COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chenin Dow, Community Development Director
DATE: June 3, 2025
SUBJECT: Employee Housing Resource Officer Annual Report
Description:
The City Council will receive, review, and file the Employee Housing Resource Officer annual report.
Environmental Notice: The activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Stat e Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.
BACKGROUND:
On July 15, 2021, the City of Santa Maria entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement (Agreement) with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The Agreement is a result of an investigation of the City’s Employee Housing Ordinance completed by HUD in 2021. The Agreement required the City to repeal its Employee Housing Ordinance due to its potential to result in the restriction of housing for people from a specific country or national origin, defined as a Federally protected class. The Ordinance was repealed on July 20, 2021, and the Agreement between HUD and the City of Santa Maria is in effect for five years, until July 20, 2026. This annual report presents a summary of the performance/trends/lessons learned resulting from the implementation of the Agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The Agreement specifies timelines for the completion of requirements such as the development of a Language Access Plan (LAP) , as well as a work plan that implements the LAP and includes the creation of a “complaint reporting system” for any alleged housing discrimination. The City has continued implementation of the LAP and all staff are trained in its procedures. Employees have access to the list of City employees certified to translate and interpret in the workplace and have access to translated documents, forms, and brochures for printing and distribution. The City’s website provides a Google Translate function to ensure that all notices, programs, and other City documents can be translated into any language.
The City has established an Employee Housing working group to meet periodically to discuss Employee Housing issues and any challenges or items to review. Two meetings are planned to be scheduled this year, one in the summer and one in the fall. Topics of 2 discussion include housing inventory, fiscal challenges, and the overall needs of H2A workers. The City has procedures for the Employee Housing Resources Officer (EHRO) to follow if a complaint regarding Employee Housing is filed. This process has been provided on the City’s website , along with the EHRO’s contact information. To date, the EHRO has not received any complaints regar ding housing discrimination in the City or regarding the quality and/or safety of occupied Employee Housing Units.
As a part of the Community Development Department’s ongoing Fair Housing outreach efforts, a Fair Housing and Equal Access Workshop was provided by the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County on June 4, 2024 . This year, the Community Development Department Community Programs Division, in partnership with the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County, hosted a tenant’s rights workshop f or Mixtec speakers on January 29, 2025, and o n April 23, 2025, a housing rights clinic to address Fair Housing issues/concerns. A n additional Fair Housing Workshop is scheduled for June 5, 2025. The topics to be discussed includ e tenant and landlord rights , housing violations, protected classifications, and housing discrimination. This workshop will be in English, with interpretation offered as needed.
This report is intended to provide the City Council with an update as to the status of compliance with t he Agreement and any resulting performance/trends/lessons learned.
At this time, the City is in compliance with the Agreement and has been coordinating with HUD to complete all requirements. The EHRO will continue to facilitate the implementation of the requirements of the Agreement and provide the City Council with a report annually.
Fiscal Considerations
The implementation of the terms of the Agreement by the EHRO has some fiscal impact on the City with work hours covered by the Planning Division Manage r, and other City staff and training consultants. There could be punitive fiscal impacts to the City if HUD were to find that there is a failure to carry out the terms of the Agreement resulting in a material breach. This may result in a suspension, termin ation, or refusal to grant or to continue Federal financial assistance to the City. This is a determination that would be made by HUD, and the city would have seven days to cure any breach following notice by HUD before any enforcement actions were initiated.
Impact to the Community
The continued implementation of the Agreement by the EHRO will have a positive impact to the community. The implementation of the terms of the Agreement will continue the City of Santa Maria’s efforts to ensure meaningful access to City programs and activities by all Santa Maria residents.
ATTACHMENT(S)
A. Executed Voluntary Compliance Agreement