ES 05 Executive Summary 24 CFR (c), (b)

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1 ES 05 Executive Summary 24 CFR (c), (b) Incorporated in 1868, Redwood City is a growing and diversifying jobs center and residential community with many assets, including diverse geography, frontage on the San Francisco Bay, a pleasant year round climate, a deep water port, a well rounded economic base, an exciting Downtown, and a strategic location midway between San Francisco and San Jose. These features and a diverse local economy make Redwood City an attractive place to live and work. This Consolidated Plan continues the City s commitment to ensuring community development opportunities as well as for preserving and enhancing our existing neighborhoods. Redwood City (and the Bay Area in general) continues to be one of the most desirable and expensive residential real estate markets in the country. Despite the mortgage crisis that began in 2008 and an increasing number of foreclosures, rents generally continued to rise throughout the region. Furthermore, housing sale prices have regained losses associated with the 2008 recession, and most Bay Area homes continue to be too expensive for families with average household incomes to afford. In addition to housing affordability, land use development patterns throughout California over the past half century have contributed to the loss of open space, traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions. Recent economic reports show that an increasing number of Bay Area workers are trading longer commutes for more affordable housing options in outlying areas. How and where housing is developed will continue to have both regional and statewide impacts, and so must be carefully planned. Redwood City seeks to create community development opportunities throughout the community. This Consolidated Plan and Fiscal Year (FY) Annual Action Plan for Redwood City serves as the City s official application to HUD for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, as well as HOME Partnership funds (HOME). The Plan identifies the housing and community development needs in the City and sets forth a strategic plan for addressing the identified needs. It also satisfies the minimum statutory requirements of the CDBG and HOME programs. The Plan covers from July 1, 2015 through June 30, This Consolidated Plan was prepared using the econ Planning Suite system developed by HUD. The system prescribes the structure and contents of this document, following the federal CDBG, HOME and Consolidated Planning regulations. A companion document to this Consolidated Plan is the Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing Choice. The AI also contains detailed data and analyses regarding the demographic and housing market conditions in the City. This Consolidated Plan incorporates the larger AI by reference, and provides specific Fair Housing Action Plan items.

2 Summary of Needs The City has a range of housing and community development needs. As shown in the City s Housing Element and other documents, housing and community development needs for lowerincome households are often dire, with families struggling to make ends meet. Among the many factors that impact the level of community development needs include the following: Economic recession Unemployment Mortgage defaults, foreclosures Median rents increasing faster than man families can afford Loss of Redevelopment Agencies, meaning substantially less available funding for a community s housing, economic development, and infrastructure needs Reduction in federal funds Projected local job growth while many new jobs will be created over the next five to ten years, a significant portion of those will earn a worker just minimum wage Based on a broad outreach effort to assess community concerns, the highest priority for funding are virtually the same as for the last Consolidated Plan. They include: Creating and preserving affordable housing Providing public services Improving public facilities Creating more jobs for lower income residents New: adding loan programs for small business, technical assistance to lower income individuals Five Year Priorities CDBG and HOME funds alone are not adequate to address the myriad of needs identified during the public outreach process as summarized in the Needs Assessment of this Consolidated Plan. Recognizing the national objectives of the CDBG and HOME programs and their specific program regulations, the City intends to use federal funds to coordinate programs, services, and projects to create a decent and suitable living environment to benefit low and moderateincome households and those with special needs. The priorities for the Consolidated Plan established in consultation with residents and community groups will be prioritized in the following order:

3 Priority #1: Affordable Housing AH 1 Increase the supply of affordable housing AH 2 Preserve existing affordable housing AH 3 Improve the condition of existing affordable housing Construction and Development of New Affordable Housing (AH 1) Land Acquisition for New Construction (AH 1) Acquisition and Rehabilitation, Rental (AH 1, 2, 3) Home Improvement Loan Program (AH 3) Minor Housing Rehab Programs (AH 2, 3) Housing Energy Efficiency Programs (AH 2,3) Multifamily Rental Rehab Loan Program (AH 2, 3) First Time Homebuyer Programs (AH 1) Special Needs SNH 1 SNH 2 SNH 3 SNH 4 SNH 5 SNH 6 Improve housing accessibility and safety (new and existing) Improve access to housing with support services for special needs populations Increase the supply of affordable housing available to special needs groups Preserve existing special needs housing Increase the supply of permanent supportive housing Reduce overcrowding, especially among large lower income households Multifamily Rental Rehab Loan Program (SNH 1, 4) Targeted Affordable Housing Programs (SNH 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Housing and Supportive Services Coordination (SNH 2) Affirmative Marketing of Accessible Units (SNH 3) Shared Housing Program Special Needs (SNH 3) Housing Rehabilitation Special Needs (SNH 4) Supportive Housing Production (SNH 5)

4 Priority #2: Homeless HOM 1 HOM 2 HOM 3 HOM 4 HOM 5 Increase the number of transitional and permanent supportive housing units for the homeless Support existing emergency shelter facilities and programs Meet the human service needs of the homeless Prevent homelessness End chronic homelessness Affordable Housing Production (HOM 1) Aging out Foster Youth Programs (HOM 1, 4) Homeless & Transitional Housing Shelters (HOM 1, 2) Services to the Homeless (HOM 2,3,4,5) Homeless Outreach Team (HOM 4, 5) Housing First (HOM 4, 5) Shared Housing Program, Homeless (HOM 4, 5) Crisis Intervention (HOM 5) Priority #3: Human Services HS 1 HS 2 HS 3 HS 4 HS 5 HS 6 Meet the basic human service needs of low income persons with an emphasis on serving priority needs populations Improve access to services Provide comprehensive services Remove barriers to the provision of services Increase self sufficiency and independence Reduce the needs for the use of emergency services Human Service Programs General (HS 1) Emergency Shelter Homeless (HS 1) Advocacy (HS 1, 2, 4) Information and Referral, and Outreach (HS 1, 3) Emergency Shelter Non homeless (HS 1, 5) Domestic Violence Prevention (HS 5, 6) Crisis Intervention (HS 6)

5 Priority #4: Non Housing Community Development Public Facilities CD 1 CD 2 CD 3 Fulfill the public facility needs of priority need populations Improve accessibility of public facilities for seniors and persons with disabilities Provide public facilities that meet the needs of neighborhoods Public Facilities Programming Priority Need Populations (CD 1) Construction or Improvement of Public Facilities Priority Need Populations (CD 1, 2) Construction of Improvement of Public Facilities Small scale and Neighborhoods (CD 3) Infrastructure INF 1 Improve accessibility of streets and sidewalks Removal of Barriers (INF 1) Priority #5: Economic Development ED 1 Increase and Improve employment prospects for low income persons ED 2 Increase employment opportunities for low income persons ED 3 Encourage small business growth Job Training (ED 1, 2) Local Hiring and Disadvantaged Business Policy (ED 1, 2, 3) Small Business Assistance (ED 3) Summary of citizen participation process and consultation process Citizen participation is one of the most important components of the Consolidated Plan process. To solicit public input during the development of the Consolidated Plan, the City conducted stakeholder meetings, consultations with service providers and human service agencies, and took testimony at several hearings devoted to the Consolidated Plan. These included: October 2014 Senior Affairs Commission: Stakeholder Meeting October 2014 Human Services Network: Stakeholder Meeting October 2014 Housing and Human Concerns Committee (HHCC): Stakeholder Meeting November 2014 General Community Forum: Community Stakeholder Meeting November 2014 HHCC: Review input from stakeholders December 2014 HHCC: Review Draft Strategic Plan January 2015 HHCC: Review Draft Consolidated Plan s Priorities and Hear Presentations from Applicant Agencies

6 February 2015 HHCC: Review Funding Proposals and Final Draft of the Consolidated Plan; Finalize Recommendations to the City Council for the Annual Action Plan April 27, 2015 City Council: Public Hearing to Adopt Five Year Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan In addition the following outreach, notices and community surveys were published to solicit citizen input and participation in the development of the Consolidated Plan: October 1, 2014 Redwood City Press Release issued October 1, 2014 Flyers distributed at Community Centers and various community locations October 1, 2014 Published notices through distribution list October 1, 2014 Posted notice of meetings on City website October 1, 2014 Posted Consolidated Plan informational presentation on City website October 30, 2014 Published notice in Redwood City Enews October 30, 2014 Published Redwood City Press Release October 31, 2014 Published notice in the Daily News November 2, 2014 Published notice in El Mensajaro Community Needs and Priorities Surveys October November 2014: Hard copy paper surveys were distributed at community stakeholder meetings and 37 surveys were completed and returned. October November 2014: An online web survey was conducted and 142 surveys were completed. NOTE: Spanish translation was available at all community meetings and all notices and surveys were provided in Spanish. The final Consolidated Plan, amendments to the Plan, and annual performance reports will be available for five years at City Hall. Residents affected by the Plan s implementation have access to the City s Plans.