Title
Public Hearing to Consider Approving the Housing and Community Development Needs Statement for the Community Development Block Grant Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2026-27. (City Manager 203)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of the public hearing is to consider approving the housing and community development needs for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Annual Action Plan, which will be presented to City Council in May 2025. As an entitlement recipient of CDBG funds, the City of Alameda (City) receives approximately $1,100,000 per year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CDBG regulations require that an annual public hearing be held to obtain views on current housing and community development needs relating to the Action Plan (Action Plan) described below.
BACKGROUND
The City is an entitlement recipient of CDBG funds from HUD. CDBG funds programs and activities that benefit low- and moderate-income people and households while helping prevent or eliminate unkept neighborhoods and blight. To receive CDBG funding, the City submits an Action Plan to HUD detailing the programs, activities, and resources to address the housing and community development needs identified in the Consolidated Plan, which is a planning document required by HUD to be submitted by all jurisdictions that directly receive HUD funds.
CDBG regulations require that an annual public hearing be held to obtain input on current housing and community development needs relating to the Action Plan. This hearing provides an opportunity for public input for FY 2025-26. The Action Plan will identify local priorities and uses for two sources of federal funds: CDBG and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds. Eligible activities include housing development, residential rehabilitation, public facility capital improvements, public services, accessibility improvements, economic development, as well as planning and administrative activities. At least 70 percent of CDBG funds must benefit low- and moderate-income residents or neighborhoods. In addition, the total amount of CDBG funds obligated for public services activities must not exceed 15 percent of the annual entitlement allocation and prior year’s program income.
In August 2025, the City prepared a new Five-Year Consolidated Plan (Consolidated Plan), a document required by HUD, which is designed to assist the City with assessing its affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions to make data-driven decisions to positively impact the community. The Consolidated Plan identified the following priorities: affordable housing, preventing and addressing homelessness, reducing housing discrimination, and non-housing community development (public services, economic development, residential rehabilitation, and public facilities). The previous Consolidated Plan ended on June 30, 2025.
In 2023, the Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) completed the 2023 Community Needs Assessment (2023 CNA). The 2023 CNA was reviewed and accepted by City Council at its May 2, 2023, meeting. The 2023 CNA confirmed the continued need for the CDBG-funded services. The City is in the process of preparing for the next CNA which will begin in 2026. The new CNA will inform the Housing and Human Services Division’s strategic plan which is central to the City’s goals and initiatives to promote social services, make affordable housing more accessible and end homelessness.
On October 22, 2025, SSHRB heard a presentation and public comment on the FY 2026-27 Annual Action Plan, reviewed the current housing and community needs, and directed the preparation of the FY 2026-27 Needs Statement, which identifies the City’s priority social service needs (Needs Statement) for approval by City Council (Exhibit 1).
The board voted unanimously to recommend the following priority areas:
• Mental Health Services
o Promotion of healthy relationships
o Implementation of crisis intervention
o Domestic violence awareness
• Food Security and Nutrition Programs
o Emphasis on serving unhoused, low-income, seniors, and persons with disabilities
o Accessibility to healthier food options
• Access to Housing
o Increase housing affordability and supply
• Advocacy & Coordination
o Wraparound services to support marginalized and underserved communities
• Age Friendly Communities
o Inclusion model of engagement
o Integrated with Disability and Equity initiatives
o Livable Alameda for people of all ages
• Social connectedness
o Community building, diversity and inclusivity
DISCUSSION
Overview of the Community Development Block Grant Process
As an entitlement jurisdiction, the City receives CDBG funds from HUD. CDBG regulations require that an annual public hearing be held to obtain community input on current housing and community development needs. The Consolidated Plan contains a five-year goal for public services, which is the foundation for identifying the priority housing and community development needs of the community and is used to guide the development of annual Action Plans during the five-year period covering FY 2025-26 through FY 2029-30. Priority needs in the Consolidated Plan include the following:
• Preserving and increasing affordable housing and supportive services;
• Creating opportunities and educating individuals on fair housing;
• Preventing and addressing homelessness; and
• Addressing non-housing community development needs such as neighborhood improvements, public services, accessibility improvements and economic development.
The City’s FY 2025-26 Action Plan will identify local priorities and uses of CDBG funds to address needs in eligible categories. Eligible activities include property acquisition and rehabilitation, public facilities improvements, public services, accessibility improvements, economic development, and planning and administrative activities.
The purpose of this public meeting is to support the City’s effort to identify the social service needs of the community and recommend the FY 2025-26 Needs Statement for approval. The approved Needs Statement will be included in the upcoming CDBG FY 2025-26 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
CDBG Past Performance
Listed below are the previous and current CDBG-funded public service providers, their service offerings, annual goal of people served, and number of persons who benefited from the program in FYs 2020-25:
|
Service Provider |
Service Offering |
Annual Goal of People Served |
FY 2020-21 Persons Served |
FY 2021-22 Persons Served |
FY 2022-23 Persons Served |
FY 2023-24 Persons Served |
FY 2024-25 Persons Served |
|
Alameda Family Services |
Mental Health Counseling |
55 |
55 |
32 |
44 |
39 |
56 |
|
Alameda Food Bank |
Emergency Food Distribution |
3,000 |
10,537 |
11,731 |
6,302 |
8,921 |
10,338 |
|
Building Futures |
Shelter & Counseling |
85 |
120 |
62 |
66 |
95 |
80 |
|
Eden Council for Hope & Opportunity (ECHO) |
Fair Housing & Housing Counseling |
125 |
69 |
67 |
103 |
149 |
127 |
|
Eden Information & Referral |
Information & Referral |
350 |
397 |
402 |
459 |
495 |
443 |
|
Family Violence Law Center |
Family Violence Prevention |
32 |
43 |
62 |
37 |
37 |
33 |
|
Legal Assistance for Seniors |
Legal Assistance Community Ed HICAP |
44 296 49 |
43 67 38 |
37 166 91 |
39 113 110 |
55 122 110 |
42 316 132 |
Nearly all service providers reached or exceeded their annual performance goals. The following is a summary of some of the goals, accomplishments, and/or challenges each provider faced.
Alameda Family Services (AFS) met their annual goal of providing school-based mental health services to 56 youth in the City throughout FY 2024-25. The program goals are to decrease hospitalizations, reduce mental health crisis, and provide individual therapy to students. In Quarter 4, AFS provided services to 25 youth at school-based health centers throughout the Alameda Unified School District. AFS also led a school outreach initiative dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental health and increasing youth access to services during Mental Health Awareness Month.
The Alameda Food Bank (AFB) made significant progress and exceeded their organizational goals by providing emergency food distribution for individuals and preparing for the transition into a new facility. In FY 2024-25, AFB far exceeded their annual goal by reaching 10,338 individuals and families that deal with food insecurity. As a response to federal budget cuts, AFB had to reassess their sourcing methods and distribution to ensure they could continue to serve the community without drastic changes to the quality and quantity of food offered.
Building Futures’ (BF) Midway Shelter served 80 clients in FY 2024-25. BF fell slightly short of their goal due to organizational changes including issues with staff retention. They recently hired a Talent Acquisition Specialist to fill the void and help hire quality employees. In Quarter 4, Midway Shelter assisted 16 clients, providing 1,953 bed nights and 5,859 meals per day. In addition to providing bed nights and 3 meals a day, the staff at Midway conducts weekly meetings that cover various vital topics such as parenting, domestic violence support, housing workshops, employment workshops, basic life skills and children’s activities.
Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity’s (ECHO) annual goals consist of responding to fair housing inquiries, investigating fair housing complaints, conducting fair housing audits, administering fair housing sessions and tenant/property management mediation. In FY 2024-25, ECHO exceeded their annual goal by assisting 127 clients from a diverse demographic.
In 2024-25, the Family Violence Law Centers (FVLC) program succeeded by meeting their annual goal by reaching 33 clients. During Quarter 4, FVLC’s Family Violence Prevention Project provided emergency relocation, crisis counseling and safety planning, direct legal assistance and legal representation to 9 unduplicated victims of domestic violence within the City. Furthermore, FVLC’s Crisis Services Manager continued to regularly participate in the Alameda Domestic Violence Task Force (Alameda DVTF) and the Alameda Collaborative for Children, Youth, and their Families (ACCYF), both of which provide opportunities to share information on FVLC services, to learn about other resources available in Alameda, and to encourage new collaborations to improve service delivery to domestic violence victims in the City.
Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS) provides specific services to the senior population that encompass health law, public benefits, guardianship, naturalization, and housing and general legal services for those who need assistance in other areas of law. In FY 2024-25, the LAS goal was to provide free legal assistance to at least 44 clients, serve 300 residents through community education and outreach events, and provide health insurance counseling to 50 residents.
By the end of the year, LAS provided general legal assistance to 42 clients, which was two individuals short of their annual goal. The Community Education department held several presentations at the Mastick Senior Center throughout the year and reached a total of 316 seniors, caregivers, and senior services providers. Lastly, the County’s Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) reached a total of 132 Medicare recipients and provided additional counseling for free. LAS identified that there were staffing challenges during Quarters 2 and 3, leading to the small shortfall in meeting one of their goals, however, they well exceeded their other two goals.
ALTERNATIVES
• Hear public comment at this annual public hearing and approve the FY 2026-27 Needs Statement in support of the Consolidated Plan Priorities & Goals.
• Modify the Needs Statement to include additional priorities or remove proposed priorities prior to acceptance as this complies with the CDBG regulation to discuss these views during an annual public hearing.
• Decline to accept the Needs Statement, which may cause the City to be out of compliance with HUD requirements, potentially jeopardizing the City’s ability to receive these funds.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact from conducting a public hearing to determine FY 2026-27 housing and community development needs.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This project is consistent with the Housing and Community Development HUD CDBG/HOME 24 CFR Part 91 Five-Year Consolidated Plan requirement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and, following the public hearing, approve the Housing and Community Development Needs Statement, Priority Needs, and Objectives for the CDBG Annual Action Plan for fiscal year 2026-27.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Wooldridge, Assistant City Manager
By,
C’Mone Falls, Housing and Human Services Manager
Andre Fairley, Management Analyst
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Needs Statement
2. Consolidated Plan Priorities & Goals
3. FY 2026-27 Action Plan Schedule