19F - CONSOLIDATED PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION REPORT

Home Browse Search

2. ACTIONS TO FOSTER & MAINTAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING As in past years, Santa Ana made an effort to leveraged federal funds with private, local Redevelopment, State, tax credit and bond funds in order to increase and preserve the City's supply of affordable rental housing. With the end of redevelopment, obtaining affordable housing resources will become more challenging; however, the City will continue to seek resources that can be used to further affordable housing opportunities. The City's owner - occupied housing rehabilitation programs have helped preserve housing units occupied by lower income households. Furthermore, homeownership opportunities for Low- and Moderate-income homebuyers were available via the City's participation in the NSP. HOPWA funds helped foster and maintain housing for persons with HIV and AIDS via homelessness prevention, emergency /transitional housing, and tenant based rental assistance programs. Additionally, the Santa Ana Housing Authority provided rental assistance vouchers to very -low income households. Participants in the Authority's Family Self- Sufficiency (FSS) program were provided classes (available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese) on how to prepare for homeownership. Currently 45 families participating in FSS,have escrow accounts with an average monthly deposit of $135. Cumulatively, escrows currently total $263,878. 3. ACTIONS TO ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING The 2010 -2014 Consolidated Plan identified several barriers t0 the development of affordable housing including the following: • Governmental constraints such as property taxes, land- use- controls (e.g., density and zoning restrictions), building codes, building permit fees on- site /off -site improvement, prevailing wage regulations, and ADA compliance. • Market constraints primarily the availability, cost, and competition for land. Other constraints include limited funding sources, finance costs, and the costs of construction. Available land in the City mostly consists of small parcels that must be assembled for significant new construction projects. Relocation costs and housing replacement requirements for redeveloping improved properties also presents barriers to the development of affordable housing. • The region's rents have continued to increase. Higher rents limited the ability of some lower income households to obtain decent and affordable housing. Households with no or poor credit history are severely impacted. In an effort to mitigate these barriers, Santa Ana undertook the following actions during the report period: • The City utilized limited public resources to fund the development and /or the acquisition and rehabilitation of rental housing units. This public assistance will result in lower rents for assisted units thus partially offsetting the impacts of some of the barriers listed above. Collaborating with CHDOs helps ensures long -term affordability and maintenance of housing units. • The City's Housing Authority conducted outreach to rental property owners to encourage participation in the rental assistance program. The Authority's staff also provided counseling to 23 DRAFT 2013 -2014 CAPER Exhibit 2 19F -32