Sonoma County Permanent Local Housing Allocation Plan Now Available

Press release from the Sonoma County Government:

July 10, 2020

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced the availability of approximately $195 million in funding for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program. The PLHA program is funded from moneys deposited in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund (Fund) in calendar year 2019. Sonoma County has been allocated $899,393 in formula funds for 2019-2020, and an estimated $5,396,358 over the next five years. On July 7, 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution authorizing the Commission to apply for these funds. The draft plan is attached below and is also available on our Plans, Policies and Reports page.

The principal goal of this program is to make funding available to eligible local governments in California for housing-related projects and programs that assist in addressing the unmet housing needs of their local communities. Twenty percent of the funding is required to be expended for Affordable Owner-Occupied Workforce Housing (AOWH), and the balance of the program prioritizes investments that increase the supply of housing to households that are at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), adjusted for household size. Funding will help cities and counties:

• Increase the supply of housing for households at or below 60% of area median income
• Increase assistance to affordable owner-occupied workforce housing (AOWH)
• Assist persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness
• Facilitate housing affordability, particularly for lower- and moderate-income households
• Promote projects and programs to meet the local government’s unmet share of regional housing needs allocation and,
• Ensure geographic equity in the distribution of the funds

The draft plan attached below will be presented to the Community Development Committee and the Cities & Towns Advisory Committee for review and input prior to submission on July 27. Proposed funding allocations are summarized below:

First Year Amount

899,393

100%

Administration

$44,969

5%

Affordable Workforce Ownership Housing Projects/Programs

$179,878.60

20%

Low-Interest, deferred loans for development of rental affordable housing with scoring criteria that prioritize projects with deep income targeting

$674,544.75

75%

The NOFA for workforce housing and affordable housing development loans would run
concurrently with the Commission’s annual County Fund for Housing (CFH) cycle.

Interested members of the public are invited to participate in the aforementioned meeting, or submit comments anytime between July 10, 2020 and 11:59PM on July 21, 2020. Comments may be submitted via the following methods:

1. Email cdc@sonoma-county.org. Please include “PLHA Plan” in the Subject line.
2. Attend the virtual meeting July 15, 2020 from 10AM to 11:30AM Web Access (Webex): https://bit.ly/cdc0715 Phone Access: +1-408-418-9388 Access Code: 146 175 2633 View full meeting information
3. Mail Comments to: Sonoma County Community Development Commission ATTN: Holly Kelley, 1440 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Please note: receipt of mailed-in comments may be hindered by COVID-19 closures and
limitations.

• Attachment: PLHA Draft Plan (PDF: 175 kB)

This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.