No General Fund impact. (100% HOME Investment Partnerships Act and Community Development Block Grant funds)

The Affordable Housing Finance Committee (AHFC) is a Board-appointed committee tasked to develop funding recommendations for the Board concerning the allocation of CDBG and HOME funds for affordable housing development. The current funding recommendations are the result of a competitive application process initiated in October of 2012. A Notice of Funding Availability was sent to over 100 jurisdictions, public agencies, affordable housing developers and interest groups active in the Urban County and Consortium area. DCD received 13 applications requesting approximately $12.4 million ($2.2 million in CDBG funds and $10.2 million in HOME).   
  
The AHFC met on February 13, 2013 to consider staff funding recommendations for CDBG-housing and HOME projects. Members of the public, including project sponsors, were invited to attend and provide input into the allocation process. Following discussion and comment on each project, the AHFC developed recommendations for the allocation of CDBG and HOME funds. A summary of the applications and AHFC actions is attached. The funding recommendations for the housing projects are coming to the Board ahead of the rest of the CDBG projects so that project sponsors can submit applications for low income housing tax credits to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee on March 6, 2013.   
  
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): All CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and ESG projects are subject to NEPA and 24 CFR Part 58 review. The NEPA review for each project will be completed prior to entering into project agreements or other legal documents for the project.   
  
The County will enter into various legal documents with the developers for each project. These documents may include some or all of the following: Loan Agreement, Promissory Note, Deed of Trust and Security Agreement, Regulatory Agreement, Intercreditor Agreement, Subordination Agreement, Loan Riders and Estoppels. The form of these documents will be submitted for Board of Supervisors approval at a later date, but prior to execution of any legal documents.   
  
Related Board Actions  
The anticipated HOME grant for FY 2013/14 is only $1.6 million. In order to support as many viable projects as possible, staff recommends HOME funds be combined with or replaced by other resources. In addition to the recommendations in this Board Order, the Board of Supervisors will consider the following recommendations on the February 26, 2013 agenda:  
1. Amend the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Substantial Amendment to add an activity number 8. This new activity will allow the County to allocate NSP funds to to projects that had applied for HOME funds.  
2. Allocate Summer Lake Affordable Housing (SLAH) funds.  
3. Recapture $1 million in unspent HOME funds from the Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) Tabora Gardens project for use in other projects. As recommended, the HOME funds will be replaced with NSP and SLAH funds.  
  
Also on the February 26 agenda is an inducement action for Oak Ridge Apartments in Oakley.  
  
FY 2032/14 CDBG, HOME, Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and HOPWA Annual Action Plan (Action Plan):  
The projects allocated CDBG and HOME funds through this Board action will be incorporated into the Action Plan. The Action Plan will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval on May 7, 2013. The Action Plan describes the activities the County will undertake during the program year to address priority needs identified in the Contra Costa County FY 2010-15 Consolidated Plan. The Action Plan identifies the use of grant funds and program income received during the program year by activity, and proposed accomplishments. The Action Plan also includes actions the County proposes to undertake during the year to address obstacles in meeting under-served persons, foster and maintain affordable housing, reduce the number of households living under the poverty level, and enhance coordination between public and private housing and social service agencies. In order to begin the program year on time, the FY 2013/14 Action Plan must be approved by the Board and submitted to HUD by May 15, 2013.  

If the Board does not approve the AHFC funding recommendations, the project sponsors seeking HOME funds will not be able to submit applications to the Tax Credit Allocation Committee and the California Debt Limit Advisory Committee on March 6, 2013.

Projects included in the Action Plan will provide safe decent housing for families. This supports outcome 3: Families are Economically Self Sufficient.