County to Hold Meetings on Spending Housing Funds

A county agency will be holding a series of meetings next month to figure out how to spend $39 million in federal housing money that are slated to help low-income and moderate-income residents.

Unfortunately, none of those meetings will take place in Altadena - the closest one for residents will be in Duarte on September 27.

The Community Development Commission (CDC) of the County of Los Angeles, which handles programs ranging from redevelopment to housing assistance, will be creating an action plan for how to spend the funds, which come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Possible uses of the money include "childcare programs, services for senior citizens, homebuyer assistance, home repair programs, homeless services, low-interest business loans, graffiti removal, and street and sewer repairs," according to a county press release.

The county release lists the funding as coming from the following sources:

• Approximately $28 million is from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, which funds a variety of services in low- and moderate-income communities.  Funding is contingent upon Congressional approval and as the CDBG Program has experienced funding reductions since 2002, future funding levels are uncertain at this time; 
• More than $12 million from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which supplies funds for housing rehabilitation, first-time homebuyer programs, and construction in lower-income areas; and
• More than $1 million from the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, which provides temporary shelter to homeless individuals during cold and wet winter months.

The following table lists the time and locations of all the meetings:

1

Allen J. Martin Park

Community Room

14830 E. Giordano St.

La Puente, CA 91744

September 13, 2011

Tuesday

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

2

East Rancho Dominguez Park

Community Recreation Room

15116 Atlantic Ave.

Compton, CA 90221

September 15, 2011

Thursday

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

3

Palm Apartments

Community Room

959 N. Palm Ave.

West Hollywood, CA 90069

September 8, 2011

Thursday

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

4

Adventure Park

Community Room

10130 S. Gunn Ave.

Whittier, CA 90605

September 22, 2011

Thursday

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

5

Pamela Park

Gymnasium

2236 Goodall Ave.

Duarte, CA 91010

September 27, 2011

Tuesday

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Those seeking more information on the meetings can contact Gloria V. Ramirez at (323) 890-7188, and individuals unable to attend the community meetings may submit written comments through October 27 to Raymond Webster via e-mail at Raymond.Webster@lacdc.org, fax (323) 890-8595, or mail (postmarked by October 27, 2011) to the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, CDBG Division, 2 Coral Circle, Monterey Park, CA  91755.

Editor's note: The originial version of this article referred to the CDC as the "county redevelopment agency."  While redevelopment is one of the divisions of the CDC, this program is being run by the Community Development Block Grant Division.