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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 150-2022 (22-628) CAPER 1 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-05 - Goals and Outcomes Progress the jurisdiction has made in carrying out its strategic plan and its action plan. 91.520(a) This could be an overview that includes major initiatives and highlights that were proposed and executed throughout the program year. The City faced many challenges in program year 2021 with the continued effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. With the direction and additional funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City addressed community needs and new measures to reduce the effects of COVID. There were a number of changes and protocols to existing and new programs that were implemented during this year to address the current crisis. As a response to the growing need for economic development assistance, the City of South San Francisco developed the Economic Development Small Business Loan program to provide funding to small businesses affected during mandatory shutdowns implemented statewide. As part of the CARES Act, additional funding in the 2019 program year was available to aid those affected by COVID 19. The City also identified CDBG entitlement funds that were allocated to programs to assist with a COVID 19 response. This program continued into 2021 to assist the City with the response to COVID 19. Below is a brief overview of the programs and projects supported through the 2021 CDBG program. The programs were evaluated for both their performance during PY 2021 as well as progress against the five-year goals established in the Consolidated Plan. The complete table of service goals and outcomes is shown in Table 1. City Sponsored Housing Rehabilitation Program The City issued no debris box voucher, emergency voucher, or rehabilitation loans during 2021. The City is exploring more options for the housing rehabilitation loan program to partner with other jurisdictions and to help streamline this activity. The City continued its partnerships with CID, RTP and El Concilio to run the minor home repair programs. Public Facilities Improvements The City funded a few public improvements projects including the Breezeway between 321 and 329 Grand Avenue and the Avalon Park Pathways Improvements. The City has also submitted a substantial amendment to the PY2021 AAP which funded the Downtown Breezeway CAPER 2 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) Improvements project at 356 Grand Avenue. These projects were aimed to help pedestrian safety and accessibility in the CDBG target areas. Public Services Public service providers include Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse CORA, Ombudsman Services, Rape Trauma Services Center, Samaritan House, and Star Vista. These organizations provided services to 464 youth, seniors, persons with disabilities, and low-income persons and families. The total amount spent by CDBG for these programs was approximately $77,528. Economic Development To help mitigate the impact of COVID 19, the City of South San Francisco created a new Economic Development Small Business Relief Fund for local businesses. A number of businesses were required to shutdown to slow the effects of COVID 19. In program year 2019, 11 businesses were provided loans. In 2020, the City assisted 27 businesses in retaining 47 full time jobs in the City of South San Francisco. In 2021, 11 small businesses were assisted in retaining 11 full time jobs. The total spent for the program in 2021 is $110,000. This program continued through program year 2021. This may not be fully reflected in PR-26 due to changes in the PY2019 AAP. However, this is what the City has completed and spent for the program in this program year. Covid-19 Response The City also continued with programs such as the Linden Ave Corridor Project Wi-Fi Project, through CDBG funding as well as the Wi-Fi Expansion Project, Technology Access Program, Clean Air at Home Program, Meals on Wheel Program, and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Program which were all funded through CARES-ACT funding. These programs are on-going and will continue and overlap into fiscal Year 2022. This year, the City continued to support, with CDBG-CV funds, the Meals and Wheels Program and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Program. In this reporting period, Meals on Wheels provided nutritious home delivered meals to qualified homebound older adults and to adults less than 60 years old with disabilities. Renaissance Entrepreneurship supported low-income English- and Spanish-speaking residents with customized English and Spanish language small business training classes and workshops. In addition, the Technology Access Program provided 400 refurbished laptops and provided internet access to households in need. The Clean Air CAPER 3 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) at Home Program provided 131 HEPA Air Purifiers for low-income households with medically at-risk family members. Comparison of the proposed versus actual outcomes for each outcome measure submitted with the consolidated plan and explain, if applicable, why progress was not made toward meeting goals and objectives. 91.520(g) Categories, priority levels, funding sources and amounts, outcomes/objectives, goal outcome indicators, units of measure, targets, actual outcomes/outputs, and percentage completed for each of the grantee’s program year goals. Goal Category Source / Amount Indicator Unit of Measure Expected – Strategic Plan Actual – Strategic Plan Percent Complete Expected – Program Year Actual – Program Year Percent Complete Economic Development Non-Housing Community Development To prevent, prepare for and respond to the Coronavirus CDBG: $250000 / CDBG-CV: $ Jobs created/retained Jobs 0 0 0 0 Economic Development Non-Housing Community Development To prevent, prepare for and respond to the Coronavirus CDBG: $250000 / CDBG-CV: $ Businesses assisted Businesses Assisted 40 38 95% 11 11 100% Increase, Maintain, & Improve Affordable Housing Affordable Housing CDBG: $184,750 Homeowner Housing Rehabilitated Household Housing Unit 125 102 81.6% 33 23 69% CAPER 4 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) Planning and Administration Planning and Admin CDBG: $104,851 Other Other 1 1 100.00% 75% Preserve and Improve Public Facilities Non-Housing Community Development CDBG: $214,000 Public Facility or Infrastructure Activities other than Low/Moderate Income Housing Benefit Persons Assisted 6 2 0 0 100% Provide Public Services to Improve Quality of Life Non-Housing Community Development CDBG: $51,660 Public service activities other than Low/Moderate Income Housing Benefit Persons Assisted 3500 825 23.57% 262 289 110% Support Service- Enriched Homeless Shelters Homeless CDBG: $26,200 Public service activities other than Low/Moderate Income Housing Benefit Persons Assisted 339 735 216.81% 92 175 190% Table 1 - Accomplishments – Program Year & Strategic Plan to Date Assess how the jurisdiction’s use of funds, particularly CDBG, addresses the priorities and specific objectives identified in the plan, giving special attention to the highest priority activities identified. Categories, priority levels, funding sources and amounts, outcomes or objectives, goal outcome indicators, units of measure, targets, actual outcomes or outputs, and percentage completed for each of the grantees program year goals are provided in Table 1. The COVID 19 pandemic hindered many of the organizations and City efforts to complete the goals established in the 2021 Annual Action Plan. CAPER 5 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-10 - Racial and Ethnic composition of families assisted Describe the families assisted (including the racial and ethnic status of families assisted). 91.520(a) CDBG White 406 Black or African American 74 Asian 106 American Indian or American Native 16 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 28 Total 630 Hispanic 200 Not Hispanic 61 Table 2 – Table of assistance to racial and ethnic populations by source of funds Narrative Table 2 above shows the race and ethnic distribution of services across households and persons. The above table does not include mixed race or those who categorize themselves as other. CAPER 6 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-15 - Resources and Investments 91.520(a) Identify the resources made available Source of Funds Source Resources Made Available Amount Expended During Program Year CDBG public - federal 876,355 362,712 Table 3 - Resources Made Available Narrative Addressing Housing Needs As part of the redevelopment agency dissolution, the City is required to sell Redevelopment Agency property. The City has used this as an opportunity to sell redevelopment property and City-owned property to build and preserve housing. Moreover, the following city-owned properties located in CDBG service areas are intended to accommodate the City’s housing needs: • 2673 Bantry: 3 Below Market Rate units • 201 Baden: 82 Below Market Rate units • 432 Baden: 36 residential rental units • 201-219 Grand Avenue: Mixed-use project with 47 Below Market Rate units • 418 Linden: 37 Below Market Rate residential units • 1051 Mission Road: 800 residential units, 158 inclusionary housing units. The listed properties above are all projects still being developed in the City and will extend into the near future. New Public Facilities The City identified the need for a facility for homeless individuals to provide food, restroom/hygiene/shower facilities, referrals, and resources. The City does not currently have a facility to address these needs, but continues to work with the Homeless Outreach Team, the County’s Coordinated Entry System partners and core agency to serve homeless families and individuals to ensure they get the services they need. County partners, City staff, and the South San Francisco Police Department are in constant communications around homeless families and individuals. With the uptick of families living in vehicles, the City is working with the County to address needed resources for individuals and families living in RVs and vehicles. Existing Public Facilities In the Con Plan, the City established a need for disabled access modifications to city-owned and non- profit owned facilities to enhance access for the disabled community. The City is proactive in addressing CAPER 7 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) these accessibility issues at city-owned properties and has developed an ADA Transition Plan to help prioritize projects. This program year, the City completed the Downtown breezeway at 356 Grand Ave and the breezeway between 321 and 329 Grand Ave as well as the pathways at Avalon Park. These projects provided greater pedestrian accessibility. Identify the geographic distribution and location of investments Target Area Planned Percentage of Allocation Actual Percentage of Allocation Narrative Description CDBG Services Area 40 61 CDBG Target Area Citywide Citywide SSF Downtown Tracts 6021, 6022 Table 4 – Identify the geographic distribution and location of investments Narrative The City designates these areas as target areas for funding services because a majority of those who reside and/or receive services in this area are low- and moderate-income. Therefore, improvements made to this area, through activities like public right of way accessibility improvements and public facility improvements that provide additional access to residents and neighborhoods are supported through the CDBG program. CAPER 8 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) Leveraging Explain how federal funds leveraged additional resources (private, state and local funds), including a description of how matching requirements were satisfied, as well as how any publicly owned land or property located within the jurisdiction that were used to address the needs identified in the plan. The nonprofit organizations that received CDBG funding leveraged their CDBG grants with their own funding from foundations, state and county grants, private donors, corporations, in-kind donors, and/or fees for service. The City also leveraged CDBG funds with local funds in the public infrastructure projects. CAPER 9 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-20 - Affordable Housing 91.520(b) Evaluation of the jurisdiction's progress in providing affordable housing, including the number and types of families served, the number of extremely low-income, low-income, moderate-income, and middle-income persons served. One-Year Goal Actual Number of Homeless households to be provided affordable housing units 0 0 Number of Non-Homeless households to be provided affordable housing units 28 18 Number of Special-Needs households to be provided affordable housing units 5 5 Total 33 23 Table 5 – Number of Households One-Year Goal Actual Number of households supported through Rental Assistance 0 0 Number of households supported through The Production of New Units 0 0 Number of households supported through Rehab of Existing Units 33 23 Number of households supported through Acquisition of Existing Units 0 0 Total 33 23 Table 6 – Number of Households Supported Discuss the difference between goals and outcomes and problems encountered in meeting these goals. The tables above show there were 23 households assisted this year through the following housing rehabilitation programs/projects: Center for Independence of Individuals with Disabilities (CID) Housing Accessibility Modification (HAM) Program, El Concilio’s Peninsula Minor Home Repair Program, the City Sponsored Housing Rehabilitation Program, and both the Rebuilding Together Peninsula’s (RTP) Safe at Home and National Rebuilding Day programs. CAPER 10 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CID - HAM Program: CID was able to meet 100% of its goal and provided accessibility modifications to 5 low-income households. El Concilio’s Peninsula Minor Home Repair Program: Under Peninsula Minor Home Repair, El Concilio interviewed, enrolled and assessed 2 households in the City of South San Francisco. Because of COVID- 19,, El Concillo was not able to meet their goals for the year and only served 5 households. City-Sponsored Housing Rehabilitation Program: The City no Debris Box Vouchers and no Emergency Repair Vouchers. The City is revamping the housing rehabilitation program to improve resident participation, including adding marketing and revising program guidelines. The City is also looking at ways to partner with other agencies, both in the City and in neighboring jurisdictions to find more effective ways to operate ongoing rehabilitation programs. Future partnering efforts include working with Code Enforcement and neighborhood associations to improve participation in the Debris Box Voucher and Emergency Repair Voucher programs and working with other members of the Consortium to see if it is possible to develop a regional home repair loan program. RTP – Safe at Home Program: RTP served 9 clients just shy of the goal of 12. RTP provided critical health and safety related home repair needs for low-income homeowners, including home safety modifications. RTP – National Rebuilding Day: This program is usually completed annually in April and RTP exceeded their goal by 33% and served 4 households. RTP provided major critical repairs to low-income homeowners to address repair issues plaguing their health and safety. Discuss how these outcomes will impact future annual action plans. The pandemic impacted the ability for organizations to meet goals set for program year 2021. In the past, the City has met with organizations who do not meet their goals and establish ways to improve operations or establish realistic goals in the future. With recommendations from HUD, in order to help service providers increase the number of households that they are able to serve, the City worked with each service provider to determine a fair administrative and project delivery cost for implementing their respective overall program’s scope of work. All of the rehabilitation programs received slight increases in funding with expected increases in meeting goals for PY 2021, and the City will be monitoring closely to evaluate the impact that the increase funds have on performance. Include the number of extremely low-income, low-income, and moderate-income persons served by each activity where information on income by family size is required to determine the eligibility of the activity. Number of Households Served CDBG Actual HOME Actual Extremely Low-income 18 0 Low-income 3 0 CAPER 11 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) Moderate-income 2 0 Total 23 0 Table 7 – Number of Households Served Narrative Information The table above shows the program year 2021 numbers of 23. 100% of households served met the CDBG income requirements of either being extremely low income (30% or less of Area Median Income [AMI]), low income (31-50% of AMI), or moderate income (51-80% of AMI). None of the program participants were above moderate-income. Along with the construction and preservation of housing on city-owned property and Successor Agency property, the City’s housing policies, which include inclusionary housing and an affordable housing trust fund for housing related activities, demonstrate the City’s commitment to addressing the City’s housing needs. Worst-case housing needs, or individuals and families who are rent burdened, live in substandard housing, or have been involuntarily displaced are the most vulnerable residents in South San Francisco. Public Service subrecipients Samaritan House, StarVista, and CORA offer housing and shelter services for residents who experience these needs. To address substandard living conditions and ensure that residents can afford their next dwelling unit in the same city, the City most recently adopted a Red Tag Ordinance to address unsafe living conditions. If a tenant must vacate a unit due to substandard units, the landlord is required to pay the tenant three times Fair Market Value Rent plus relocation costs or provide the tenant with a comparable dwelling unit. In addition, YMCA, the city’s core agency provides rental assistance for residents who need assistance for a deposit or to fill a gap in payment. CAPER 12 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-25 - Homeless and Other Special Needs 91.220(d, e); 91.320(d, e); 91.520(c) Evaluate the jurisdiction’s progress in meeting its specific objectives for reducing and ending homelessness through: Reaching out to homeless persons (especially unsheltered persons) and assessing their individual needs The Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) a multi-disciplinary, bilingual program that consists of shelter service providers, South San Francisco Police Department, City staff, and elected officials. The HOT Program has a full-time case manager that works, in collaboration with the City’s police, to identify and serve the most difficult, long term homeless individuals by placing them in emergency shelters and connecting them with County medical and rehabilitation services. In 2020, the HOT Team found more individuals and families living in their cars and has been working with the County to evaluate how many people are living in their vehicles, and how the City could assist them with other basic needs. Every quarter, the HOT Program holds a Case Managers Meeting that brings together homeless providers, other social service providers, County staff, City staff, City Police and the HOT case manager to discuss current issues with HOT clients and to identify potential solutions. Additionally, there is a HOT Steering Committee comprised of elected officials, program managers, and City staff who work to make larger program-wide and policy level changes to improve the homeless outreach, services and prevention efforts in South San Francisco and Countywide. Addressing the emergency shelter and transitional housing needs of homeless persons Samaritan House – Safe Harbor This year, the City has provided Samaritan House CDBG funding to operate the Safe Harbor Shelter. Safe Harbor provides emergency (less than 30 days) and transitional (30 days to six months) shelter, for single homeless adults over age 18 in South San Francisco. Safe Harbor provided shelter to 167 South San Francisco residents exceeding their goal by 185%. Samaritan House has provided emergency and transitional shelter for a total of 167 clients this year. Safe Harbor Shelter is a 90-bed homeless shelter located in South San Francisco that provides both emergency and transitional housing for homeless women and men 18 years and older from San Mateo County. Safe Harbor is an integral component of the County’s housing crisis resolution system, offering a wide range of supportive services to maximize each client’s ability to enter permanent housing as quickly as possible. Residents participate in case management, which includes referrals to housing resources, mental health services, AOD programming, employment resources and more. CORA CAPER 13 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CORA assisted 8 South San Francisco clients in 2021. CORA Crisis Intervention Department provides a 24- hour hotline, Emergency Response Program collaboration with law enforcement, and the two emergency shelters. CORA also combined its Mental Health program, Children’s Program, and Supportive Housing Programs under the newly formed Family Support Services Department. The other departments (Legal, Community Education, Administration, and Development) remain unchanged. In addition to the funding provided to these two non-profits, the City was able to make non-monetary efforts to address the emergency shelter and transitional housing needs of homeless persons by continuing to actively participate in the Continuum of Care (CoC) Steering Committee and Project Performance Subcommittee. This year, the CoC focused on creating ways to better evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the County’s homeless programs to align with objectives set forth in the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Action (HEARTH), and the federal strategic plan, Opening Doors. The CoC continue to work towards set standards. These are: 1. Percentage of exits to permanent housing; 2. Housing retention rate; 3. Participants obtaining employment income during program participation; 4. Participants increasing total income during program participation; 5. Program occupancy levels; 6. CoC/Emergency Solution Grant (ESG) spending rates; and 7. Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data quality. These performance measures will allow the CoC to identify areas of improvement and better address the needs of homeless persons. Helping low-income individuals and families avoid becoming homeless, especially extremely low-income individuals and families and those who are: likely to become homeless after being discharged from publicly funded institutions and systems of care (such as health care facilities, mental health facilities, foster care and other youth facilities, and corrections programs and institutions); and, receiving assistance from public or private agencies that address housing, health, social services, employment, education, or youth needs The City works with StarVista, an organization who works with emancipated foster youth to stabilize their housing situation and served 8 clients during PY 2021. The City continues to work with the CoC to address homeless needs in the community. Helping homeless persons (especially chronically homeless individuals and families, families with children, veterans and their families, and unaccompanied youth) make the transition to permanent housing and independent living, including shortening the period of time that CAPER 14 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) individuals and families experience homelessness, facilitating access for homeless individuals and families to affordable housing units, and preventing individuals and families who were recently homeless from becoming homeless again As mentioned previously, the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) has been very successful in placing HOT clients in housing and connecting them with needed services. Samaritan House provided services to 167 persons in need of transitional housing. StarVista works with emancipated foster youth to stabilize their housing situation and served 8 clients during PY 2021. The City continues to work with the CoC to address homeless needs in the community. CAPER 15 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-30 - Public Housing 91.220(h); 91.320(j) Actions taken to address the needs of public housing The South San Francisco Public Housing Authority (SSFPHA) operates as a separate entity and submits its own action plans and performance reports to HUD separately from the City of South San Francisco. The SSFPHA manages 80 units of affordable public housing. Information about the needs and strategy of the SSFPHA can be found in the SSFPHA’s AAP. Actions taken to encourage public housing residents to become more involved in management and participate in homeownership Not applicable Actions taken to provide assistance to troubled PHAs Not applicable CAPER 16 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-35 - Other Actions 91.220(j)-(k); 91.320(i)-(j) Actions taken to remove or ameliorate the negative effects of public policies that serve as barriers to affordable housing such as land use controls, tax policies affecting land, zoning ordinances, building codes, fees and charges, growth limitations, and policies affecting the return on residential investment. 91.220 (j); 91.320 (i) The City took the following actions to remove or ameliorate the negative effects of public policies that serve as barriers to affordable housing: • The City’s municipal code provides SSFMC section 20.390 provides incentives to developers for the production of housing that is affordable to lower and moderate-income residents. • Continued to implement the City's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance; this requires that a percentage of new “for sale” residential units are made available as Below Market Rate (BMR) units for low-income residents. The City will also continue to support its existing BMR units. • The City’s General Plan, and specifically the Housing Element, includes policies that support the development of affordable housing. Two years ago, the 2015-2023 Housing Element was adopted by State Housing and Community Development. In 2019 as reported in the City's Housing Element Annual Progress Report, the City continues to make strides in affordable housing policy, demonstrated by the following actions: • The City's Inclusionary Housing Regulations to require a 15% contribution to affordable housing for residential rental projects, reduce the requirement from 20% to 15% for residential for sale projects, and adopted an inclusionary for commercial, office and hotel development. The City has applied each year for state funding through the Cap & Trade grant programs for monies to construct complete streets in support of pending affordable housing projects within the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan. • The City has successfully secured Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) and Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF) funding through the State. PLHA would fund affordable housing activities such as rental assistance and affordable housing preservation. LHTF is a newly established State funding source that would finance new affordable housing construction. The City was successful in securing LHTF funding for the project at 201 Baden (Eden Housing) to develop 82 affordable housing units. • The Grand and Linden Family Apartments (ROEM) was awarded grant funding to support 47 affordable housing units. Construction for this project is underway. The City awarded the PUC Site Project (Bridge Housing), funds to support 158 affordable housing units on the site. The project at 432 Baden (FTF Housing) secured funding from the City as well as Measure K financing through the San Mateo County Department of Affordable Housing thus supporting 36 units of affordable housing. The City continues to support the rehabilitation of existing housing stock by using CDBG funding to support home repair programs. • Continued to consider a process to allow fee waivers or deferrals of planning, building, and impact fees for affordable housing developments. • Reduced government and public infrastructure constraints to affordable housing development CAPER 17 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) through administrative support, inter-governmental cooperation, public-private partnerships, and permit streamlining. • Implementing zoning to ensure there is an adequate supply of land to meet its Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) regional housing needs allocation by adopting the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan which includes community benefits. • The City included in the Housing Element to consider a reduction in the minimum lot size for downtown development properties to encourage affordable, small housing development and as an added response to the COVID pandemic and rising costs in the Bay Area, the City has implemented a rental Assistance Program through the YMCA. In addition to South San Francisco’s rental assistance program, YMCA administers other rent relief programs: the County’s SMC Strong program, Measure K, Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) and the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund. As the designated County core agency, YMCA serves residents in South San Francisco, Brisbane, and San Bruno. Since March, 70% of requests for assistance have come from South San Francisco residents, or approximately 35 requests per month. Actions taken to address obstacles to meeting underserved needs. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) Given the limited funds available, the City prioritized activities which provide maximum benefits to the community. Many local service providers are also experiencing declines in both private and public funding, which further hinder their capability to meet needs. The City addressed this obstacle by continuing to look for new funding sources and find creative ways to leverage and utilize existing funding. Additionally, the City encouraged collaboration amongst itself, other jurisdictions, and non- profits. The majority of the City’s CDBG funds were allocated to supporting housing rehabilitation and public right of way improvement projects because they are not restricted by spending limitations and are highly impactful. A major funding obstacle continued to be sufficiently supporting the wide variety of crucial public services needed in the City due to federal spending limits specific to public services. While this need far exceeded the funds available to provide those services, this year, the City selected those activities which would be most effective. Actions taken to reduce lead-based paint hazards. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) The City continued to incorporate lead testing and lead safe work practices into all rehabilitation projects it funds. Additionally, the City continued to provide lead-based paint information available on its website, to all the local non-profit agencies, to homeowners and renters. The City also provided loans and grants to homeowners and public facilities to abate lead-based paint hazards. In addition, the City is working with San Mateo County to provide funding to low-income families who qualify for lead abatement funds through a Lead Abatement Settlement. Actions taken to reduce the number of poverty-level families. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) Housing CAPER 18 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) Safe and affordable housing is an essential component in the efforts to reduce poverty. With the loss of Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funding, the City was unable to contribute to the development of new affordable housing. However, the City did make efforts to maintain the existing supply of affordable housing by funding multiple home rehabilitation activities (See Section CR-20 - Affordable Housing). The City also continued to operate its 16 affordable housing units and oversee the Below Market Rate (BMR) Program. In addition, City staff fielded numerous phone calls and in person inquiries regarding information on affordable housing. These resource packets, along with the City’s website, are updated on a regular basis with affordable housing information. Public Services As mentioned, the City supports a variety of non-profit organizations that provide housing assistance, food, childcare, health services, legal services, and other emergency services to low-income residents. The City also promotes communication and collaboration among the nonprofits to avoid duplication of efforts and to be able to provide more comprehensive/”wrap around” services for low-income residents. Additionally, the City has in-house programs that also helped residents improve their economic opportunities. For example, the City’s Community Learning Center offered classes in English, computers, native language literacy, job training, and citizenship along with providing activities for children. Economic Development The City also takes on various economic development efforts to attract and retain businesses and jobs in South San Francisco. The City continues to operate the Business Cooperation Program (BCP) which seeks to lower the cost of doing business in the City. This program consists of three elements: 1. Contacting the major businesses and developers to assess how the City’s economic development efforts can be altered to meet their needs, and let them know the City is supportive of their business efforts; 1. Providing information on the City’s commercial (Property Assessed Clean Energy) PACE program to assist in financing improvements that will save energy for the businesses and achieve the City’s Climate Action Goals, and providing information on other business support programs such as Employment Training Panel (ETP) assistance, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz) financial programs; and 1. Ask for participation in the City’s proposed Sales and Use Tax Program that will retain these taxes locally instead of them being allocated to the County sales Tax pool. The City has also partnered with several regional agencies and organizations that focus on job growth. For example, City staff works closely with Skyline College’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program that assists high school students, the Bay Area Entrepreneur Center CAPER 19 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) (BAEC), a business incubator/accelerator and resource center for start-up companies, and early-stage companies, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, and ChinaSF. Actions taken to develop institutional structure. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) The City made the following efforts to improve and/or develop institutional structure: • Continued to work with the other local jurisdiction as part of the CDBG "Work Group" to increase collaboration and make administrative and monitoring processes standardized and electronic/automated. For example, the CDBG Work Group moved the environmental review and project approval process for minor home repair programs into an online format. • Continued to serve on the Continuum of Care (CoC) Steering Committee and is involved in all CoC decision-making. The CoC Steering Committee is the organized group that guides the implementation of San Mateo County's homeless services system. The CoC undertakes a wide range of efforts to meet the needs of homeless persons and those at risk of homelessness. • Continued to build and improve relationships with local service providers. The City has had challenges with meeting timeliness in spending in the past, resulting from unpredictable program income receipts and changes in program and project subscription. The City is actively reviewing and improving under-served programs, and reprogramming funds from programs that have met set goals and are no longer in high demand. The ongoing pandemic has also resulted in delays with timeliness but is working with HUD to help manage and address meeting the criteria and goals of the program. Actions taken to enhance coordination between public and private housing and social service agencies. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) The City took following actions to enhance coordination between public and private housing and social service agencies: • Continued to collaborate with the County of San Mateo, private housing developers, lenders, and non-profit housing developers to create more affordable housing. • Continued to participate in the CDBG "Work Group" and to improve CDBG administrative processes for both sub-recipients and City staff. • Continued to fund non-profit agencies serving low-income residents • Encouraged collaboration and cooperation among local service providers. • Continued to participate in the CoC Steering Committee. • Continued to work with HOT which brings together the HOT case manager, City police and staff, homeless providers, and other social service providers. • Continued to participate in the San Mateo County HOME Consortium and to serve on the San Mateo County's Housing & Community Development Committee (HCDC) • Continued to build and improve relationships with local service providers. CAPER 20 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) • Continued working with regional economic development groups and promote economic development collaborations. • Continued to work with businesses and the Chamber of Commerce on downtown beautification and other projects to improve the downtown • Continued to finance and support the City sponsored housing rehab program. • Worked with El Concilio, RTP and CID to coordinate housing repair and rehabilitation needs throughout the community. Identify actions taken to overcome the effects of any impediments identified in the jurisdictions analysis of impediments to fair housing choice. 91.520(a) During PY 2016, the City participated in a regional Assessment of Fair Housing. The Assessment of Fair Housing provides new goals and metrics by which the City will work to address fair housing issues in the community. The assessment was completed in PY 2017 and approved by HUD. The City used the assessment as a tool in preparing the new 2018-2023 Consolidated Plan that will guide implementation in the CDBG program for the next five years. In addition, the City has been collaborating with MTC to find the right tools for cities to analyze fair housing impediments. Other actions currently under way include: • The City continued to support testing and enforcement activities, efforts to educate landlords and property management companies about fair housing law, and efforts to educate housing consumers in fair housing rights. • The City continued to support investigations into actual cases, and efforts to educate housing providers about requirements for reasonable accommodation or modification. • The City continued to support efforts by outside groups to educate buyers through credit counseling and home purchase training. CAPER 21 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-40 - Monitoring 91.220 and 91.230 Describe the standards and procedures used to monitor activities carried out in furtherance of the plan and used to ensure long-term compliance with requirements of the programs involved, including minority business outreach and the comprehensive planning requirements The City uses the Consolidated Subrecipient Monitoring Plan (Monitoring Plan) that was developed by the entitlement jurisdictions in San Mateo County to review performance over a period of time and to evaluate compliance of non-profit subrecipients funded with CDBG funding. The Monitoring Plan specifies the criteria the City uses to determine potential areas and levels of risk, which include quarterly desk reviews, new subrecipients or organizational change, cumulative grant award amount, administrative history, program performance, and financial capacity. On a quarterly basis, the City conducts a limited review of all subrecipients, which includes reviewing quarterly performance reports and expense summaries that are submitted by the subrecipients. These quarterly performance reports update staff as to whether the non-profit is meeting its annual objectives and the status of the program. Additionally, the City will conduct on-site monitoring reviews of those subrecipients the City determines to have potential risks and/or have not been monitored in recent years. The on-site monitoring consists of a programmatic and fiscal review of files, a tour of the program facilities as appropriate, an explanation of the services provided, discussions with program and administrative staff, and introduction to one or more actual beneficiaries, if possible. Also, the City can conduct in-depth reviews, if needed, which typically consist of a concentrated review of a known high-risk area or critical function. During PY 2021, the City was able to review and monitor several shared services providers and verify that the projects were in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies related to CDBG. For the remaining agencies, the City monitored them remotely via desk review. Citizen Participation Plan 91.105(d); 91.115(d) Describe the efforts to provide citizens with reasonable notice and an opportunity to comment on performance reports. CAPER 22 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) A notice announcing the 15-day public comment period and a public hearing for the CAPER was made available for public review from August 31 through September 14, 2022. All notices informed citizens about the purpose of the CAPER and invited them to review the document and to either submit comments or provide them at the public hearing. All notices included the phone number and address of the Economic & Community Development (ECD) office in order to address any community inquiries. This notification was written in English and Spanish in an effort to reach the City’s Spanish language community. Draft copies of this report were made available at all public libraries, at the City’s ECD office, and on the City’s main website on August 31, 2022. Additionally, an email notification was sent out to local non-profits and CDBG sub-recipients. Subsequently, a public hearing was held on September 14, 2022. No comments were received for the CAPER during the comment period. CR-45 - CDBG 91.520(c) Specify the nature of, and reasons for, any changes in the jurisdiction’s program objectives and indications of how the jurisdiction would change its programs as a result of its experiences. The 2021 program year was amended in January 2022 to fund the Downtown Breezeway Improvements project which helped with pedestrian safety and accessibility in the CDBG target area. A substantial amendment was changed to use CDBG rollover entitlement funds and program income towards the Downtown Breezeway Improvements project at 356 Grand Avenue. Each year, the City conducts a needs assessment and reviews the prior year performance of each CDBG activity before it allocates funding. This is to ensure that CDBG funding is being used to meet the City’s objectives for the year, and to make sure the CDBG program is aligned with the applicable Consolidated Plan. Does this Jurisdiction have any open Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) grants? No [BEDI grantees] Describe accomplishments and program outcomes during the last year. CAPER 23 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 09/30/2021) CR-58 – Section 3 Identify the number of individuals assisted and the types of assistance provided Total Labor Hours CDBG HOME ESG HOPWA HTF Table 8 – Total Labor Hours Qualitative Efforts - Number of Activities by Program CDBG HOME ESG HOPWA HTF Table 9 – Qualitative Efforts - Number of Activities by Program Narrative This section is not applicable as the City has not funded any programs that were over the $200,000 threshold requiring Section 3 compliance.