REPORT TO HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Consider Approval of Draft Third Substantial Amendment to the 2019 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Action Plan
Report
BACKGROUND
Sunnyvale receives an annual allocation of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds from the federal government to be used for community development programs and local housing strategies designed to increase opportunities for low and very low-income residents. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 27, 2020 the Federal Government signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act provides up to $5 billion in CDBG supplemental funding. Of that amount, $2 billion are being distributed to states and entitlement jurisdictions using the same statutory formula used to distribute the annual CDBG allocations.
Sunnyvale is an entitlement jurisdiction; the City received, in two allocation rounds, about $1.7 million from HUD in CDBG CARES ("CDBG-CV") funds through the CARES Act. The CARES Act funds are designed to provide emergency assistance and healthcare response for individuals, families and businesses affected by the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. Of the funds received to date, $350,000 have been awarded to Sunnyvale Community Services (SCS) for rent relief.
Since the beginning of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, the City, County and other local jurisdictions with CDBG programs have been coordinating on bi-weekly conference calls to discuss priority needs in each community, specific to the 2020 Coronavirus response, and coordination around utilization of CDBG-CV funds. Several priority needs have been identified including, but not limited to, rent relief, financial assistance (i.e., basic needs), hotel/motel vouchers, vaccinations/testing, food/hot meal distribution, small business support, and protective equipment for frontline workers.
All CDBG-CV funds received must be a...
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