Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11132012 - HA D.2PDF Return D. 2 To: Contra Costa County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners From: Joseph Villarreal, Housing Authority Date: November 13, 2012 Contra Costa County Subject:RDA Housing Successor Agency Action of Board On: 11/13/2012 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Commissioner Candace Andersen, District II Commissioner Mary N. Piepho, District III Commissioner Karen Mitchoff, District IV Commissioner Federal D. Glover, District V Commissioner ABSENT:Geneva Green, Tenant Seat Commissioner Contact:925-957-8028 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: November 13, 2012 , BY:June McHuen , Deputy RECOMMENDATIONS CONSIDER ACCEPTING report on the designation of the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa (HACCC) as a housing successor agency to the Hercules and San Pablo Redevelopment Agencies. BACKGROUND In late June 2011 Governor Brown sought to capture funds from redevelopment agencies (RDAs) in California as part of his plan to eliminate the State's budget deficit. The Assembly passed ABx1 26 (the "Dissolution Act") to dissolve RDAs. Legal challenges were made to the Dissolution Act and it was ultimately considered by the California Supreme Court. The Court ruled on December 29, 2011 that ABx1 26 was constitutional, and also ruled that ABx1 27, which would have allowed RDAs to continue to exist, was unconstitutional. As a result, RDAs in the state of California were dissolved as of February 1, 2012. As part of the dissolution process, each former RDA had to designate a Successor Agency and a Housing Successor Agency. BACKGROUND (CONT'D) A Successor Agency controls assets, properties, contracts, leases, records, buildings and equipment of the former RDA. A Housing Successor Agency assumes the affordable housing functions and assets of the former RDA. However, under the Dissolution Act, the low and moderate income housing fund that was available to RDAs is not available to Housing Successor Agencies. In Contra Costa County, the cities of Hercules and San Pablo have designated HACCC as their housing successor agency. Statewide, various RDAs offered affordable housing programs that include the following: 1. Inclusionary a. Developer Discount Note b. Resale Restriction 2. Single Family (Rehabilitation, Homeownership) a. Equity Share b. Loans c. Resale Restriction 3. Multi-Family (New Construction, Acquisition/Rehabilitation) a. Loans b. Conditional Grants/Forgivable Loans Hercules and San Pablo offered several of these affordable housing programs. All come with significant, long-term monitoring and reporting requirements, financial reviews and calculations, discussions with other lenders, inspections and verifications and the possibility of financial obligations on the part of HACCC in addition to a variety of other possible duties. To act as the successor housing agency requires dedicated staff with significant program expertise and an adequate budget to support their activities. However, AB1x 26 did not provide any direct funding for successor housing agencies. Both San Pablo and Hercules cited this lack of funding as the primary reason they were electing to pass successor housing duties on to HACCC. However, because virtually all of HACCC's funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HACCC also does not have the funding necessary to act as a successor housing agency for either city. HUD's funding is provided to HACCC to run the public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs along with a handful of boutique programs such as Shelter Plus Care. HACCC would face HUD sanctions were any of these funds used to pay for successor housing agency duties. Statewide, the housing authorities who have agreed to act as a housing successor agency tend to be former redevelopment agencies/housing authorities such as Sonoma County and Sacramento, or they are part of their city or county structure such as Pittsburg. In both cases these agencies have access to funding and staff expertise not available to HACCC. Other housing authorities have not yet taken any formal action after being designated as a housing successor agency. These housing authorities are: 1. Los Angeles County 2. Marin County 3. Mendocino County 4. Placer County 5. San Bernardino County 6. San Joaquin County 7. San Mateo County These housing authorities have not yet taken formal action because there is a lack of available, non-HUD funding. In an effort to find a solution to this issue, HACCC staff have been working with an ad-hoc group to craft a solution to this problem that includes representatives from HUD, the California Association of Housing Authorities (CAHA), individual housing authorities and state legislative staff, particularly Diane Griffiths, Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Nancy Skinner and Chief Counsel to the State Assembly Rules Committee, and Lisa Engel, Chief Consultant for the Assembly Housing Committee. The goal has been to either identify a funding stream to manage successor housing agency functions or to permit HACCC and other similarly situated housing authorities to pass housing successor agency duties on to another entity. Twice legislative language was prepared by the group that would fix the problem. Once the group's language was rejected prior to placement in AB1484, one of the budget trailer bills. The next time, the group's language was placed in AB1585 and passed the Assembly before being pulled out prior to Senate passage of the bill. However, on October 30, 2012, members of the ad-hoc group met with Steve Szalay, a consultant with the state Department of Finance (DOF) and the point person for much of DOF's work regarding the dissolution of RDAs and Linn Warren the Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). In the meeting, both DOF and HCD offered a verbal solution to the problem for HACCC and other similarly situated housing authorities. Confirmation of this solution has not yet been received. Staff will provide the Board with an update at the meeting. FISCAL IMPACT None. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION Information item only. CLERK'S ADDENDUM AgendaQuick©2005 - 2022 Destiny Software Inc., All Rights Reserved