TO: CITY COUNCIL
VIA: CITY ADMINISTRATOR
Placentia City Council
FROM: DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
DATE: MARCH 1, 2022
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED PROGRAMS AND
ACTIVITIES TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE COUNTY OF ORANGE FOR
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-23
FISCAL
IMPACT: CDBG FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $377,237 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-23 SUMMARY:
The Federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 provides Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for projects that promote the development of viable urban communities by providing suitable living environments for persons of low and moderate income. As a Metropolitan City, the City of Placentia does not compete with 11 other County cities to apply and receive CDBG funds through the County of Orange ("County"). The amount of CDBG funding received by the City is established and provided directly by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) via the County. The funding allocation varies from year to year; therefore, the funding allocation will be presented to the City Council on an annual basis.
For Fiscal Year ("FY") 2022-23, the anticipated funding amount is $377,237, of which the City will receive $339,514 directly. Eligible funding programs and activities must adhere to National Objectives established by HUD and the County's Consolidated Plan. The program and projects must achieve a specified performance outcome such as improving accessibility through removal of physical barriers or promoting livable and viable neighborhoods by providing a benefit to low to moderate income residents. This action will conduct a public hearing on the proposed programs and activities and authorize the City Administrator, or his designee, to submit the application to the County to receive CDBG funds for the programs and activities described herein.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
1. Open the Public Hearing to consider proposed programs and activities for the Community Development Block Grant Funding for Fiscal Year 2022-23; and
2. Receive the Staff report, consider all public testimony, ask any questions of Staff; and
2. a.
Mar. 1, 2022
City Council Agenda
March 1, 2022
3. Close the Public Hearing; and
4. Authorize the City Administrator to submit an application to the County of Orange to receive CDBG Funds to support public service programs, public facilities improvements, housing rehabilitation needs, and administrative expenses for Fiscal Year 2022-23; and
5. Authorize the City Administrator to execute all necessary documents, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
DISCUSSION:
The Federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 provides CDBG funds for projects that promote the development of viable urban communities by providing suitable living environments for persons of low and moderate income. As a Metropolitan City, the City does not compete with 11 other County cities to apply and receive CDBG funds through the County. The City's funding allocation will be established annually by HUD.
Eligible programs and activities must adhere to the established performance objectives established by HUD and conform to the priority levels set by the County. This includes creating a suitable living environment that benefits communities, families, or individuals that are from designated low to moderate income areas of the City. Projects must also achieve specified performance outcomes such as improving accessibility through removal of physical barriers or promoting livable and viable neighborhoods by providing a benefit to low to moderate income residents.
As indicated in the chart below, the CDBG amount of $339,514 will be allocated to the City and will serve as a direct offset and/or supplement to the General Fund for specific programs and activities that support viable urban communities. The remaining $37,723 will be provided to the County to cover costs related to preparation of the Annual Action Plan (AAP), Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), and other administrative costs. $52,500
$50,000
$140,291
$21,000
$38,000
$37,723
$339,514
Housing Rehabilitation Program
Housing Needs
Facade Improvement Program
Public Facilities/Non-
Neighborhood Park Facility (Whitten Center ADA Parking Lot Housing Rehabilitation
Accessibility Project)
Public Services
Senior Services Salaries (Lunch Program) '
(Mandated 15% of
- —
CDBG Funds)Public
Services Salaries (Neighborhood Services)
Administration - City
Assistant to the City Administrator/Economic
Development Manager Salary for Administering CDBG Programs Total CDBG Allocation to the City
$52,500
$50,000
$140,291
$21,000
$38,000
$37,723
$339,514
City Council Agenda
March 1, 2022
Administration - County County Staff - Maximum HUD Allocation Total CDBG Allocation to the County
TOTAL CDBG FUNDING ALLOCATION
Program Activities
$37,723
$37,723
$377,237
Housing Needs: The goal is to preserve and rehabilitate existing ownership housing stock. Due to the large percentage of the City's housing stock exceeding 50 years of age, measures must be taken to preserve the quality and livability of existing residential units. Many of these housing units are owned by low -moderate income persons, often elderly or disabled residents, who are unable to adequately care for their homes. Minor exterior rehabilitation efforts are often necessary to provide exterior repairs, weatherization, or clean-up improvements to maintain the quality of living conditions or for health and safety issues.
In addition, the Facade Improvement Program will be implemented in an effort to remove blight and provide for the expansion of the City's tax base through the use of CDBG funds for eligible fagade improvements to local businesses. The funds can be used for exterior improvements among the aging commercial buildings in the Old Town Placentia area. The program will be designed to promote Placentia as a positive venue for quality business, incentivize business improvements and attraction to enhance local economic growth, and ensure that government regulations promote a favorable business climate.
Public Facilities/Non-Housing Rehabilitation: The goal is to provide adequate Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility among identified public areas in the City. Title II of the ADA requires all public entities to give individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all their programs, services, and activities. Several of Placentia's public buildings, parks, and facilities require retrofit in order to remove possible barriers. The City has identified the Whitten Community Center's parking lot at 900 South Melrose Street as a project that would qualify for CDBG funding. The community center serves our low-income community and provides free direct assistance to food distribution programs, tutoring, document translation, and information/referrals to counseling, parenting classes, domestic violence intervention, and rental assistance. The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Center is a multigenerational center servicing youth, adults, and seniors. The parking lot is past its useful life and is in need of safe pedestrian and ADA accessibility from the parking lot to the Community Center and the Orange County Head Start Program. The striping is worn out, the handicap stalls are faded, and the pavement is lifting in some areas.
Public Services: HUD requires 15% of the total CDBG funding allocation to be designated to public services. Based upon the community need and HUD requirements, there is a high priority need to continue to support public services for senior and youth populations. The City's continuing Senior Lunch Program provides a local community benefit to the senior and disabled population by providing daily nutritional meals supplemented by much-needed social interaction. The
City Council Agenda
March 1, 2022
program serves an average of 450 lunches a month to senior and disabled residents in Placentia and the surrounding communities. The majority of attendees are over the age of 65, live alone, and are considered low-income. The City also provides several Neighborhood Services programs including free food distribution and human services referrals in areas designated as low -to - moderate income. These Neighborhood Services programs ensure that comprehensive and coordinated resources are available to support family needs.
Administrative Costs: HUD approves the allocation of 20% of the total CDBG funding for administrative costs. Per the current agreement with the County of Orange, the 20% will be equally divided between the City and the County. The County will file, on behalf of the City, several HUD mandated reports including the AAP, CAPER, Analysis of Impediments (AI), Citizen Participation Plan (CPP), and the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS) management. The City's administrative costs will be for the monitoring and reporting of the programs and activities.
Administrative costs will specifically be for the submittal of quarterly expenditure reports, financial activity, contracts, and summary of accomplishments for each of the programs and activities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Submittal of the proposed CDBG program and activities to the County will have a positive financial impact. The City will receive approximately $339,514 of the anticipated total amount of $377,237 in CDBG allocated funds for FY 2022-23 for the implementation of specific programs and activities that will have a positive impact upon our community.
Prepared by:
e nn tte a
s ist n e City Administrator/
Economic Development Manager
Reviewed and approved:
Damien R. Arrula
City Administrator
Reviewed and approved:
49�eph M. ambert
Director of Development Services