CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
March 20, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Benita DeFrank, Neighborhood Services Director SUBJECT: Approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County of Los Angeles for Lead Based Paint Hazard Mitigation Program Management Services and Amend the FY 2022-23 City Operating Budget to Increase Revenue Estimates and Appropriations by $238,814 upon Execution of the MOU RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:
Adopt the following resolution:
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-34 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES FOR LEAD BASED PAINT HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND AMENDING THE FY 2022-23 CITY OPERATING BUDGET TO INCREASE REVENUE ESTIMATES AND APPROPRIATIONS BY $238,814 UPON EXECUTION OF THE MOU (ATTACHMENT NO. 1) Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Memorandum of Understanding and all related documents, upon review by the City Attorney’s Office (Attachment No. 2) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In 2019, California cities and counties received a $305 million settlement against paint manufacturers for advertising lead paint for use in homes despite knowledge of its health hazards. Of this amount, the County of Los Angeles received $134 million. This amount is being used by the Los Angeles County Community Development Authority (LACDA) and the Department of Public Health for the Lead Paint Hazard Mitigation Program also called Lead Free Homes Los Angeles (L.A.). This program seeks to remove lead based paint hazards from an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 homes in the County in the next 8 years. LACDA would like to partner with the City of Pomona to remove lead paint hazards from the City’s aging housing stock.
FISCAL IMPACT: Once the MOU has been executed, the FY 2022-23 City Operating Budget will be amended to increase revenue estimates (215-1791-40878-58775) and appropriations by $238,814 to fund personnel, materials & supplies, and other operating costs (215-1791-5XXXX-58775) (Attachment No. 1 – Resolution Exhibit A).
PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS: No public notice is required.
DISCUSSION:
Lead Free Homes L.A. – Pomona
Through a collaborative effort between LACDA and the City of Pomona, the Lead Free Homes L.A. Program will target homes built prior to 1951 in low-income communities with a high prevalence of children under the age of six years and those that have peeling or chipping paint with children living or frequently visiting the homes. The Lead Free Homes L.A. Program has moved from city to city beginning with communities impacted by the Exide plant (Bell, Boyle Heights, Commerce, Maywood, East L.A., Huntington Park and Vernon), Cities of Long Beach (4th Supervisorial District), Cities of Pasadena, Monrovia, and unincorporated Altadena and North East San Gabriel (5th Supervisorial District). The Program is planned to be implemented in the City of Pomona (1st Supervisorial District) beginning in July 2023. This partnership requires that the two organizations enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to define the service area, scope of work, implementation timeline and funding necessary to do the work.
Services will be completely free to qualified households, and will include testing for and remediation of lead based paint hazards in both indoor and outdoor surfaces of the home. Income is not a factor in determining household eligibility. However, the homes must be single-unit residences and must be located within the City of Pomona’s service area (Attachment No. 3- Service Area Map). The service area was identified based on the highest percentage of single family homes built prior to 1951, higher percentage of low income households, and areas with highest lead risk exposure.
The service area has a total of 6,989 pre-1951 units and is home to approximately 78,974 residents with an average median household income of $43,796 ($95,300 for a family of four based on 2022 HUD income limits).
CITY OF POMONA SERVICE AREA PLAN
Districts
Population Total
Residential Parcels Built Pre-1951
Population under 6 years
Low and Mod Income Percentage
Districts 1 & 6
24,345
1,973
2,511
77.77%
Districts 2 & 5
30,015
2,091
3,857
71.87%
District 3
13,964
1,406
2,292
77.85%
District 4
10,650
1,519
1,604
65.35%
Totals
78,974
6,989
10,264
Outreach and enrollment activities will have four phases, beginning with Districts 1 and 6 (Phase 1). It will then move from district to district, concluding with District 4 (Phase 4). The estimated duration for outreach and enrollment activities is three months per phase or a total of 12 months to cover Pomona. The total project duration is 16 months, to allow three months ramp up for hiring, training, and preparations to launch the program, plus one month to ramp down and close out (Attachment No. 4 – Timeline of Activities). After Pomona, Lead Free Homes L.A. will move on to other supervisorial districts.
L.A. County Development Authority and City of Pomona Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) The City responsibilities involve creating program awareness, generating public interest, creating enrollment, and packaging completed applications. Specifically, the City shall generate community partnerships for information sharing and resource leveraging; conduct outreach and information dissemination activities, including attendance to community events; assist residents complete an application, follow-up missing information and conduct quality assurance checks; and provide referrals for related services.
The partnership with the City of Pomona allows LACDA to capitalize on the experience and resources available to the City to create program enrollment. It draws on successful models and precedents employed by the City from its other housing programs to engage the community and attract partners. Conversely, the partnership will allow the City to align its programs, particularly our Lead Education Awareness Control & Healthy Homes (LEACHH) Program, with LACDA’s Lead Free Homes L.A. Program. It stretches LEACHH Program dollars by focusing on multi-family housing units, and single unit properties that Lead Free Homes L.A. cannot assist.
The testing of properties for lead based paint hazards, remediation, clearance testing, and any relocation of owners/tenants arising from lead abatement activities shall be the responsibility of LACDA. The City’s assistance may further be requested to facilitate building and safety code permitting for contractors performing lead remediation work.
The LACDA will reimburse the City for its Lead Free Homes L.A. – Pomona activities, with the budget amounting to $238,814. This funding shall be used to hire outreach personnel, purchase computer equipment, and program supplies. Since the program has been implemented in other cities, marketing and outreach materials are already available and will be provided to the City by LACDA.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports 2021 City Council Priority #3 – Increased Opportunity and Housing Stability and Goal J – Encourage the development and maintenance of quality housing opportunities for all.
Prepared by:
Maria Siacunco
Housing Grants Supervisor
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment No. 1 – Resolution No. 2023-34
Attachment No. 1 – Resolution Exhibit “A” – Proposed Budget Amendment to the FY 22-23 City Operating Budget
Attachment No. 2 – Draft MOU between LACDA and the City of Pomona for Lead-Based Paint Hazard Mitigation Program Management Services
Attachment No. 3 – Lead Free Homes L.A. – Pomona Service Area Map Attachment No. 4 – Timeline of Activities
Lead Free Homes L.A. – Pomona, MOU
With L.A. County and Budget Amendment