MEETING DATE:
APRIL14, 2020
SUBJECT:
Title
CDBG NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR FY2021-2025 CONSOLIDATED PLAN AND FY21 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
RECEIVE public input on the proposed uses of federal Community Development (CDBG) funds for the FY2021-2025 Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) and FY21 Annual Action Plan (AAP). This is a Note and File report.
Body
Board or Commission Action
Not Applicable
Relevant Council Strategic Theme
Not Applicable
Relevant Department
Not Applicable
Executive Summary
Under the federal CDBG Entitlement Program, the needs assessment is a required component of the Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) and Annual Action Plan (AAP) development process. The needs assessment is conducted to gather public input on the needs of the City’s low-and moderate-income population and the priorities for the expenditure of CDBG funds. This assessment typically includes both passive and active outreach to the community. Passive outreach includes a needs assessment survey, in both English and Spanish, posted on the City’s website. Surveys are also distributed at local facilities, public meetings and workshops. Active outreach to the community includes discussions at public meetings. This spring the City’s outreach efforts have been severely curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A needs assessment was posted on the City’s Community Development Block Grant webpage, very few responses were received. Due to the importance of communicating Covid-19 information, staff was not able to post the survey on social media. There were three opportunities for active outreach, one was conducted, the other two meetings were cancelled due to the pandemic. HUD has advised jurisdictions to proceed with the development of the plans according to the statutory requirements and issued guidance in March 2020 that stated, “HUD understands the exigencies of a public health challenge and will not penalize a grantee who does its best to comply with citizen participation requirements and documents its efforts.
Discussion
In order to receive CDBG funding as an entitlement jurisdiction, the City must submit, to HUD, a ConPlan and an AAP, and a Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Plan (CAPER) detailing our progress toward completing the ConPlan’s goals and objectives. In addition to those requirements, the City must have prepared a citizen participation plan, affirmatively further fair housing and submit several quarterly and annual financial and compliance reports. The ConPlan is prepared every five years to assess the housing and community development needs of the City’s low-and moderate-income residents and determine priorities for the expenditure of CDBG funds over the ConPlan period. The Annual Action Plan (AAP) serves as the application for annual funding allocations and details the annual expenditure of CDBG funds. The goal of the CDBG program is to provide grant funds to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for the City’s low- and moderate-income residents. Low- and moderate-income is defined by HUD as an annual household income that is equal to or less than 80% of the County’s Area Median Income (AMI).
Each year during the development of the AAP, the City consults with social service providers in San Marcos to gather input on the needs of their clientele. This year 40 agencies were invited to the meeting held on February 27, 2020. Staff from 18 agencies that serve San Marcos residents attended to share their needs. The major needs identified were: funding to expand programs; affordable housing; and resources for persons experiencing homelessness. Typically, most urgent needs are outside the scope of services provided by the City of San Marcos, however, the City has been helping low-and moderate-income residents obtain housing through the production of affordable housing units since 1994 and assisting 2-1-1 San Diego since 2008. The County of San Diego’s federally funded Section 8 program provides rental assistance but doesn’t have enough funding to meet the overwhelming demand.
Staff recommends the following priorities to be included in the FY 2021-FY 2025 ConPlan:
Capital Improvement Projects
• ADA Improvements to Public Infrastructure, Facilities and Programs
• Capital Improvement Projects in CDBG Income-Qualified Areas
Housing Programs
• Mandated Fair Housing Program
Non-Profit Service Coordination
• 2-1-1 San Diego
Economic Development
• Activities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low-and moderate-income persons
For FY21, the City will receive $724,987 in CDBG funds. Staff recommends the following programs/projects to be included in the FY21 Annual Action Plan:
Capital Improvement Projects
• ADA Improvements to Public Infrastructure, Facilities and Programs
Housing Programs
• Mandated Fair Housing Program
Non-Profit Service Coordination
• 2-1-1 San Diego
Economic Development
• Activities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low-and moderate-income persons
No formal action is being requested by the City Council at this time. The draft FY2021-2025 ConPlan and FY21 AAP will be posted on the City’s website for review on April 10, 2020. Comments will be accepted until May 10, 2020. Comments should be emailed to jmagee@san-marcos.net <mailto:jmagee@san-marcos.net> A draft CDBG budget will be included in the annual action plan. The draft plans will be presented to City Council for final approval on May 12, 2020.
Environmental Review
There is no environmental review associated with the needs assessment process.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this Note and File report. As stated, the City has been allocated funding for FY21 which will be submitted to City Council for approval on May 12, 2020.
Attachment(s)
Map of CDBG Income Qualified Census Tracts
Prepared by: Julie Magee, Program Manager
Submitted by: Julie Magee, Program Manager
Reviewed by: Jack Griffin, City Manager
Approved by: Jack Griffin, City Manager