Title
Staff Report for Resolution Approving the City of San Leandro Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) of the FY 2012-2013 Annual Action Plan
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council hold a public hearing and then adopt the resolution approving the FY 2012-2013 CAPER and authorizing the execution of all related documents by the City Manager and submission of the CAPER to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The CAPER has been available for public comment since August 28, 2013. Upon adoption by the City Council, the CAPER will be combined with the Alameda County HOME Consortium's reports (for the County and each Consortium member city) and forwarded to HUD.
BACKGROUND
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires each jurisdiction that receives Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds to prepare a Five-Year Consolidated Plan, an annual Action Plan, and an annual Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The CAPER reports on all activities that took place during the fiscal year to assess the City's overall progress in accomplishing the annual Action Plan and the Five-Year Consolidated Plan objectives. The FY 2012-2013 CAPER reports on the activities and projects described in the FY 2012-2013 Action Plan and conducted during the period of July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.
Analysis
The CAPER document was prepared in accordance with the HUD suggested format and includes the following: an assessment of the progress toward achieving the five-year goals and objectives, an evaluation of annual performance, and a financial summary. Various HUD reports are included that provide information on the number of people served with each project and by categories such as race and income. A complete table of the five-year and 2012-2013 goals with annual results is attached (see Exhibit A, Comparison of Goals and Objectives). Below is a summary of some of the City's notable activities described in the CAPER.
Priority: Increase the availability of affordable rental housing for extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income families.
¨ New construction of affordable housing
In FY 2012-2013, the City and non-profit developer BRIDGE Housing Corporation continued to work closely together to move the residential development towards commencement of construction. BRIDGE Housing moved to a site east of the Downtown BART station and redesigned its original plans for The Alameda in order to construct 200 units of affordable rental housing, instead of the 100 units originally proposed west of the BART Station. The redesign also phases the project into a 115-unit affordable workforce and family building that will be constructed first with a second 85-unit senior housing building to follow. Construction of the 115-unit building is targeted to commence in August 2014.
¨ Acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable housing
The conversion/renovation from a market-rate property into a tax-credit, affordable housing property of Lakeside Village Apartments, an 840-unit apartment community located on Springlake Drive in San Leandro, continued throughout FY 2012-2013. The owners, Standard Lakeside I LP, successfully obtained Federal/State tax credit financing in 2011, and City subsidy was not necessary. Standard Lakeside continued to certify income-eligible households to convert the units into tax-credit, affordable rental units. More than half of the 840 units have undergone successful interior upgrades. Exterior improvements are also underway. All exterior improvements are anticipated to be completed by December 2013. The rest of the interior upgrades will be completed in Summer 2014.
Priority: Preserve existing affordable rental and ownership housing for low- and moderate-income households.
¨ Apartment Rehabilitation Program
Fargo Senior Center
Christian Church Homes (CCH) successfully completed the rehabilitation of Fargo Senior Center, the 4-building, 75-unit affordable senior housing property located in San Leandro. CCH used Federal/State tax credit financing to upgrade major building systems; to redesign and update the exterior facades; to replace exterior balconies; to replace existing windows with more energy efficient windows; to conduct asbestos abatement in all the interior units; and to renovate all units by installing new updated kitchens, new flooring, new plumbing fixtures, and updated bathrooms. Fargo Senior Center was rehabilitated without any City funding.
Surf Apartments
A $100,000 City loan approved by the City in January 2012 assisted the nonprofit Eden Housing in acquiring and rehabilitating Surf Apartments, a 46-unit multi-family affordable rental housing property located in San Leandro. Eden Housing preserved the property by completing immediate repair work that included roofing, bathroom fans, heaters, and insulation and physical improvements (i.e. plumbing upgrades, interior upgrades, exterior paint and lighting, and concrete and draining repairs). Eden Housing rehabilitated all 46 units, including 22 City-regulated units that have a 55-year affordability restriction period that began in 2003 and ends in 2058. Furthermore, as a result of the loan, an additional 10 units will be restricted for a 55-year period from 2011 through 2066.
¨ Housing Rehabilitation Program
In FY 2012-2013, the City restored its Housing Rehabilitation Program by funding it with $90,000 federal CDBG funds and $55,000 local General Funds.
The significantly reduced funding altered the program as the City eliminated the program's low-interest rehabilitation loans. The program was redesigned to provide only rehabilitation grants in the maximum amounts of $5,000.
A total of fourteen (14) housing rehabilitation grants were provided using CDBG funds. Of these fourteen (14) grants, five (5) were for extremely low-income (≤ AMI) homeowners, five (5) were for very low-income (≤ AMI) homeowners, and four (4) were for low-income (≤ AMI) homeowners. Twelve (12) of the grants were for seniors. The breakdown for the types of grants, including combination grants, is as follows: 5 minor home repair grant, 8 mobile home repair grant, and 1 accessibility grant.
General Funds funded a total of nine (9) housing rehabilitation grants. Of the nine (9) grants, five (5) were for extremely low-income (≤ AMI) homeowners, three (3) were for very low-income (≤ AMI) homeowners, and one (1) was for a low-income (≤ AMI) homeowner. Six (6) of the grants were for seniors. The breakdown for the types of grants, including combination grants, is as follows: 8 minor home repair grant and 1 mobile home repair grant.
Priority: Assist low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers.
¨ First-Time Homebuyer Program (FTHB)
For this past fiscal year, the City eliminated FTHB loans to income-eligible first-time homebuyers due to the State elimination of the City's Redevelopment Agency. However, the City continued to contract with Bay Area Homebuyer Agency (BAHBA) to administer the City's homebuyer program including education and counseling, refinancing approvals, and resale of existing below market rate units. In FY 2012-2013, BAHBA conducted two (2) City-sponsored and free first-time homebuyer education seminars and a post-purchase workshop.
Priority: Reduce housing discrimination.
¨ Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity Housing (ECHO Housing)
The City continued to contract with ECHO Housing, a regional non-profit fair housing agency, to provide fair housing services. In FY 2012-2013, the City allocated General Funds, not CDBG funds, to ECHO Housing's fair housing program.
· ECHO Housing provided information, counseling, and/or investigation in twenty-two (22) fair housing inquiries or allegations of housing discrimination involving forty-eight (48) clients. With some cases reporting more than one type of discrimination, the allegations accounted for the following: two (2) cases involved sexual orientation, three (3) cases involved arbitrary, two (2) cases involved reasonable accommodation, two (2) cases involved familial status, four (4) cases involved disability, two (2) cases involved national origin, three (3) cases involved race, one (1) case involved source of income, and one (1) case involved sexual harassment.
· ECHO's fair housing counselors conducted eleven (11) fair housing training sessions for landlords and property managers, tenants and potential homebuyers, and the general public.
· In celebration of April Fair Housing Month, ECHO Housing received a Fair Housing Mayoral Proclamation from the City of San Leandro in recognition of Fair Housing Month at the April 1st, 2013 City Council Meeting.
· ECHO Housing conducted twelve (12) random and targeted audits to gauge the level of discrimination based on voice identification in the rental housing market. ECHO Housing tested a total of twelve (12) rental properties in San Leandro. The audit report was released April 2013.
Priority: Maintain and improve the current capacity of the housing and shelter system, expanding transitional and permanent supportive housing, and providing services to homeless individuals and families, including integrated health care, employment services and other supportive services.
¨ Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC) - San Leandro Shelter
The City funded BFWC with CDBG funds to provide supportive services to homeless families at its emergency shelter, known as the San Leandro Shelter. BFWC provided emergency shelter and support services, which included 10,938 nights, of which 398 beds were supported by the City, and 32,814 meals for 267 San Leandro homeless women and children (182 women and 85 children) in crisis. Of the 120 women who exited the San Leandro Shelter, fifty-one (51), or 43%, exited to permanent housing.
¨ Davis Street Family Resource Center (DSFRC)
The City also funded DSFRC with CDBG funds to provide supportive services to homeless persons. DSFRC provided an array of basic services for 77 homeless people. Homeless persons received various services, including three day's worth of groceries up to twice a month, emergency clothing, and household items.
Priority: Maintain and expand activities designed to prevent those currently housed from becoming homeless.
¨ Housing Rehabilitation Program
Under the City's redesigned Housing Rehabilitation Program, extremely low- and very low- income homeowners, particularly seniors, have their homes improved and remain housed. Of the twenty-three (23) grants awarded, eighteen (18), or 75%, were provided to seniors.
¨ Rental Assistance Program
ECHO Housing's Rental Assistance Program (RAP) assists tenants with delinquent rent or security deposit. Funded with CDBG funds, RAP provided six (6) families with rental assistance in FY 2012-2013. Two (2) families were assisted with security deposits while the other four (4) families received assistance by having their delinquent rents paid.
¨ Tenant/Landlord Counseling
Using CDBG funds, the City contracted with ECHO Housing for tenant/landlord counseling services to help maintain people in housing. In FY 2012-2013, ECHO handled 126 cases related to eviction and succeeded in preventing three (3) households from being evicted. Staff also assisted with fifty (50) landlord/tenant inquiries related to repairs, twenty-five (25) cases regarding security deposits, twenty-four (24) instances involving rent increases, five (5) occurrences of unlawful entry by a landlord, and two (2) cases involving retaliation by the landlord. There were also seventy-four (74) miscellaneous inquiries (e.g., information on rental contracts and unlawful detainers, providing general information on tenant and landlord rights with referrals). ECHO staff assisted eighteen (18) households with conciliation/mediation services. Lastly, staff referred forty-six (46) households to attorneys/small claims court and nineteen (19) households to other appropriate agencies. ECHO staff distributed a total of 520 educational materials, provided 126 public service announcements, and held two (2) trainings for property owners/managers.
¨ Davis Street Family Resource Center
The City was able to provide Davis Street Family Resource Center (DSFRC) with General Funds in FY 2012-2013 to provide affordable housing assistance for the homeless and very low-, low-, and moderate-income persons. DSFRC staff assisted thirty-three (33) individuals seeking housing assistance to identify available housing units utilizing 2-1-1 and the most recent listings from Eden I&R and the Outreach Resource Collaborative network staffed by the Alameda County Public Health Department. DSFRC staff also assisted two (2) referrals from the Interfaith Homelessness Network (IHN) search for housing units and obtain eligibility for public assistance programs.
¨ Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP)
The Mid-County Housing Resource Center (HRC) established at the Davis Street Family Resource Center continued to provide homeless prevention and assistance services to homeless individuals and families and those at risk of homelessness. The HRC is funded by the $1.5 million Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) funds that BFWC, in coordination with the cities of San Leandro, Alameda, and Hayward; Alameda County Housing & Community Development Department; Abode Services; and DSFRC, received in 2009. The entire 3-year funding allocation, which has been fully exhausted, allowed agencies throughout the County to assist 6,348 persons; 4,279 retained their permanent housing; and 1,226 homeless persons obtained permanent housing from November 2009 through August 2012.
Priority: Support public services.
¨ Services for Low-Income Families, Children, Women in Crises, Seniors and
Persons with Disabilities
With CDBG funds, the City funded eight (8) projects which are operated by six (6) agencies -- Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC), Davis Street Family Resource Center (DSFRC), Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity (ECHO Housing), Girls, Inc., Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments (SAVE), and SOS/Meals on Wheels. Collectively, they provided the following services to a total of 12,706 low-income persons.
· DSFRC's Family Support Services Program provides "Basic Needs" services to low-income and working poor individuals and families experiencing life/financial crises. This includes emergency food and clothing and other family support services, such as medical and dental services, employment counseling, and housing assistance. For FY 2012-2013, DSFRC served 11,337 total unduplicated persons, of which 77 were homeless persons, 2,402 were female-headed households, and 752 were persons with disabilities or special needs. DSFRC also provided 3,427 families with 100,494 meals over the course of the year.
· DSFRC's Community Counseling Program provides crisis intervention and short-term counseling to individuals, couples, families, children/youth, and seniors and groups. For FY 2012-2013, fifty-six (56) San Leandro individuals (in group, family, couples or individual sessions) received crisis intervention and/or short-term community counseling services and access to eligible family resource center services.
· Girls, Inc. Pathways Counseling Center's Family Strengthening Program delivers mental health services at five (5) San Leandro Unified School District schools, specifically including Washington Elementary School. For FY 2012-2013, a total of 112 assessments and therapy appointments were provided for twenty-one (21) Washington Elementary students.
· Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments' (SAVE) Community Oriented Prevention Services (COPS) Programs is a partnership between SAVE and the San Leandro Police Department working to prevent and reduce domestic violence and to provide services to victims and their children. In FY 2012-2013, COPS Advocates provided crisis intervention services, education, and/or referrals to 235 San Leandro residents. SAVE also presented its Teen Dating Violence Program, which educates and increases awareness of teen dating violence issues, to 4,734 students of high schools throughout Alameda County.
· SOS/Meals on Wheels' Meal Delivery Service program provides uncurtailed delivery of warm, nutritious, and balanced meals to homebound seniors who are over 60 years of age and unable to purchase or prepare food for themselves. Throughout FY 2012-2013, 144 homebound seniors were served with hot and nutritious meals.
Priority: Support public facilities and other community improvements.
CDBG-funded City projects:
· With a $31,139 allocation of CDBG funds, the City continued to remove barriers to travel for disabled citizens by replacing or installing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant pedestrian ramps in locations throughout the City. The City completed thirty (30) ADA curb ramps this past fiscal year.
CDBG-funded projects for non-profit service providers:
· As of June 30, 2013, Building Futures with Women & Children (BFWC) has completed the rehabilitation of its domestic violence shelter. The City's $100,000 loan, which includes a $50,000 CDBG Capital Improvement Project (CIP) loan in FY 2008-2009 and an additional $50,000 CDBG CIP loan in FY 2012-2013, was instrumental in completing the necessary facility improvements to the shelter to better serve its clients. The extensive rehabilitation made the shelter fully accessible to disabled residents, and included both interior and exterior repairs and upgrades to the main house and to the back cottage, a renovated kitchen, the renovation of the existing bathroom and the addition of a new bathroom, a new backyard deck, and new landscaping.
Actions to Address Obstacles to Meeting Underserved Needs, Foster and Maintain Affordable Housing, and Eliminate Barriers to Affordable Housing
¨ Foster and Maintain Affordable Housing
· The City annually monitors preservation of 620 Below-Market Rate (BMR) rental units (funded and/or regulated by the City/Redevelopment Agency) for tenants earning between 30% and 120% of the Area Median Income. This inventory of BMR units includes seventy-three (73) units at Fargo Senior Center and twenty-two (22) units at Surf Apartments that were rehabilitated this past fiscal year. Additionally, the City monitors fifty-eight (58) existing BMR ownership units after two (2) BMR units were lost from the BMR program due to a short sale and a foreclosure.
· In May 2009, the Livermore NSP1 Program, a partnership of the cities of Livermore, Berkeley, Fremont, San Leandro and Union City, were successfully awarded funds from the State of California NSP 1 Program authorized under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008. The State identified Livermore and its partner cities as a "Tier 2" recipient eligible for $2.23 million in funds. NSP funds are intended to address the problem of foreclosed properties in need of rehabilitation. In FY 2012-2013, the Livermore NSP1 Program provided development financing to its program contractor Hello Housing, to purchase and rehabilitate one (1) foreclosed and vacant property located within the jurisdiction of San Leandro. Since the program began in January 2010, eleven (11) properties have been acquired and rehabilitated through the NSP1 program in the jurisdictions of Livermore (6), Fremont (1), San Leandro (3) and Union City (1).
· The Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) received a competitive grant of $11 million for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP 2 program) under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed and vacant homes and re-sell or rent them to eligible households. The County is the lead agency in the Alameda County NSP2 Consortium, which includes the Cities of Dublin, Emeryville, Livermore, Newark, Pleasanton, Hayward, Fremont, San Leandro, Union City, and the urbanized areas of the Unincorporated County. A total of six (6) NSP2 homes have been purchased in San Leandro: four (4) have been sold to qualifying families and two (2) are under purchase contract with qualifying families.
Current Agency Policies
Current Council Policy is defined by the FY 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan, adopted by Resolution No. 2010-038 on April 19, 2010.
Previous Actions
The Action Plan containing the programs and activities carried out during FY 2012-2013 was approved by the City Council on April 16, 2012.
Applicable General Plan Policies
The Housing Element of the General Plan addresses increasing the supply of affordable ownership and rental housing in San Leandro in Goal 53 - Affordable Housing Development of the Housing Element of the General Plan. Additionally, Goals 47 to 51 of the General Plan address the provision of community services and facilities in coordination with non-profit and other social services providers. Such services range from library and childcare services to youth and senior services.
Environmental Review
No environmental review is required.
Summary of Public Outreach Efforts
A notice of the public hearing was published in the Daily Review on August 28th, 2013. The CAPER was available at City Hall, the main library, and on the City's website for public comment from August 28th through September 16th, 2013. Letters were sent on August 28th, 2013, to the City's "CDBG's Mailing List" which includes CDBG service providers, homeowner associations, and community-based organizations.
Fiscal Impacts
None.
ATTACHMENTS
· Exhibit A: Comparison of Goals and Objectives: FY 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan (CAPER: Exhibit A)
PREPARED BY: Steve Hernandez, Housing Specialist, Community Development Department