REQUEST FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ADVISORY BOARD ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Chair and Board Members
SUBMITTED BY: Charles Kovac, Housing Manager
Subject:
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Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Overview; CDBG Funding Application Process; and Conduct Public Hearing on Community Development and Housing Needs and Goals and Priorities per the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan
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Executive Summary:
Each year the City of Huntington Beach (City) receives annual allocations of grant funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Community Development Block Grant program. The primary purpose of the CDBG program is to improve the quality of life for low- and moderate-income persons, households, and neighborhoods.
In accordance with the program policy as outlined in the Citizen Participation Plan, the Citizen Participation Advisory Board (CPAB or Board) serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council in the allocation of CDBG public services funds. As such, the Board reviews all applications for funding and makes recommendations for public services programs. In addition, the CPAB holds a public hearing to elicit the views and opinions of Huntington Beach residents regarding the City’s community development and housing needs, and review goals and priorities included in the adopted 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan (Consolidated Plan or Plan).
Every five years per HUD regulations, the City develops a five-year Consolidated Plan that identifies community needs and provides goals and priorities to address those needs using federal resources, including CDBG funding. On May 6, 2025, by Resolution No. 2025-32, the City Council approved the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan. The City is currently in the first year of the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, which ends on June 30, 2026. The CPAB will be re-introduced to the approved goals and priorities that were established based upon survey results, socio-economic data indicators, community meetings, and consultations with health and social service providers held in late 2024.
Financial Impact:
The City anticipates receiving approximately $1.1 million in CDBG funds from HUD, of which, approximately $161,000 will be available to community and non-profit organizations for public services programs and activities.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
A) Conduct Public Hearing on community development and housing needs and goals and priorities related to the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan.
B) Receive and file report.
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Alternative Action(s):
As the public hearing is required by the Citizen Participation Plan, staff does not recommend an alternative action.
Analysis:
Background/Discussion
The City began receiving CDBG funds in 1986. Altogether, CDBG grant entitlement funds to the City over the years total more than $54 million. These funds have supported a wide variety of programs and activities that primarily benefit low- and moderate-income residents.
The City's investment of HUD grant resources is guided by the Consolidated Plan that is adopted by the City Council every five years. Each of the 2026-2027 applications submitted for consideration by the Board for CDBG funding, must address one of the Strategic Plan goals contained within the current 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan. Staff verifies this as part of the threshold eligibility review prior to providing applications to the Board for evaluation. In evaluating applications for funding, HUD regulations require the following criteria to be considered: 1) level of need for the program or project in the community; 2) if there are neighborhoods or geographic areas of the City exhibiting a greater level of need than the City as a whole; 3) existing resources available to address the need; and 4) how the applicant organization is positioned to meet the need. The Board may also consider each applicant's capacity, experience, and previous performance when evaluating applications.
Pursuant to the Citizen Participation Plan, applications for CDBG public services programs are accepted from local nonprofit organizations, public organizations, and City departments. Public services programs are typically provided by nonprofits and address critical needs of the community for low- and moderate-income seniors, families, and individuals with disabilities. Per HUD regulations, public services activities are limited to 15 percent of the total CDBG grant award or approximately $161,000.
Funding Application and Evaluation Process
The City's application deadline for CDBG funding for the 2026-2027 Program Year was December 11, 2025. In all, the City received nine (9) applications totaling $459,915 for CDBG public services funding. In addition, Fair Housing Foundation submitted an application for $35,000 to be the fair housing services provider for the City as mandated by HUD. The $35,000 would be an expenditure of the CDBG Administration budget and not the public serves budget, which is estimated at $161,000. Housing staff has completed the process of reviewing all applications to determine eligibility under HUD program regulations. All eligible applications will be submitted to the CPAB prior to or at the January 15 CPAB meeting, for consideration at three public meetings, which are scheduled to occur on January 29, February 19, and March 17. At the first meeting, the Board will hear oral presentations from each applicant and have an opportunity to ask questions about the programs and projects requesting funds. Subsequent to the presentations, the Board on February 19 will deliberate and determine specific CDBG public services funding recommendations to the City Council. At the third meeting, the Board and City Council will hold a joint study session on March 17 to review the CPAB’s proposed funding recommendations prior to the City Council considering approval of the funding recommendations at its May 5 meeting.
The applications will be evaluated using the "majority rules" method. Under this process, each Board member may make a recommendation to fund an application for a certain dollar amount. lf the majority of the CPAB votes to fund an application, that application will be eligible. For applications receiving a majority recommendation to fund, the total CDBG dollar amount may not exceed the total of $161,000 (or a dollar amount based upon the HUD final CDBG funding distribution). So the Board will have to agree on all adjustments by a majority.
Administration of CDBG grants involves compliance with extensive federal recordkeeping and monitoring requirements by both the City and the organizations funded by the City. To most effectively use funds, staff recommends a minimum funding level of $10,000 for each public services program.
2025-2029 Consolidated Plan
According to HUD, the Consolidated Plan is designed to be a collaborative process whereby a community establishes a unified vision for housing and community development actions. It offers entitlement communities the opportunity to shape these housing and community development programs into effective, coordinated neighborhood and community development strategies. It also allows for strategic planning and citizen participation to occur in a comprehensive context, thereby reducing duplication of effort. As the lead agency for the Consolidated Plan, the City of Huntington Beach hereby follows HUD’s guidelines for citizen and community involvement. Furthermore, it is responsible for overseeing citizen participation requirements that accompany the Consolidated Plan.
As previously mentioned, the City develops a five-year Consolidated Plan that identifies community needs and provides goals and priorities to address those needs using federal resources including CDBG funding. The Consolidated Plan includes the following major components: 1) community participation consisting of survey and community meeting results; 2) Housing and Community Development Needs Assessment; 3) a five-year Strategic Plan to establish goals and priorities for addressing needs; and 4) a one-year Action Plan that identifies annual use of federal funds.
The current 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan can be viewed on the City’s website at: <https://huntingtonbeachca.gov/cdbg>. The CPAB will be re-introduced to the goals and priorities that have been established based upon survey results, socio-economic data indicators, community meetings, and consultations with health and social service providers held in late 2024.
The City conducted a survey from August to December 2024 to receive feedback on housing and community needs within the City. In all, 336 surveys were submitted. Based upon the survey results, socio-economic data indicators identified in the Needs Assessment of the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, community meetings held in October/November 2024, and consultations with health and social service providers held in late 2024, the priorities and goals have been established to meet the HUD objectives (provide decent housing and a suitable living environment) as follows:
1. Priority Housing Needs
• Goal #1: Preserve Existing and Create New Affordable Housing
• Goal #2: Sustain and Strengthen Residential Neighborhoods
2. Priority Community Facility Needs
• Goal #1: Preserve Existing Public and Community Facilities
3. Priority Public Infrastructure Needs
• Goal #1: Provide Needed Infrastructure Improvements
4. Priority Public Service Needs
• Goal #1: Support Social Service Agencies that Assist Homeless Population
• Goal #2: Support Social Service Agencies that Assist Special Needs Populations
• Goal #3: Provided Needed Social Services to Low-to-Moderate Income Persons
5. Other Housing and Community Development Needs
• Goal #1: Planning for Housing and Community Development
The 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan was approved by the City Council on May 6, 2025 after the required 30-day public review period.
Public Participation
The City has and is still required to gather community input to identify and prioritize community needs as well as engaging the public in understanding the process of deciding how best to use CDBG public services funds. Staff has disseminated information about the CDBG public services programs broadly throughout the community to ensure that the general public is also informed and able to participate. Staff provides information about the CDBG funding on the City's website, publishes all required notices of available funding and public hearings, and conducts technical assistance meetings as requested on the CDBG program prior to the start of the application process.
The Notice of Funding Availability for CDBG public services program was issued on October 2, 2025 (CPAB Attachment 1), and applications were due on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
The following schedule outlines the next steps to complete the annual CDBG public services funding allocation process. This schedule will allow the Board and the City Council time to review all eligible applications and carefully consider all public input during the process:
January 29, 2026: Board hears oral presentations from applicants.
February 19, 2026: Board finalizes funding recommendations for the City Council.
March 17, 2026: City Council and CPAB joint study session meeting.
May 5, 2026: City Council considers approval of the CDBG public services funding recommendations to be incorporated in the 2026-2027 Annual Action PIan that serves as the application to HUD for grant funding.
May 15, 2026: The 2026-2027 Annual Action Plan due to HUD.
July 1, 2026: 2026 Program Year begins.
Attachment(s):
1. 2026-2027 CDBG Public Services Notice of Funding Availability