PREPARED BY: CHARLES CHING DATE OF MEETING: 06/29/20
SUBJECT:
TITLE
COVID-19 HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Approve Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Pablo increasing the grant amount to up to $2,000 for the FY2019/20 COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program
2. Approve Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Pablo establishing a FY2020/21 COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program with grant amounts of up to $1,000 to be funded with FY 2020/21 Low-Income Housing Funds
Body
Compliance statements
Explore protections for tenants who may be potentially displaced from current COVID-19 pandemic impacts is a policy item added to the FY 2019-21 Council Priority Workplan as amended on May 18, 2020.
CEQA Compliance Statement
These resolutions are deemed not a project under the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5): Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. If deemed a project, then the approval of either of the resolution is deemed exempt from CEQA pursuant to the following separate and independent basis: Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty that the resolution has no potential to cause a significant effect on the environment; and Section 15269(c) because adoption of this resolution is to prevent or mitigate an emergency.
BACKGROUND
On April 27, 2020 at a Special City Council Meeting, the City Council approved an Urgency Ordinance temporarily prohibiting evictions of residential and commercial real property tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and establishing a moratorium on rent increases through May 31, 2020.
In addition, the City Council gave direction on establishing a housing assistance program, with initial program guidelines, for providing a one-time grant per household of up to $1,000 per household to help pay for rent, mortgage or utility payments during the County Shelter-in-Place (SIP) due to a job loss or reduction in work hours caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 4, 2020, the City Council of the City of San Pablo adopted Resolution 2020-054 establishing the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 2019/20 (FY2019/20 Housing Program). The FY 2019/20 Housing Program provides one-time grants of up to $1,000 per household for eligible San Pablo residents to help pay for rent, mortgage or utility payments due to a job loss or reduction in work hours caused by COVID-19 and appropriating $250,000 in Low-Income Housing Funds to fund the FY 2019/20 Housing Program.
Increasing the Housing Grant Amount for Fiscal Year 2019/20
On May 31, 2020, the application period under the FY 2019/20 Housing Program ended and the City received a total of 210 applications. Of the applications, 100 have been approved, 31 will be approved pending submission of required documentation and 79 were denied. To maximize the benefit to San Pablo residents, the first proposed resolution amends the FY 2019/20 Housing Program Guidelines by increasing the maximum grant amount from $1,000 to $2,000 per household to eligible San Pablo Residents as follows:
Establishing a Housing Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2020/21
The SIP began in March and has lasted longer than expected and is going on four months now. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have severely affected vulnerable San Pablo residents particularly those with lower incomes. To assist San Pablo residents through this difficult time, the proposed resolution establishes new Program Guidelines for a COVID-19 Housing Assistance Grant Program for FY 2020/21 (FY 2020/21 Housing Program).
Similar to the original provisions of the previous Housing Grant, the FY 2020/21 Housing Program grant amount will be based on income levels and household size and will provide a maximum grant amount of $1,000 per household.
The FY 2020/21 Housing Program will be funded using the City’s FY 2020/21 Low Income Housing funds (Program Funds) and will begin accepting applications starting July 1, 2020 and will end on September 30, 2020 or when the Program Funds are exhausted. The new grant program will be on a first come first served basis and households who received grant funds from the previous FY 2019/20 Housing Program will not qualify.
FISCAL IMPACT
No additional funding is needed to increase the grant amount under the FY 2019/20 Housing Program as the City Council already appropriated up to $250,000 in Low-Income Housing Funds, and the increase in the grant amounts would be absorbed within this appropriation.
The FY 2020/21 Housing Program will be funded using FY 2020/21 Low Income Housing Funds. The proposed resolution appropriates $250,000 from fund balance in the Low-Income Housing Fund (250-0000-00000) to a spendable account in the Economic Development budget (100-1320-44000-COR-RLF) to fund the FY 2020/21 Housing Program in fiscal year 2020/21.