HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2409-3442CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Special Meeting
Monday, February 10, 2025
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
18.Information Item: Summary of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) Program Accomplishments — Review of the CDBG Consolidated Annual
Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). CEQA Status — Not a Project.
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Meeting Date: February 10, 2025
Report #:2409-3442
TITLE
Information Item: Summary of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) Program Accomplishments — Review of the CDBG Consolidated Annual Performance
and Evaluation Report (CAPER). CEQA Status — Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report and no action is required.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City is required to annually report its accomplishments achieved through its Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). This annual report to HUD is called the Consolidated Annual Performance
and Evaluation Report (CAPER). In accordance with the City’s CDBG Citizen Participation Plan,
the City’s Human Relations Commission (HRC) conducts a public hearing on the draft CAPER to
allow for public review and discussion. The City then submits the draft CAPER to HUD by the
annual September deadline. Afterwards, staff provides City Council with an informational
report disseminating the draft CAPER as submitted to HUD (Attachment A).1 No action is
required by City Council to receive the draft CAPER.
During FY 2023-2024 (Program Year 2023), the City’s CDBG subrecipients provided projects,
programs, and activities that benefitted extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income
individuals and households in Palo Alto. Through CDBG and CDBG-CV funds, 613 persons and 19
microenterprises were assisted in FY 2023-2024. Of the 632 persons and microenterprises
assisted by CDBG, 501 were extremely low-income, 105 were low-income, 8 were moderate-
income, and 18 were non-low-moderate income.
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto receives funds annually from HUD as an entitlement city under the CDBG
program. As a recipient of CDBG funds, the City is required to prepare a CAPER at the end of
1 The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) uses the questions, report organization,
and information format required and provided by HUD.
each fiscal year. The CAPER describes the City’s progress on implementing the projects,
programs, and activities identified in the City’s CDBG FY 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan (AAP)2
and the goals and objectives of the 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan (ConPlan).3
The HRC reviewed the draft CAPER on September 12, 2024, briefly discussed the findings, and
asked a few clarifying questions. The HRC did not provide any comments on the draft CAPER
that required any changes. Additionally, there were no members of the public that spoke to this
item. The City submitted the draft CAPER for FY 2023-2024 to HUD by the September 28, 2024
deadline. The City also responded to minor comments from HUD and submitted minor
typographical amendments to the draft CAPER in November 2024.
ANALYSIS
During FY 2023-2024, the City’s CDBG subrecipients continued to provide vital services to
extremely low-, very low-, low-, and moderate-income households while addressing the
priorities and needs of the community and the City’s funding priorities. A total of $895,067 was
available for CDBG projects, programs, and activities during FY 2023-2024.
As reported in the 2023-2024 Final CAPER, major FY 2023-2024 accomplishments from the
City’s CDBG program are as follows:
•Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County – Long Term Care Ombudsman Program [Goal:
Assist 50 individuals; Actual: 50 individuals]. The program provided advocacy and
complaint investigation for elderly residents of long-term care facilities in Palo Alto,
which included regular contact with Palo Alto Residential Care Facilities to observe and
monitor conditions of care;
•Alta Housing – SRO Resident Supportive Services [Goal: Assist 131; Actual: 145
individuals]. Alta Housing engaged a service coordinator to provide 40 hours of weekly
services to provide case management and support counseling services to residents at
Alma Place and Barker Hotel to help them maintain housing stability. Activities included
financial counseling, health maintenance, information, and referral problem-solving,
employment assistance, crisis intervention, and case management. Both Alma Place and
Barker Hotel are single-room occupancy facilities;
•LifeMoves – Case Management [Goal: Assist 27 individuals; Actual: 193 individuals].
LifeMoves provided case management services to Opportunity Services Center and
Hotel De Zink clients for locating housing and/or employment and be connecting clients
2 The Annual Action Plan outlines the projects, programs, and activities the City intends to undertake with CDBG
funds to address the needs and implement the strategies identified in the City’s Consolidated Plan (ConPlan).
3 The ConPlan is a five-year strategic plan that addresses the housing and non-housing community development
needs of lower income persons in the City and establishes annual goals and objectives to meet the identified
needs.
to benefits;
•Project Sentinel – Fair Housing Services [Goal: Assist 12 individuals; Actual: 19
individuals]. Project Sentinel provided fair housing services to City residents including
community education and outreach regarding fair housing law and practices,
investigation, counseling, and legal referral for victims of housing discrimination;
•Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC) – Case Management Services [Goal:
Assist 25 individuals; Actual: 24 individuals]. SVLIC provided assistance for individuals
with disabilities and their families. This assistance helped these persons to transition
from homelessness, health care facilities, unstable or temporary housing to permanent
affordable, accessible, integrated housing involving emergency assistance, security
deposits, rent, information, and referrals;
•Rebuilding Together Peninsula – Safe at Home Program [Goal: Assist 5 households;
Actual: 6 households]. Program preserved affordable housing by transforming homes
through critical repairs and accessibility modifications, at no cost to the service
recipient. The majority of the low-income homeowners served were elderly seniors
and/or people with disabilities, who are physically and financially unable to maintain
safe living conditions for themselves and their families;
•Peninsula Healthcare Connection (PHC) – Harm Reduction Services [Goal: 100
individuals; Actual: 114 individuals]. PHC delivered Harm Reduction materials to referral
families. Materials included: substance use treatment recommendations such as rehab
center options, support group meeting referrals, harm reduction kits designed for safe
needle use and storage, and basic needs resources, such as Narcan;
•WeeCare/Upwards – BOOST Program [Goal: 19 microenterprises; Actual: 19
microenterprises]. WeeCare worked with Family Child Care Home (FCCH) providers in
Palo Alto who are already on the wait list for the BOOST program. These providers
received staff training-learning best practices on how to grow and sustain their
organization and how to better support the families they serve. Funds requested to pay
WeeCare staff salaries for training providers on how to use Child Management System
(CCMS) software. CCMS was developed for providers to create work plans, goals,
capacity, and revenue, empowering them to reach service and operations goals; and
•Move Mountain View (MMV) [Goal: 109 individuals; Actual: 62 individuals]. The
program provides reserved off-street parking for participants, as well as permanent
housing solutions through intensive case management. MMV operates four 24/7 RV
Safe Parking lots and three Congregational Safe Parking locations. The total capacity of
these lots in Palo Alto and Mountain View is 109 vehicles. A total of 159 vehicle dwellers
are currently enrolled in the program. One of locations is located in Palo Alto at the
Geng Road Safe Parking lot. The Geng Road Safe Parking Lot is where MMV utilizes Palo
Alto’s CDBG-CV funds. Funding pays for the salary of one full-time Client Counseling
Case Manager and one full-time Client Case Manager Housing Specialist. MMV
experienced significant staff turnover in these positions during the program year, which
resulted in fewer individuals being served than initially projected.
TIMELINE
As required by HUD, the FY 2023-2024 draft CAPER was submitted by the September 28, 2024
deadline. The FY 2025-2026 CDBG Formula Allocation is expected to be posted in April 2025,
pending the approval of the FY25 federal budget. Staff continues to monitor legislative
developments that may impact future CDBG funding.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
This informational report has no fiscal impact.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
An advertisement was published in The Daily Post on August 28, 2024 announcing the
availability of the draft CAPER for public review and comment. The draft CAPER was posted on
the City’s CDBG webpage (www.cityofpaloalto.org/cdbg) from August 28, 2024 through
September 12, 2024, meeting the 15-day public comment period requirement. Hardcopies of
the draft CAPER were also available for review at the City’s Development Center, Planning &
Development Services Department at City Hall, and the City’s Downtown Public Library. The
HRC held a public hearing on September 12, 2024, to discuss the draft CAPER and provide the
public the opportunity to comment; the meeting fulfills the public hearing requirement for the
CAPER. There were no public comments made during the hearing and the HRC did not provide
comments necessitating changes to the contents and or metrics of the draft CAPER.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council review on this item is not considered a project as defined by CEQA because the CAPER
is for informational purposes only with no action required by City Council.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: FY23/24 Draft Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER)
APPROVED BY:
Jonathan Lait, Planning and Development Services Director