To: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
From: Vincent Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Lark Ferrell, Housing Manager
TITLE:
Title
Collaborative Housing Services Provided throughout Napa County
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendationle
Receive report on regional housing activities, programs, and activities provided by the Housing Authority of the City of Napa throughout the County
Body
DISCUSSION:
A staff presentation will be provided to the Board on the services the Housing Authority of the City of Napa (the “Authority”) provides throughout Napa County. Specifically, this is done through two methods: (1) the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and, (2) service agreements with local jurisdictions throughout Napa County.
Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program
The City of Napa’s Housing Division staffs the Authority. The Authority’s largest program is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which currently provides rental assistance to a total of 1,145 low and very-low income households. Because Section 8 vouchers are portable, currently 11 of these voucher holders reside outside of Napa County, and the Authority is billed monthly by the receiving housing authority. Additionally, 63 voucher holders are searching for rental units. After adjusting for these households, there are currently 1,071 households using Section 8 vouchers to rent units throughout Napa County. Of these, 85% live in Napa while 15% live outside of the city of Napa. The following is a summary of where voucher holders live within Napa County:
|
Jurisdiction |
# of Voucher Holders |
% of Voucher Holders |
|
American Canyon |
94 |
9% |
|
Calistoga |
24 |
2% |
|
Napa |
910 |
85% |
|
St. Helena |
10 |
1% |
|
Yountville |
18 |
2% |
|
Unincorporated County |
15 |
1% |
|
Total |
1071 |
100% |
Note the number of voucher holders in American Canyon will increase by 34 as soon as Valley View Senior Homes completes its lease-up. This is because the Authority has committed 34 project-based vouchers (including 17 vouchers for homeless veterans) to the project. Unlike the Authority’s other vouchers, which are tenant-based, these 34 units are project-based and are tied to Valley View for 30 years.
Housing Service Agreements
The other way the Authority provides housing regionally is by providing housing administration to the Cities of American Canyon, St. Helena, and Calistoga and the Town of Yountville. This is accomplished through multi-year service agreements between the Authority and each of the cities under which the Authority acts as Housing Staff for each jurisdiction. Services provided include technical assistance on housing agreements and new affordable housing development, annual monitoring of affordable units to ensure compliance with regulatory agreements, and loan servicing. The Authority also represents each jurisdiction on Continuum of Care for the delivery of homeless services and projects in Napa County.
Currently, the Authority provides annual monitoring and loan servicing for over 497 deed restricted affordable housing units (comprised of both rental and homeownership units) and for approximately 149 loans made for non-deed restricted units in American Canyon, Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville.
In addition to general housing services, since 2013, the Authority has expanded its services to the other jurisdictions to include preparing State housing grant applications. With this new funding, new housing programs have been launched in each jurisdiction. To date, the Authority has successfully secured over $4.9 million in new State housing funds for the other jurisdictions (and has recycled approximately $375,000 in loan repayments which are then available to new borrowers). These State grants have allowed low-income homeowners in American Canyon, Yountville, Calistoga and St. Helena to make much-needed repairs and improvements to their homes through owner-occupied rehab programs administered by the Authority. It has also allowed low-income homebuyers to purchase homes in American Canyon through first time homebuyer programs administered by the Authority. Below is a summary of the grants secured from 2013 to 2019 and the number of households assisted through March 2019:
|
Jurisdiction |
Total Grants |
Households Assisted to Date |
|
American Canyon |
$1,900,000 |
72 |
|
Calistoga |
$1,100,000 |
30 (plus 10 in process) |
|
St. Helena |
$500,000 |
10 (plus 4 in process) |
|
Yountville |
$1,430,000 |
37 |
|
Total |
$4,930,000 |
149 (plus 14 in process) |
In addition to these housing grants, the Authority also administered a $1 million CDBG grant for the City of American Canyon which funded off-site improvements for the Valley View Senior Homes project.
The Authority is currently under contract with the County to provide construction oversite to any unit assisted through the County’s Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) Program, which the County modeled after the City of Napa’s JADU Program.
Collaborating to Develop Affordable Housing
Additionally, the Authority (and the City of Napa) partners with the County in providing loans to affordable housing developments in Napa. Staff works collaboratively to reduce costs of delivering these loans by jointly negotiating terms and sharing loan document templates between the Authority, City, and County. The Authority also actively leverages project-based vouchers to help fund affordable housing projects which receive County and local housing funds. In addition to Valley View Senior Homes in American Canyon, there are currently two affordable housing projects, Stoddard West and Manzanita Family Apartments in Napa, that are in various stages of development and will include project-based vouchers in addition to City of Napa and County of Napa housing funds.
As part of its work under the service agreements with the local jurisdictions, Authority staff actively work with the other cities on affordable housing development projects. Recent projects include Valley View, the newly constructed 70-unit senior rental project in American Canyon, and Brinkle Court, an eight-unit self-help affordable homeownership project currently under development in St. Helena. In addition to providing technical assistance, the Authority also actively seeks out potential funding sources for these projects. Recent examples include the Authority’s successful application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) project-based vouchers and a $250,000 Home Depot grant identified by the Authority, both as a result of staff’s efforts to identify and secure additional funding for the Valley View Senior Homes project.
Through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, the services agreements, as well as the strong, collaborative relationships built with staff in the other cities, the Authority plays a significant role in providing affordable housing not only in Napa but throughout the County.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
This item has no financial impact.
CEQA:
The Community Development Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None
NOTIFICATION:
Notice of this agenda item was posted 72 hours in advance of the meeting. In addition, the Cities of American Canyon, St. Helena, Calistoga the Town of Yountville, and the County of Napa were notified of this agenda item.