REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt a Resolution to Endorse Destination:Home Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County 2015-2020
Report
BACKGROUND
Destination:Home (D:H) is a public-private partnership created in 2008 by the City of San Jose, the County of Santa Clara, and other partners to implement the 2007 recommendations of the former Blue Ribbon Commission on Affordable Housing and Homelessness, a task force of county, city, and other agency representatives, including the late former Vice Mayor Swegles (see County press release in Attachment 1). The Blue Ribbon Commission developed a “Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness” which was adopted by the County, the City of San Jose, and various partner agencies in 2005. Such 10-year plans were widely promulgated in the early 2000’s by national homeless advocacy groups and federal agencies to help local communities develop effective strategies to end homelessness (see “Fact Sheet on Ten Year Plans” in Attachment 2).
D:H developed the Community Plan to End Homelessness 2015-2020 (D:H Plan, Attachment 3) in 2014 to continue and improve upon the efforts begun under the prior plan. D:H coordinated the participation of more than 200 local stakeholders from the public and private sectors in a six-month planning process to develop the plan. Housing staff participated in several of the planning events, including two of the “summit” meetings.
The D:H Board also serves as the governing body of the county-wide “Continuum of Care” (CoC), which is a county-wide entity required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to enable local housing and services providers to apply for HUD grants for various homeless assistance programs. Last fiscal year, these HUD grants to the CoC amounted to nearly $16 million for various non-profit agencies within Santa Clara County. The new D:H Plan is consistent with ongoing CoC efforts and will assist in supporting the CoC’s applications for future HUD grants.
EXISTING POLICY
Sunnyvale FY 2015-2020 Consolidated Plan
1. Help people who are currently homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness to obtain housing, employment or other sources of income, and adequate support services/networks to achieve stability.
d) Continue to participate in county-wide policy, planning and coordination efforts such as the Continuum of Care and Destination:Home’s Community Plan to End Homelessness.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The adoption of a Resolution to endorse a community plan to end homelessness is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it involves general policy and procedure making. (CEQA Guideline Section 15378(b).)
DISCUSSION
The D:H Plan is based on three central strategies, as explained in detail in Attachment 3:
1. Disrupt the System: Develop strategies and innovative prototypes that transform the systems related to housing homeless people.
2. Build the Solution: Secure the funding needed to provide 6,000 housing opportunities with services for those who are homeless and those at risk of homelessness.
3. Serve the Person: Adopt an approach that recognizes the need for client-centered strategies with different responses for different levels of need and different groups, targeting resources to the specific individual or household.
Much of the effort described in the D:H Plan relates to the work of various county agencies that provide health care, housing, social services, corrections, and related services. Participating cities will most likely be involved mainly on the second strategy: “Build the Solution,” which relates to development of affordable housing units through various methods, including development of new permanent supportive housing (PSH) units, rehabilitation or retrofitting of existing housing or other structures (e.g., motels) into new affordable units, and use of long-term subsidies such as rental vouchers to make existing market-rate or affordable housing more affordable for homeless or at-risk households.
The City has already funded and implemented efforts related to Strategy 2 for a number of years, including the recent development of 117 new affordable supportive housing units (the Parkside Studios and Onizuka Crossing projects), the City’s HOME-funded Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program for homeless and at-risk households, and funding provided in prior years for supportive housing projects, such as group homes developed by Momentum for Mental Health, Senior Housing Solutions, and Bill Wilson Center, and various others.
In addition, the City has implemented various programs that are consistent with Strategy 3: “Serve the Person,” such as:
• The FY 2015-16 Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRR) program, which includes a financial literacy and tenant education component, as well as a similar program (HPRP) implemented in 2010-11 with a one-time federal stimulus grant;
• The WorkFirst Sunnyvale program that provides employment training, job placement, and related supportive services for homeless people;
• The Haven to Home program, which provides outreach and case management services for homeless people;
• Tenant-landlord dispute resolution services; and
• Various other programs funded through the city’s human services grants that provide supportive services to homeless clients.
As described above and in more detail in the City’s adopted Housing Element and Consolidated Plan, the City’s past and ongoing efforts related to preventing and ending homelessness are consistent with the key strategies included in the new D:H Plan.
As noted in the D:H Plan, D:H will provide annual implementation plans to further guide the County and participating agencies in implementing the plan. The first implementation plan is provided in Attachment 4.
To date, the D:H Plan has been endorsed by the D:H Board, the County of Santa Clara, the cities of San Jose, Morgan Hill, and Campbell, the Cities Association of Santa Clara County, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District. D:H staff is currently working with the cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View in an effort to seek their endorsement of the Plan by late 2015. D:H staff has confirmed that an endorsement does not create or imply any obligation for the City to provide funding or other resources to D:H nor to take any future actions in support of the D:H Plan. However, as noted above, a number of existing City programs and plans are supportive of the general goals and strategies of the D:H Plan.
In addition, City endorsement of the D:H Plan may assist in obtaining future HUD approvals of the City’s future Action Plans by demonstrating the City’s commitment to regional efforts to end homelessness, and therefore may help the City maintain its CDBG and HOME grants in the future.
A draft resolution to endorse the D:H Plan is provided in Attachment 5.
FISCAL IMPACT
This action will not impact the General Fund or have any other negative fiscal impacts on City funds. City endorsement of the Plan does not obligate the City to provide any funding or commit to any other actions related to the Plan. Endorsement of the Plan may be beneficial in maintaining the City’s eligibility for future CDBG and HOME grants.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution to endorse the Destination:Home Community Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Clara County 2015-2020.
Endorsement of the D:H Plan is consistent with existing City policy, long-range housing plans, and existing City-funded programs and projects.
Staff
Prepared by: Suzanne Isé, Housing Officer
Reviewed by: Hanson Hom, Director, Community Development Department
Reviewed by: Jane Chambers, Interim Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, Assistant City Manager
for Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2004 County Press Release
2. Fact Sheet on Ten Year Plans
3. Community Plan to End Homelessness
4. Implementation Plan
5. Draft Resolution