RESOLUTION NO. 2025-XX-XXXX
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL CALIFORNIA, APPROVING YEAR FIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE LOS ANGELES URBAN COUNTY PERMANENT LOCAL HOUSING ALLOCATION PROGRAM BY AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR, OR HIS/HER DESIGNEE, TO SIGN A REIMBURSABLE CONTRACT WITH THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (LACDA) ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES WHEREAS, housing policy has been a long-standing priority in California. Over the past half-century, the State Legislature has approved numerous measures requiring local governments to adequately plan for housing needs in their communities. Municipalities are also required to prepare and update local General Plans which have mandated elements, including a Housing Element. The Housing Element is the only Element of the General Plan required to be certified by the State every eight years; and WHEREAS, historically, the City used redevelopment funds to acquire properties, overcome site development constraints, and prepare sites for housing development. The Community Redevelopment Law (Health & Safety Code §§33400 et seq.) required cities to set aside 20% of their redevelopment funds to be specifically allocated for the development of affordable housing. The redevelopment program was a significant tool the City used to increase the amount and availability of affordable housing. The City successfully used its share of redevelopment funding to develop a total of 305 affordable units and in the last housing cycle has met 100% of its required Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for very low- and low-income housing units. In 2011, however, the State dissolved redevelopment agencies and the funding made available through them; and WHEREAS, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) issued a Notice of Funding Availability announcing the availability of approximately $195 million in funding for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program on February 26, 2020, a program funded by the Building Homes and Jobs Act which established a $75 recording fee on real estate documents to be used toward increasing the supply of housing and assistance with homelessness in California, and the first available funding was issued in 2020, the first year in a five-year period; and WHEREAS, the County of Los Angeles will be applying for PLHA funding and has assigned the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) division to facilitate the application and oversee implementation of funded activities once awarded; and WHEREAS, the City has an Urban County Agreement with the LACDA. The LACDA is submitting an application for a five-year State Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program PLHA grant. The County has selected their Eviction Defense Program for use of the PLHA funds. The City has the option to solely participate in the countywide program, or participate in the countywide program and request local funds for alternate local activities. Under this program, the City must submit a form requesting the funding and identify eligible alternate activities for the funds which must be approved by the County; and WHEREAS, on September 22, 2020, the City Council approved a resolution for participation in the eligible alternate PLHA program and the City submitted the Year One request for $65,482 to be used for implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element to accelerate the production of affordable housing; and WHEREAS, in October 2020, HCD approved the County’s Year One funding request for the Eviction Defense Program. HCD also determined that funding for the eligible alternative funding programs, including the City’s request would require an amendment to the PLHA five-year Plan; and WHEREAS, On February 9, 2021, the County approved the amended five-year PLHA Plan and submitted it to the State. Because the timing was so close to the pending release of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Year Two PLHA funds, HCD decided they would review the amendment together with the Year Two PLHA funding requests; and WHEREAS, On May 3, 2021, the HCD released the NOFA for Year Two PLHA funds. On August 17, 2022, the HCD released the NOFA for Year Three PLHA funds. The NOFA for Year Three announced approximately $335 million in addition to the $311 million from the previous two years; and WHEREAS, On April 1, 2024, the HCD released a NOFA for Year 4 of the PLHA funds. The NOFA for Year Four announced approximately $9 million in additional dollars. The City will be allocated $47,806 from the $9 million grant for Year 4 of the program; and WHEREAS, the City has requested $65,482 for Year One, $101,780 for Year Two, $95,383 for Year Three, $47,806 for Year Four and is now requesting $31,874 for the Year Five funding and the City’s workforce housing consultant, National CORE is assisting with the release of the Years 1-3 funds which should be available in 2025; and WHEREAS, the City is situated over one of the largest producing oil fields in the nation and therefore has multiple constraints to development such as abandoned oil and gas wells, soil contamination, methane and other associated constraints, which limit the available land area to develop housing and may require expensive and extensive assessment and remediation activities costing hundreds of thousands of dollars for which the City has no alternative source of funding; and WHEREAS, the ongoing PLHA funds will supplement the costs of activities related to the implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element, including site acquisition and assessment of development constraints for housing required by the 6th Cycle RHNA allocation of 517 units. The funds will supplement the implementation of the Housing Element tasks by assisting with site remediation and acquisition to promote the production of required housing units for very low, low, and moderate income housing; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Signal Hill desires to submit a request for the City’s share of available funding to LACDA for Year Five which will continue Years One through Four predevelopment activities including site constraints and remediation which are necessary to accelerate the production of housing and facilitate implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element programs, goals, and policies; and WHEREAS, the City of Signal Hill desires to participate in the Los Angeles Urban County PLHA Program for the Year Five funding; and WHEREAS, the city authorizes the execution of a Reimbursable Contract with the County of Los Angeles in order to receive said PLHA funds.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California does hereby find as follows:
Section 1. The City Council approves participation as proposed in the eligible alternate activities to be implemented by using PLHA grant program funding and hereby authorizes and directs the City Manager to submit the requested form, associated letter and approved resolution to LACDA by February 14, 2025 to meet the LACDA deadline for receipt of such letters.
Section 2. In connection with the PLHA grant, if the request is approved by LACDA, the City Manager is authorized to execute any and all documents necessary for participation in the Los Angeles Urban County PLHA grant program to receive reimbursement for related expenditures for the estimated amount of $31,874 for Year Five, the obligations related thereto, and all amendments thereto.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California, on this 11th day of February, 2025. ________________________________
KEIR JONES
MAYOR
ATTEST:
____________________________
DARITZA GONZALEZ
CITY CLERK
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )
CITY OF SIGNAL HILL )
I, DARITZA GONZALEZ, City Clerk of the City of Signal Hill, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 2025-02-XXXX was adopted by the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California, at a regular meeting held on the 11th day of February 2025, and that the same was adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
________________________________
DARITZA GONZALEZ
CITY CLERK
1 Resolution No. 2025-02-XXXX
February 11, 2025