Title
a. Approve a Collaboration Agreement Between the County of Monterey - Urban County, City of Monterey, City of Salinas, City of Seaside and the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey to hire a consultant to prepare the 2020-2025 Assessment of Fair Housing required by the federal Housing and Urban Development Department, providing for a County contribution of $37,229.00; and,
b. Authorize the Director of Economic Development to sign the Collaboration Agreement and, subject to County Counsel review, sign minor amendments which do not significantly alter its terms or increase the County’s financial obligation under the Collaboration Agreement by more than $1,865.00
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve a Collaboration Agreement Between the County of Monterey - Urban County, City of Monterey, City of Salinas, City of Seaside and the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey to hire a consultant to prepare the 2020-2025 Assessment of Fair Housing required by the federal Housing and urban Development Department, providing for a County contribution of $37,229.00; and,
b. Authorize the Director of Economic Development to sign the Collaboration Agreement and, subject to County Counsel review, sign minor amendments which do not significantly alter its terms or increase the County’s financial obligation under the Collaboration Agreement by more than $1,865.00.
SUMMARY:
In 2013, County of Monterey - Urban County prepared its first Consolidated Plan and became eligible to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As part of the consolidated planning process, the County was required to prepare an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI). In July 2015, HUD issued a new Final Rule changing the requirements for preparing the AI to a more structured Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) and requiring the County to develop specific goals to address fair housing. The recommended Collaboration Agreement will allow the County to partner with other cities in the County that are likewise required to prepare HUD Consolidated Plans and to partner with the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey (HACM) to prepare an regional AFH.
DISCUSSION:
The new final rule requires public housing authorities and block grant Consolidated Planning agencies to conduct an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) as part of their consolidated planning process. The AFH is intended to help communities analyze the challenges to fair housing choice and establish regional and agency specific goals and priorities to address fair housing barriers in their community. In order to best understand the regional barriers to fair housing, HUD encourages jurisdictions in shared housing markets to enter into Collaboration agreements to analyze barriers that affect all jurisdictions in a given geographic area. The cities of Monterey, Salinas and Seaside, the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey and the County of Monterey - Urban County are all HUD Consolidated Planning agencies that are subject to the AFH rule.
The recommended Collaboration Agreement outlines the responsibilities of each participating agency in the preparation of the AFH. The City of Salinas has agreed to be the lead agency responsible for retaining a consultant to prepare the AFH, with the input of the other agencies; as lead agency, the City of Salinas will also submit the final document to HUD for approval of behalf of all agencies party to the Collaboration Agreement. The cities of Monterey and Seaside, the Urban County, and the HACM are responsible for advising Salinas during the selection of the consultant and reviewing the AFH during its preparation.
The Collaboration Agreement also describes how the cost of preparing the AFH will be apportioned to each participating agency. The first forty percent of the project cost is allocated equally among the participating agencies. The remaining sixty percent is allocated based on the population of each participating agency. The Urban County population includes the population of the unincorporated areas and the cities of Gonzales, Greenfield, and Sand City. The additional five percent (5%) in approved, permissible costs is requested in order to provide flexibility in case the Urban County needs assistance developing additional, jurisdiction-specific AFH goals.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Counsel has reviewed and approved Collaboration Agreement Among the County of Monterey - Urban County, the City of Monterey, the City of Salinas, the City of Seaside, and the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey for the 2020-2025 Assessment of Fair Housing as to form. Risk Management has approved the insurance and indemnification provisions of the Agreement. The participating agencies are individually presenting the Collaboration Agreement to their governing bodies throughout March and early April 2017.
FINANCING:
This action does not change the current FY 2016/17 appropriations, revenues or positions. The Urban County’s $37,299 contribution toward the $125,000 cost of the Study and $1,865 (5%) contingency was budgeted and will be funded out of Fund 013, Appropriations Unit DEO003, Organization Unit 8200 (Community Development). The County’s contribution will be matched on a pro-rata basis by the participating cities and the HACM.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Preparing the Assessment of Fair Housing will help the Urban County, housing authority and cities work together to develop strategies to provide affordable housing for a broad spectrum of the community. Providing safe and decent housing will help address code enforcement, overcrowding issues, and public health concerns related to substandard living conditions.
Check the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives:
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Economic Development |
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Health & Human Services |
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Infrastructure |
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Public Safety |
Prepared by: _____________________________________________________________
Darby Marshall, RHO Project Analyst II, Ext. 5391
Approved by: _____________________________________________________________
David L. Spaur, CEcD, EDFP, Economic Development Director, Ext. 5387
Attachments:
Collaboration Agreement for the 2020-2025 Assessment of Fair Housing
(Attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board)