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Human Services Department recommending the Board conceptually approve the submittal of a Community Development Block Grant application to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for up to a $600,000 grant to continue to provide Housing Rehabilitation and Homeownership Assistance Loan Programs.
FUNDING: Federal CDBG Grant Funds.
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: No cost associated with the application process. The application would propose to utilize $6,000 of the Department's County General Fund Housing Element Implementation dollars for staff time as currently budgeted for this purpose to meet the cash match, $1,500 in building permit fee waivers and $3,000 in Weatherization program services during the three-year term.
Background:
The County's Housing Rehabilitation program was established in 1994 through a California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) award approved for submittal on April 5, 1994 by Board of Supervisors Resolution #86-94. The County also established a First-Time Homebuyer Loan Program through a HCD CDBG application approved for submittal on February 4, 2003 by Board of Supervisors Resolution #024-2003. Subsequent CDBG and HOME grant funding has been awarded to allow the County to continue to provide loans to low-income households on the Programs' waitlists.
Reason for Recommendation:
The Housing Rehabilitation and First-Time Homeownership Assistance Loan Programs provide funds to income eligible households, earning no more than 80% of the area median income based on household size, to rehabilitate or purchase homes in the unincorporated areas of El Dorado County. To date, the First-Time Homeownership Assistance Loan Program has enabled seventeen (17) income qualified families to purchase homes. The Program wait list currently includes 188 households. Since 1994, the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program has assisted sixty-three (63) homeowners to eliminate health and safety hazards and has a wait list with forty-two (42) households.
The 2009-2010 CDBG Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) has established State Objectives encouraging Native American Partnership Proposals with non-federally recognized tribes. In response to this funding objective, the Miwok Tribe of the El Dorado Rancheria has expressed an interest in partnering with the County to market the program to tribal member households. Priority, for Housing Rehabilitation Program loans only, would be given to loan applicants that are income eligible tribal member households.
This application would facilitate the continuation of the First-Time Homeownership Assistance and Housing Rehabilitation Loan Programs. It is anticipated that the grant would provide loans to eight (8) households (approximately twenty-eight (28) County residents) during the three-year term of the grant. Existing staff would be utilized to administer the Program activities under this grant. Assuming Board conceptual approval, a Public Hearing will be conducted on June 30, 2009 and Board adoption of a Resolution will authorize submittal of the referenced CDBG application.
Action to be taken following Board approval:
Human Services, Community Services Division - Spring Street to prepare funding application and all relevant documents for Board of Supervisors approval to submit to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
Contact: Janet Walker-Conroy, 642-7272
Concurrences: N/A