City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: November 6, 2023
Report #:2308-1916
TITLE
Information Item: Summary of Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Accomplishments - Review of the Draft Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report and no action is required.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City is required to report annually to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the accomplishments for its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. This report, the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), summarizes the City’s CDBG accomplishments and expenditures for the Program Year/Fiscal Year 2022-2023 CDBG funding cycle. The City funded a total of seven projects that are summarized below.
The City conducted a public hearing with the Human Relations Commission on September 14, 2023 to allow for public review and discussion of the CAPER (Attachment A). The report was submitted to HUD by the September 29, 2023 deadline.
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto receives funds annually from HUD as an entitlement city under the CDBG program. As a recipient of CDBG funds, the City is required to prepare a CAPER at the end of each fiscal year. The CAPER describes the City’s progress implementing the activities identified in the 2022-2023 Annual Action Plan 1 and the goals and objectives of the 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan.2
1 Annual Action Plan: An annual report listing the activities the City intends to undertake with CDBG funds to address the needs and implement the strategies identified in the Consolidated Plan. 2 Consolidated Plan (Con Plan): A five-year strategic plan that addresses the housing and non-housing community development needs of lower income persons and establishes annual goals and objectives to meet the identified needs.
The HRC reviewed the CAPER report on September 14, 2023 and briefly discussed the findings and asked a few clarifying questions. The HRC did not provide any substantive comments on the CAPER. Additionally, there were no members of the public that spoke to this item.
ANALYSIS
During FY 2022-2023, the City’s CDBG subrecipients continued to provide vital services to extremely low, very low, low, and moderate-income households while addressing the priorities and needs of the community and the City’s funding priorities. The City has achieved a number of goals as outlined in the 2022-2023 Annual Action Plan (AAP) through CDBG funding.
A total of $620,468 was available for CDBG projects and programs during the 2022-23 program year. The City received $513,168 from the federal CDBG program and approximately $107,300 in program income. Through CDBG funds, 310 persons were assisted in this program year. Of those, 275 were extremely low-income, 23 were low-income and 12 were moderate-income.
CDBG CARES-Act (CDBG-CV) funds were available in FY 2022-23 and utilized for planning and administrative services to continue providing assistance to homeless providers in regard to their CV contracts, scope of work and the required substantial amendment processes. The number of persons assisted through CDBG-CV funds will be reported in next year’s FY 2023-24 CAPER.
The draft 2022-2023 CAPER (Attachment A) provides a detailed description of the programs and project accomplishments. The major accomplishments include the following:
1.Catholic Charities assisted mostly low- and moderate-income (LMI) elderly residents through the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program at the Palo Alto long-term care facilities that mainly serve low-income residents. Additionally, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program resolved complaints made by, or on behalf of, low-income elderly residents of the facilities. [Goal: Assist 50 individuals; Actual: 62 individuals]
2.Alta Housing had on-site counseling services available to the residents of the 131 units of the Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Resident Support Program at Alma Place (25 units) and Barker Hotel (106 units). [Goal: Assist 50; Actual: 148 individuals]
3.LifeMoves, at the Opportunity Services Center, provided case management services, including assistance with housing and job searches, referrals, and mentoring homeless and/or very low-income Palo Alto residents. [Goal: Assist 30 individuals; Actual: 49 individuals]
4.Project Sentinel assisted LMI individuals in investigating their fair housing complaints, as well as provided individual consultation relating to specific fair housing questions. The outreach goal was 100 individuals, and the case management goal was 15 LMI individuals.
Project Sentinel completed outreach to 779 residents who received fair housing mailers, and provided case management to 22 LMI residents. [Goal 1: Outreach 100 individuals; Actual 779 individuals] [Goal 2: Assist 15 LMI individuals; Actual 22 LMI individuals]
5.Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC) (Housing and Emergency Services) assisted adults with disabilities in developing an independent living plan for housing that resulted in improved accessibility to decent, affordable housing. [Goal: Assist 24 individuals; Actual: 24 individuals]
6.Rebuilding Together Peninsula (Safe at Home) assisted income-qualified owner-occupied households with home rehabilitation. [Goal: Assist 4 households; Actual: 5 households]
7.525 E. Charleston Road Eden Housing requested funds for public facilities improvements adjacent to its proposed 50-unit affordable housing development. Approximately half the units are for persons with disabilities. [Goal: Assist 355 individuals; Actual: 0 individuals]
Michell Park Place/525 E. Charleston Road affordable housing project’s tax credit application (LIHTC) was recently approved and construction is targeted to commence in early 2024.
TIMELINE
As required by HUD, the FY 2022-23 CAPER was submitted by the September 28th deadline.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
This informational report has no fiscal impact.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
An advertisement was published in The Daily Post on August 28, 2023 announcing the availability of the draft CAPER for public review and comment. The draft CAPER was posted on the City’s CDBG webpage (https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/cdbg) from August 30, 2023 through September 13, 2023, meeting the 15-day public comment period requirement. The Human Relations Commission held a public hearing on September 14, 2023, to discuss the CAPER and provide the public the opportunity to comment; the meeting fulfills the public hearing requirement for the CAPER. There were no public comments made during the hearing and the HRC did not provide comments necessitating changes to the contents and or metrics of the CAPER Report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a considered a project as defined by CEQA because the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report is for informational purposes only with no action required by the Council.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: FY 2022-2023 Palo Alto CAPER Report
APPROVED BY:
Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director