29A - 10-11 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN AMENDMENTS

Home Browse Search

2010-2011 Substantial Amendments September 4, 2012 Page 2 On October 18, 2010, the City Council took several actions pertaining to the financing and development of a 10,000 square foot community center at Garfield Elementary School, allocating $2.5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the project. The concept of a community center evolved as part of the extensive outreach effort conducted for the Station District housing project, and associated Transit Zoning Code. The proposed community center is being developed in partnership with the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) in conjunction with renovation and expansion of the Garfield school facilities. Since the time of the original funding action, staff has been working diligently with SAUSD staff to facilitate the project, with SAUSD serving as the lead on the design and construction process. Concurrent with the project design, staff facilitated meetings with community members to identify their needs and priorities for the community center. Subsequent to receiving the required plan approval from the State Architect's Office, SAUSD competitively bid the work, with the lowest bid coming in above the school district's original estimate. After additional value engineering and other cost reducing measures, the estimated cost (hard and soft) are approximately $3,800,000. The increase is proposed to be funded with school district funding and reallocated CDBG funds. In compliance with federal requirements, the City drafted a Substantial Amendment to the 2010- 2011 Annual Action Plan (Exhibit 1) to utilize CDBG dollars returned from programs and cancelled projects at the end of the 2011-2012 fiscal year and be designated to assist in the funding of the community center project. Legal notice for the CDBG substantial amendment was published in the Orange County Register, La Opinion and Nguoi Viet News on July 30, 2012. In addition to the Substantial Amendment above, the City will be further modifying its 2010-2011 Annual Action plan with regards to its NSP 3 program. On February 28, 2011, the City submitted to HUD a Substantial Amendment to its 2010-2011 Annual Action Plan, which authorized the NSP 3 program. This Substantial Amendment created and established the Target Geography Area in which the NSP 3 program would operate. The target area has been modified since its inception, but there still are insufficient foreclosed and abandoned homes within this area. After receiving additional clarification from HUD staff, City staff is recommending that the Target Geography Area be revised to match the NSP 2 Target Geography Area (Exhibit 2). Legal notice for NSP3 substantial amendment was published in the Orange County Report, La Opinion and Nguoi Viet News on August 1, 2012. Lastly, the City will be amending the Foreclosed Homes Acquisition Program (Program). Previously, the Program had a resale restriction which required the homeowner to specifically sell to another affordable homeowner. This restriction narrowed the property owners' ability to sell their homes, and for banking institutions to provide loans. Therefore, staff is recommending that the Program be amended to allow for recapture. This change would allow the homeowner to sell to a non-affordable homeowner where funds will be repaid, which then will be reprogrammed for other affordable housing activities. This amendment also is consistent with the resale provisions of the 29A-2