The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annually provides grant funding to participating jurisdictions (PJ’s) throughout the country. In order to receive this funding, PJ’s are required to submit an Annual Action Plan (AAP) that outlines the ways in which the City plans to expend the funds in accordance with the Priority Objectives previously adopted in the 5-Year Consolidated Plan for the Use of HUD Funds. Prior to the submittal of the AAP, HUD requires a public hearing to receive comments regarding the various funding recommendations. The Draft Annual Action Plan has been available for public review from February 4, 2019 through the conclusion of this public hearing.

Approximately $4.3 million in HUD funds will be available during FY 2019-20. This budget includes $1.3 million in carry-over, or previously unallocated HUD funds from prior years’ allocations, and new anticipated allocations of $3 million in HUD funds.

Program plans and funding recommendations for 2019-20 are based upon the Priority Objectives and input received during the preparation of the 2015-2020 Consolidated Plan. During FY 2019-20, HUD funds will address a wide range of Garden Grove housing and community development needs. The funding recommendations are as follows:

Affordable Housing Improvement and Rehabilitation:  Utilizing $2.2 million in HUD funds, the City will rehabilitate 30 ownership units and help developers to acquire and/or rehabilitate 7 deed-restricted, affordable rental units.  

Emergency Service Grants:  In 2017, in order to prepare the Action Plans for the remainder of the life of the Consolidated Plan, the Orange County ESG Collaborative (comprised of staff from the cities of Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Anaheim) issued a multi-year Request for Proposals for Emergency Solutions Grant funding. $156,000 in funding is recommended for five (5) homeless service providers to prevent and address homelessness through street outreach, rapid rehousing, homeless prevention, data collection, and shelter operation.

Public Services:  HUD caps the amount of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds the City can use to offer services to the public at 15% of our annual allocation, or approximately $315,000. Staff recommends allocating funds to provide city-wide gang suppression activities and assistance to senior citizens.

Economic Development:  $100,000 in HUD funds is recommended for a Small Business Loan Program to assist four (4) businesses and create a minimum of four (4) new jobs for low-income residents. 

Public Improvements:  Approximately $1.7 million in CDBG funds is recommended for the Benton Neighborhood Slurry Seal and the Trask/Beach Sewer projects.

Program Planning and Administration:  Approximately $452,000 in CDBG, HOME, and ESG funds is recommended for staff and material costs for program management, project development and monitoring, public communication, reporting, and financial administration. An additional $22,522 is recommended for municipal support services and $34,932 to the Fair Housing Foundation to assist the City in fulfilling its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing.

The City’s exact allocations for CDBG, HOME and ESG funding is not yet known.  The funding recommendations contained in the Annual Action Plan are based on the estimated allocation.  Once the exact allocations are known, the proposed funding amounts for the activities included in the Action Plan will be adjusted accordingly.

All HUD citizen participation requirements have been met. Public notices regarding the Draft Action Plan, including an invitation to share comments at this public hearing, were published on or before February 1, 2019 in local English, Spanish, and Vietnamese language newspapers, exceeding HUD’s 30-day minimum public comment period.

The proposed 2019-20 Action Plan will allow the City to access an estimated $3 million in new entitlement grants from HUD and an estimated $1.3 million in unexpended previous year’s funds. The allocation of HUD funds effectively leverages local competitive grants, State funds, and the City’s General Funds.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Conduct a Public Hearing;

• Approve the Fiscal Year 2019-20 Action Plan for the use of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funds; and

•  Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute related documents and agreements with certain project-specific agreements to be brought before City Council for approval.

By:  Nate Robbins, Sr. Program Specialist