
Staff is requesting that the City Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Contract with Hello Housing to provide assistance to the City’s Affordable Homeownership and Rental Programs for a total contract amount not-to-exceed $740,256 for the period April 5, 2023 to March 31, 2026.
PREPARED BY: Charles Harris, Community and Economic Development Coordinator II REVIEWED BY: Chadrick Smalley, Deputy Director of Community Development Approved and Forwarded to the
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EMERYVILLE:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution, including Exhibit A, Professional Services Contract with Hello Housing Affordable Home Ownership and Rental Program Services Contract City Council Meeting | April 4, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM