ACTION:
____________________________
Clerk/Secretary
Department: City Manager Item No: C3
Prepared by: Angela Baggett, Management Analyst Meeting Date: February 14, 2023 Approved by: Amanda Lee, Acting City Manager Agenda Location: Consent Calendar SUBJECT: APPLICATION FOR THE ENCAMPMENT RESOLUTION FUNDING ROUND 2 (ERF-R2)
GRANT FROM THE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS (CAL ICH) RECOMMENDATION: Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2023- , authorizing the application for the Encampment Resolution Funding Round 2 (ERF-R2) grant from the Interagency Council on Homelessness (CAL ICH).
CORRELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS: (1) Homelessness and Housing; (2) Public Safety; (3) A Cleaner Vista.
PRIOR ACTION: On April 26, 2022, adopted City Council Resolution No. 2022-60, Encampment Resolution Funding Grant award of contract (Vote: 5-0).
On March 8, 2022, adopted City Council Resolution No. 2022-35, authorizing the City Manager to sign the Encampment Resolution Grant award from the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) and related documents, and City Council Resolution No. 2022-36, accepting grant funds of $1,828,394 from the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency’s (BCSH) California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) and amending the Operating Budget for Fiscal Years 2021/22 and 2022/23 (Vote: 5-0).
STATEMENT ON THE SUBJECT: The Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) Program was initially authorized in 2021 through Assembly Bill (AB) 140 (Chapter 111, Statutes of 2021), which allocated $50 million for what would become the first round of funding. Senate Bill (SB) 197 (Chapter 70, Statutes of 2022) amended the program and AB 178 (Chapter 45, Statutes of 2022) allocated an additional $300 million for Round 2 of ERF funding. Up to $150 million will be prioritized for proposals that serve people living in encampments on state rights-of-ways. The Program’s purpose is to fund person-centered proposals that resolve unsheltered homelessness in encampments.
Encampment Resolution Funding Round 2, or ERF-R2, funds may only be used for proposals that connect people experiencing homelessness in encampments to interim shelter with clear pathways to permanent housing or place people directly into permanent housing.
The City was awarded $1,828,394 from the first round Encampment Resolution Funding Program, administered by the California lnteragency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) for a targeted outreach and housing pathway demonstration project for unsheltered residents in Vista.
AGENDA
REPORT
CITY COUNCIL
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
SUCCESSOR AGENCY
BUENA SANITATION DISTRICT
JOINT POWERS FINANCING AUTHORITY
02/14/2023 C3 1 of 34
Approved above recommendation, adopted City Council Resolution No. 2023-9.
Vote: 5-0
MEETING DATE: February 14, 2023 PAGE 2
SUBJECT: APPLICATION FOR THE ENCAMPMENT RESOLUTION FUNDING ROUND 2 (ERF-R2)
GRANT FROM THE INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS (CAL ICH) The funded project featured targeted outreach and housing navigation services for a 24-acre city-owned parcel along Hacienda Drive that runs parallel to Hwy 78 along the Buena Vista Creek within the Buena Vista Watershed and surrounding areas. The awarded workplan incorporated programs to provide 30 to 40 individuals residing in and around the creek bed property with a pathway to safe and stable housing and restoration of the area to its original intended use as a public space. The grant funds critical services to support the City's Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness (Strategic Plan) including two social workers, a community health worker, and a housing navigator focused specifically on encampments in the area, and the addition of a Homeless Services Program Manager in the City's Housing & Homeless Services Division.
ERF-R2 funding, if awarded, will allow continued support and expansion of Vista’s current outreach and housing navigation services for our unsheltered Vista residents living in encampments. This request aligns with both the Strategic Plan and City Council goals. Staff is in the process of completing the application, and if the authorizing resolution is approved, staff will submit prior to February 28, 2023.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with submitting an application. A future agenda report will be brought back to the City Council for appropriation of awarded funds, if the application is successful.
EXHIBITS:
1. City Council Resolution No. 2023- , authorizing the application for the Encampment Resolution Funding Round 2 (ERF-R2) grant from the Interagency Council on Homelessness (CAL ICH)
2. Application Questions
3. Notice of Funding Opportunity