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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-05-26 - AGENDA REPORTS - CHAS (2)PUBLIC HEARING DATE: SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT: BACKGROUND AGENDA REPORT i City Manager Approval Item to be presented A- U May 26, 1992 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy.(CHAS) Parks and Recreation On April 28, 1992, the City Council helda public hearing to receive public testimony on the City's Draft Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy Report or CHAS and on the City's affordable housing needs. The public hearing has been continued. The City has completed the 60 -day public review period for the CHAS and has fulfilled this HUD, public participation. requirement. As an attachment part of this agenda report, the City has compiled a summary of public comments received during the review period of March 21 through May 20, 1992. The summary provides the date, name of the person or agency and comments. These comments were submitted in written form during the public review period and also provided during the public hearing of April 28, 1992, before. City Council. The public comments of May 26, 1992 will also be incorporated into the report. Council has received a copy of the draft CHAS Report. An additional statutory requirement required as part of the 'CHAS Report certifications and citizen participation requirements for the City's Final Statement for the CDBG program is an approved Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance plan for the City as governed by Section 104(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. City staff has worked with HUD to develop a draft plan which conforms with federal regulations. The plan must be adopted prior to the submission of the City's CHAS Report and Final Statement for the CDBG program. City staff has also considered Council comments and researched further the process for creating a housing authority. According to City Attorney's office, this information is 'found in Housing Authority Law, Article 2 of Health & Safety Codes, Section 34240 for the State of California. According to State law, the - housing authority shall not transact any business or exercise its powers unless by resolution and the governing body of the County or City declares that there is a need for an authority to function in it. There are specific findings and specific factors for consideration which determine need. Additionally, the vote of the people is required .only if the City desires to develop, construct or acquire a low rent housing project. Continued To: G — 9 -V�2 Q" 3i' g] ltenb- toe Agenda Report Page 2 City staff was also informed by the Los Angeles County, Community Development Commission that the County of Los Angeles assists cities, in the required HUD process to form a housing authority. At the onset, HUD does not grant housing authority status unless the City contracts with the Los Angeles County, Community Development Commission to provide management of housing authority services. For a City entering these services, it would take approximately 500-600 housing units participating in the Section 8 rental assistance program to pay for the operating costs of the program and not impact a City's. general fund. Also provided for Council review is the status report of code enforcement activity in the Newhall area.' RECOMMENDATION City Council to receive public testimony, direct staff to incorporate additional comments received at public hearing, adopt Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan, and approve and adopt the City's Draft CHAS report and direct staff to transmit report to HUD. ATTACHMENTS Citizen Comments Summary Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan Code Enforcement Activity Status Report RG:slc PRCOUNC.114 PUBLIC HEARING PROCEDURE 1. Mayor Opens Hearing a. States Purpose of Hearing 2. City Clerk Reports on Hearing Notice 3. Staff Report (City Manager) or (City Attorney) or (RP Staff) 4. Proponent Argument (30 minutes) S. Opponent Argument (30 minutes) 6. Five-minute Rebuttal (Proponent) a. Proponent 7. Mayor Closes Public Testimony 8. Discussion by Council 9. Council Decision 10. Mayor Announces Decision Notice of Public Hearing Public Review of the Title I of the National Affordable Housing Act Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy Title 1 of the National Affordable Housing Act requires the City of Santa Clarita to prepare a five-year Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy or CHAS to obtain future funding for federal housing programs. The City of Santa Clarita's draft CHAS report. is a need based plan of action for affordable housing. It's foundation is derived from the City's recently adopted General Plan Housing Element and other available and reliable data. The City's draft CHAS has been developed with extensive citizen participation as an integral and important key element. The report is composed of three major sections. The Community Profile provides the most recent information on housing needs and market conditions of the City. The other sections present the -City's five-year strategy for housing investment for the period of October 1, 1991 through September 30'1992. The one-year action plan applies available resources to affordable housing assistance activities for needy persons and.families. The five-year priorities identified by the City to meet the assessed affordable housing needs of the community are= minor home repairs, participation and support for Section 8 rental assistance programs, public facilities funding, residential rehabilitation loans, address barriers to affordable housing, tax free bonds, first-time home buyers program, rental rehabilitation and redevelopment agency. The City's draft CHAS will be available for publicreview and comment from March 21, 1992 through May 20, 1992, at the City Clerk's Office, Canyon Country, Valencia and Newhall Libraries, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station and the U.S..Post Office. Until May 20, 1992, the City will be accepting written public comments regarding the CHAS. Comments may be sent to the City of Santa Clarita, Department of Parks and Recreation, 23920 Valencia Boulevard, Suite 300, Santa Clarita, CA 91355, to the attention of Raquel Garcia. These comments will be incorporated into the,final CHAS report submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). During the 60 day public review period of the draft CHAS, a public hearing of the City Council will be.held on April 28, 1992 to obtain additional comments on local housing needs. The public hearing will be held at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Boulevard, Council Chambers, first floor at 6:30 p.m. For further information regarding the City's draft CHAS report please contact Raquel Garcia, City of Santa Clarita, Parks and Recreation Department at (805)255-4394. Donna Grindey City Clerk City of Santa Clarita Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan under Section 104(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as Amended The City of Santa Clarita will replace all occupied and vacant occupiable low/moderate-income dwelling units demolished or converted to a use other than as low/moderate-income housing in connection with an activity assisted with. funds provided under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, as described in 24 CFR 570.606(c)(1). All replacement housing will be provided within three years after the commencement of the demolition or conversion. Before entering into a contract committing the City of Santa Clarita to provide federal funds for an activity that will directly result An demolition or conversion the City of Santa Clarita will make public and submit to HUD the following information in writing: 1. A description of.the proposed assisted activity; 2.The location on a map .and number of -dwelling units by size (number of bedrooms)' that will be demolished or converted to a use other than as low/moderate-income dwelling units as a direct result of the assisted activities; 3. A time schedule for the commencement and completion of the demolition or conversion; 4. The location on a map and the number of dwelling units by size (number of bedrooms) that will be provided as replacement dwelling units. If such data are not available at the time of the general submission, the City of Santa Clarita will identify the general location on an area map and the approximate number of dwelling units by size and provide information identifying the specific location and number of dwelling.units by size and soon as it is available; 5. The source of funding and a time schedule for the provision of the replacement dwelling units; 6. The basis for concluding that each replacement dwelling unit will remain. a low/moderate-income dwelling unit for at least 10 years from the date of initial occupancy; 7. Information demonstrating that any proposed replacement of dwelling units with smaller dwelling units (e.g., a 2 -bedroom unit with two 1 -bedroom units) is consistent with. the housing needs of lower-income households in the jurisdiction. Antidisplacement and Relocation Assistance Plan Page 2 The City of Santa Clarita, Parks and Recreation Department, at (805)255-4394, is responsible for tracking. the replacement of housing and ensuring that it is provided within the required period. ` The ' City of Santa Clarita, Parks and Recreation Department, at (805)255-4394, is responsible for ensuring requirements are: met for notification and provision of. relocation assistance, as described in §570.606(c)(2); to any lower-income person displaced by the demolition of any dwelling unit or the conversion of a low/moderate-income dwelling unit to another use in connection with an assisted activity. Consistent with the goals and objectives of activities assisted under the Act, the City -of Santa Clarita will take the following steps to minimize the direct and indirect displacement of persons from their homes: 1. The City will, give funding priorities to projects that will not result in the displacment of low/moderate income households and create affordable housing opportunities. 2. Coordinate code enforcement with rehabilitation and housing assistance programs. 3. Consider, and if applicable adopt public policies to identify and mitigate -displacement resulting from intensive. public investment in neighborhoods. 4. Consider and if applicable. adopt policies which provide reasonable protection for tenants faced with conversion to a condominium or cooperative. 5. Evaluate applicability of City's plan to affordable housing goals and programs of the City's Comprehensive Housing affordability Strategy or CHAS. RG:slc.501 CITY OF SANTA-CLARITA I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U M TO: George A. Caravalho, City Manager FROM: Lynn M. Harris, Director of Community Development/ IO DATE: May 13, 1992 SUBJECT: Code Enfopcement Activity.in East Newhall This memorandum is to provide you with a status report in response to. a request from the City Council, regarding Code Enforcement activities within East Newhall. Since January of this year, the Code Enforcement staff has responded to a total of 61 complaints within the Newhall area. For your information, approximately 16 cases or 26Z of our enforcement activity has been within the area of East Newhall. For purposes of this report, we have defined East Newhall as the area bounded by Railroad Avenue on the West, Market Street on the North, Race Street on the East and Park Street on the South. Finally, we are currently in a reactive mode of operation, whereby complaints from residents are responded to by the Code Enforcement staff. Some of the complaints received by the City that are located within the Newhall area are: Garage conversions, overcrowding, inoperative vehicles,. . property maintenance violations and substandard property conditions. Please let me know if you need any additional information regarding Code Enforcement activity within the Newhall area. LMH:VPA:lkl:165 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA HOUSING AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY (CHAS) SIIHNARY OF.PUBLIC COX MEN TS PUBLIC COX MEN TS -Verbal PUBLIC HEARING - 4/28/92 FAVORING: "Hispanic families are looking to the Council for assistance." Jaime Torres, Newhall, CA. "Neighborhood that he lives in does not look good, wants assistance -in the high cost of -living in the area. Jesus Rodriguez, Newhall, CA. OPPOSING: "Need for affordable housing." "Urge the City to take a proactive position to affordable housing." "CHAS presents opportunities for the City to meet the need for affordable housing to various programs." "Need for affordable housing throughout City, not only Newhall, but..new developments." "Adopt a balanced and fairer allocation of resources between low income and very low income seniors and other low and very low income residents in the one year and five year action plans." "Creation of the Housing Authority." "CHAS does not address adequately the need for assistance for homeless." "CHAS does not address the .full extent of the need for fair housing opportunities throughout the City." "Need of urgent repairs not currently being served by the City or County in its code enforcement of dilapidated conditions." Anthony Rodriguez, Attorney San Fernando Valley -Neighborhood Legal Services PUBLIC COMMENTS -written Letter 4/28/92 (Copy of Letter Attached - 5 Pages) Comments submitted on behalf of Pedro Flores and other low income residents. °Imbalance allocation of affordable resources." •Racial/Socio economic disparities between different areas of the City." "Maps should be clearer." R. Mona Tawatao and Anthony Rodriguez, Attorney's San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED DURING 60 DAY PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD. Letter 5/1/92 (Copy of Letter Attached - 1 -Page) 'It is urged that any funds which may be set aside for the construction of new. 'low-income housing' instead be used to repair and maintain currently existing low income housing." Mark Bridgeford, Santa Clariti, CA. Letter 5/13/92 (Copy of Letter Attached - 3 Pages) "Track the population patterns of racial/ethnic groups." "Provide information on the City's homeless population and explanation of lack of homeless shelter." "Need for shelters for abused women." "Need to address supportive services for families with female heads of households.' PUBLIC COMIEHTS RECEIVED DURING 60 DAY PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD. (Continued) "Need for specific programs for providing replacement housing and or relocation benefits- for those displaced." "Specify the operations of the City's Fair Housing Program, its location, access, goals and handling of discrimination complaints." "Specify at least one specific potential program and funding source for the rental rehabilitation program." •Include East Newhall as a target area in the City's Five -Year Strategy priority for Redevelopment Agency." "The East Newhall area is a prime site for a HUD assisted project. The City must give a project serious consideration on the•CHAS in an effort to avoid internal consistencies and over look the problems of the Hispanic population in.the City." "Greatest need is among renters not homeowners, allocation of CDBG funds should go to renters." - "City should consider -creating own Housing Authority rather than relying on the County." "The final CHAS should contain a Table of Contents." R. Mona Tawatao and Anthony Rodriguez, Attorney's San Fernando.Valley Neighborhood Legal Services CITY RECOGNITION OF COX MEN TSt The development of the City's first CHAS Report is also the City's first view at the numerous "issues, needs and concerns essential to fully understand the affordable housing needs of very needy families and special populations and how the City can begin to study and address them. The City of Santa Clarita appreciates public response 'and has considered the comments voiced throughout the City's public participation process. This. participation has broaden and provided depth to the City's identification of needs. The CHAS Report provides a first step and. opportunity to respond proactively and research further the many issues raised through the development of the CHAS and by citizen comments provided. The City's increased understanding of these issues is critically important to effective and successful programs begun or planned to. meet the multifaceted needs which will conserve and create affordable housing opportunities. An annual update is recommended along with HUD performance reports to allow staff to research issues . and comments further and update the CHAS document. HUD .will advise City of ,time schedules for submittal in the near future. The City encourages continued. citizen participation in the many future steps the City must take in its development in this area and achievement. -in meeting the affordable housing goals and programs determined as CHAS priorities. Updating the CHAS annually as resources are identified and become available and new 1990 census data is provided to the City will also need the participation of the citizens of Santa Clarita. EEK 242 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES, INC. n32v VAN NUYS SOULEVARD PACOIMA, CALIFORNIA 91331 (818) 89"211 .go— April 28, 1992 Mayor Jill Klijac Mayor Pro -Tem Howard McKeon Councilman Carl Boyer III Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy Councilwoman Jan Heidt city of Santa clarity 23920 Valencia Blvd., Suite 300 Santa Clarity, CA 91355 Re: Draft CHAS, City of Santa Clarita, 1991 - 1996 Dear Members of the City Council: our office submits the following comments to the Draft CHAS, 1991 - 1996, on behalf of Pedro Flores and other low-income residents of the City of Santa.Clarita ("City"). Since we obtained the document only last week, please consider the following as our preliminary comments to the document. After a more intensive review of the document, we intend to submit supplemental comments before the May 20, 1992 deadline. TmBALANCED ALLOCATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESOURCES Our main Criticism of the Draft CHAS is that it contains internal inconsistencies as between the housing needs set forth in the Community Profile and the City's proposed. response to those needs. This is especially true when comparing the statistics between elderly low-income households and other low- income households. A look at the statistics provided in the document.bears this out. On page 15 of the Community Profile ("Profile"), it states that the "largest percentage of ''housing assistance needs of low- income household are generated -by small related woes of households who are renters." (Emphasis added.) Further, in the Poverty Status Table on p. 12 of the Profile,. it appears that the elderly households comprise a smaller percentage of those living below the poverty.level than female headed households and families with children. Despite these statistics, the CHAS proposes to allocate more resources, in particular actual housing stock, to low-income elderly households and low-income owner occupied dwellings than to small related low-income households. 900'39Hd 301A83S -Itl931 nJS W0233 IZ:SI as, bt AUW Flores - Santa Clarita City Council April 28, 1992 Page 2 we must preface the remainder of our comments with an acknowledgement of the continuing need for affordable senior housing and an appreciation of the City's response to these needs. However, given the needs assessment and the limited resources, we urge the City to adopt a more balanced allocation of resources between low and very -low income seniors and other low and very low-income residents in the One -Year and Five -Year Action Plans. The present disparity in allocation is found in nearly every category of housing assistance discussed in the CHAS as illustrated below. Affordable Complex There are three HUD subsidized senior Complexes in the City with a fourth scheduled for construction. in addition, there are four seniors complexes listed which accept Section 8 Certificates or vouchers. (See Profile, p'. 49). By comparison, there are no HUD Subsidized multi -unit family complexes, the very type that corresponds with the greatest need as stated by the CHAS itself. (Profile p. 15). Although the CHAS provides a list of multi -unit family units with a 20% set aside, the set aside is for low and moderate income families as opposed to veru low_.income families. Since Santa Clarita is, according to the CHAS, an "affluent community" (Profile, p. lo), this means that so-claled low/moderate income units may be out of reach for those residents in the very -low income category '(50% or less .of median income for the area). Tenant _Based Subsidies: Section a Certificates and Vouchers The CHAS states that a total of 54 renters were issued Section 8 certificates and vouchers (Profile, p. 43.) However 49 were issued to elderly households and only 3 were issued to family households. This allocation is obviously completely at odds with the data on poverty status and the other information discussed earlier showing the greatest need to be with small related households. Moreover, in the one Year Action Plan, p. 15, the allocation is identical, 51 certificates for elderly households and only 3 for families. This imbalance must be remedied. Since a new 202 building is soon to be constructed for seniors and there is no other type of subsidized low-income construction even being contemplated in Santa Clarita, it is imperative that other low and very low income residents of Santa Clarita get their fair share, especially when it comes to actual housing stock e.g. units, certificates. Finally, the total number of certificates issued falls woefully short of those issued in other comparable and 100'39Ud 3DIA83S IU931 AAS W08J ZZISI 26. VI AdW Flores - Santa Clarita City Council' April 28, 1992 Page 3 smaller communities. The city must request additional Section 8 certificates and vouchers to alleviate the overwhelming need for affordable housing. The CHAS identifies Newhall as the area where the greatest number of substandard housing units are located. (Profile, P- 59). Thus, we commend the City for committing monies toward upgrading the infrastructure in East Newhall, referred to in the document as census tract 9203.11. (See One -Year, p. 7). However, some of the other CDBG proposals, though in the right spirit, are in our assessement Misguided given the Community Profile statistics. In general, the proposals offer cosmetic and superficial solutions to the problem of substandard housing. Based on the prior public hearing/meeting testimony from residents of East Newhall, major rehabilitation, new construction of affordable housing and tenant based subsidies ( i.e. Section 8 certificates and vouchers) are what is needed. See list of Housing Needs/Issues, Profile, p. 29. Specifically, we submit the,following comments for each CDBG program/plan: Fair Hou ina Services A good allocation, however,the City should remain. in contact with the county wide Fair Housing Services to ensure that the local office is using the proper,standards/methods to meet the community's fair housing needs. Randyworker Program Given that renters have the greatest need for affordable/safe housing, this program should be allocated more heavily in favor of renter occupied dwellings. Better still would be to allocate this money, if possible, to substantial rehabilitation rather than minor repairs. Again, these monies should be allocated to renters over homeowners as the need is greater for the former. Residential Rehabilitation Loans See comments under previous heading. 800 • 3DUd K I083S •IU931 nJS W0N:] 63:G1 26. 01 AHW Flores - Santa Ciarita city council April 28, 1992 Page 4 RAC lCA /SOCIO CONOMIC DISPAR IES SE`IVEEN DIFF E EN ARE S OF TH CITY According to the CHAS, the City is predominantly white, however there is a significant Hispanic Community (13.5$). Apparently, the number of Hispanics differs greatly from area to area within the City- For instance, the CHAS provides that only 7.3% of valencia is Hispanic, whereas 33.2% of the residents in tract 9203.11 (East Newhall) are Hispanic. As stated earlier, the worst housing and infrastructure conditions exist in census tract 9203.11. Thus, we commend the city for allocating monies 'for improving the area's infrastructure and for targeting the area for redevelopment and revitalization. However, these actions barely begin to.address the problems in the area. Again, we cannot emphasize enough that the aid needed for the residents in that area, as articulated in the CHAS itself, is substantial rehabilitation, new construction and tenant -based rental assistance. The available resources should be so allocated. Further, if the City -decides to revitalize the area through its Redevelopment Agency, we urge the City not to make the mistake of upgrading and gentrifying by displacing the residents of East Newhall without just compensation. Such. compensation must come in the form of both relocation (pre -demolition of units) and/or construction to give residents the option of either staying in the community in an upgraded home/apartment or moving to a safe, sanitary and affordable place. Finally, the City must ask itself why HUD subsidized complexes are built in and why renters holding certificates are being directed to predominantly white areasof the City. Why is East Newhall being ignored as far as affordable housing construction/issuance of certificates and vouchers? As a relatively new city, Santa Clarita has the opportunity to remedy this segregation before it becomes endemic as it is in other areas of the County. . We urge the City to include in both its one -Year and Five -Year Action Plans, specific plans for reaching out to the low and very -low income minority residents of Newhall, not only by directing them to the affordable housing resources available, but procuring new resources, e.g. grants to build HUD housing, to meet their needs. Perhaps the Fair Housing Council could be involved in meeting this goal. Moreover, fair housing opportunities should be available in all areas of Santa Clarita including new developments. 600'39Hd 30IAN3S IU933 nAS WO83 6Z:SI 26. 4I AUW Flores - Santa Clarita City Council April 28, 1992 Page 5 GENERAL COMMENTS As a purely technical matter, it would be tremendously helpful if the City would recopy or redo some of the maps included in the CHAS as some of the numbers, words and legends on these maps are illegible. See, e.g., Profile, P. 14. There are other portions of the CHAS on which we would like to comment, however, time does not permit us to do so at this time. we will reserve such comments for our supplemental letter. We thank.the City Council for its consideration of our comments. our criticisms and proposals are supported by material contained within the CHAS itself. Thus, we urge the council members to take our proposals to heart and amend the Draft CHAS to provide a fairer allocation of housing resources to those residents of Santa Clarita with the greatest unmet need -- the low and very low income renters living in unaffordable, substandard housing. Respectfully Submitted, } R. Mona T atao Anthony Rodriguez San Fernando valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. 0I0'39ud 3DIA83S IU93-1 f1.39 W08A 7z:9I as, 41 1kUW CITY OF SANTA CLARITA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION 23920 VALENCIA BOULEVARD SUITE 344 SANTA CLARITA. CA. 91355 Dear Gentlepersons: May 1, 149; RE: C.4.A.S. Subsequent to attending the City Council Meeting on the evening cf April 28, 1942 and reviewing the "DRArT CHAS", the undersigned ma�:ss _he oil cwing comment for incorporation into the "FINAL CHAS REPORT": It is urged that any funds which may be set aside for the construction of new "low-income houseing" instead be used to repair and maintain currently existing low income houseing. Given the high cost of land in this valley, this proposal would result in more bang for each tax dollar spent. Additionally, it would ease over-devleopment in current low density areas where tow income houseing might prove incompatible. If existing low- income houseing is allowed to further deteriorate and fall out of compliance with the "code", we will be left with a surplus of uninhabitable ruins, fit only to foster crime and social unrest. Thank you. Marl: %kBridqje?d 22002 West Kristin Lane Santa Clarita, Ca. 91354 RECEIVED MAY 0 7 1992 PARKS A RECREATION DEPT. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES. INC. 13327 VAN NUYSBOULEVARD PAC0IMA. CALIFORNIA $1331 (818} 896-5211 May 13, 1992 SENT BY FAX AND MAIL Mayor Jill-Klijac Mayor Pro -Tem Howard McKeon Councilman Carl Boyer III Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy Councilwoman Jan Heidt, City of Santa Clarita 23920 Valencia Blvd., Suite 300 Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Re: Draft CHAS, City of Santa Clarita, 1991 - 1996 Supplemental Comments Dear Members of the City Council: As stated in our first letter to the City Council of April 28, 1992, we are submitting supplemental comments to the City of Santa Clarita's Draft CHAS for 1991 = 1996- These comments are set forth below and should be read and considered in conjunction with the comments in our first letter. A copy of the April 28 letter is attached,for your reference. The comments below are divided into four categories: comments on the Community Profile portion of the CHAS, comments on the Five Year Strategy portion, comments on the One Year Action Plan and General Comments. COMMUNITY PROFILE VSnf rmation on other Racial/Ethnic Groups The CHAS states that information regarding the concentration of racial/ethnic groups other than Hispanics is not available. Profile, p. S. While it may bethat these other groups, e.g. Blacks, Asians, constitute a small percentage of the population the City should nevertheless track the population patterns of these groups in order to prevent problems other cities are experiencing, e.g. segregation, discrimination in housing. Lack of Z ormat'on a out the Homeless; Lack of Homeless Shelters As the City acknowledges, the CHAS should include statistics on homelessness. The CHAS states that this information is not available but offers no explanation why this is so. (See Profile, p. 17.) Further, there is no adequate explanation as to why the City does not have a homeless shelter. From the citizen 200'39Hd 30IA83S IU031 f13S WONd 6I:SI 26, V1 AUW Flores - Santa Clarita.City Ccunil; CHAS May 13, 1992 Page 2 and community organization comments contained in the Profile, there certainly appears to be a need for one. This is especially true given the geographical distance between the City and other areas which do have homeless shelters, e.g. Los Angeles. rack of Shelters for Abused Women Nationwide, 3 to 4 million women are battered each year. Domestic violence is the single major cause of injury to American women, exceeding rapes, muggings and even auto accidents. More than 50% of homeless women left their homes to escape an abusive spouse or partner. There are only 22 shelters providing 400 beds for battered women and children in Los Angeles County (Taken from the Los Angeles Superior Court Domestic Violence Clinic Handbook, 1990.) As these grim statistics illustrate, there is a real need for abused women shelters.in this area. The City should obtain statistics from Aid to Victims of Domestic Violence and use its resources, including private.sources from its own relatively affluent population, to build a shelter. supportive services for Female Heads of Households The CHAS states that it is important to address supportive services for elderly. Profile, p. 21. However, the city fails to specifically acknowledge the same for families with female heads of households. We urge the city to recognize and implement the necessary supportive services e.g. affordable child care, job training and counseling, for this group as well. Further, in the Five -Year and One -Year sections, the CHAS fails to set forth specific proposals for implementing the City's commitment to supportive services. Such proposals should be included in the final CHAS. Loss of Housinv Without Replacement The CHAS makes reference to the potential loss of affordable housing to conversion. Profile, p. 65. While the anticipated loss is small, it seems given the current deficit in affordable housing that no affordable housing that is currently in place should be converted unless the conversion us to improved and/or rehabilitated affordable housing. Further, wherever the CHAS discusses the loss of affordable housing, it must state a commitment and specific programs for providing replacement housing and/or just relocation benefits for those displaced. 600'39dd 301A83S IU931 AAS WONJ 0251 as. VI AUW Flores - Santa Clarita City Counil; CHAS May 13, 1992 Page 3 FIVE YEAR STRATEGY Fair Housing Education and Outreach On p. 24 of the strategy, the CHAS outlines the proposed Fair Housing services over five years. The description is much too general. In the final CHAS the description/discussion of the Fair Housing Program must answer the following questions: How is the program run/staffed? What are the goals of the program? Where are the offices of the program located? How does one access the program? How were the past discrimination complaints resolved beyond referral, e.g. is there a discrimination problem in Santa Clarita? Rental Rehabilitation The Rental Rehabilitation goals are set forth on p. 25 of the Strategy. Again,the goals are much too vague. The Five - Year Results paragraph refers to a program and possible funding sources. The CHAS should set forth at least one specific potential program as well a potential funding source. Redevelopment Aaency To the City's credit, in other portions of the document, the CHAS targets East Newhall as an area ripe for redevelopment. The Five -Year Strategy should state the same goal so that there is consistency throughout the document. See Strategy, p. 26. Affordable Housina Funding Resources On p. 2s of the Strategy, the CHAS states that the recent rejection of the City's application for funding for a proposed senior citizen's housing project on the basis that the community is predominantly white leads the City to question which areas, if any, would be eligible for HUD assistance. This statement completely ignores the fact, as stated in the Profile portion of the document, that there is a significant Hispanic population in the City, and that East Newhall is one third Hispanic. Based on the CHAS statistics, which show East Newhall to have a large minority population, the most substandard housing in the City and a lower average household income, it seems obvious that the area would be a prime site for a HUD assisted project. The City must give such a project serious consideration in the CHAS. Otherwise, the CHAS will contain internal inconsistencies and overlook the problems of the Hispanic population in the City. ti09'39Ud 301ANBS 7UD31 MAS W08J 62:S1 Est VT AUW Flores - Santa Clarita City Counil; CHAS May 13, 1992 Page 4 ONE-YEAR A TION PLAN On pages 8 - 10 of the Action Plan, it appears that a large chunk of the CDBG funds are going to homeowners. While there may be some need among such homeowners, according to the CHAS (see Profile, P. 15) the greatest need is among renters. Thus it seems that most of the allocation should go to renters and the remainder to homeowners instead of the opposite. Please refer to p. 3 of our April 28, 1992 letter for a more detailed discussion of this issue. GENERAL COMM NTS Housing Autho ii&Y There is an obvious need both among the elderly and other low and very low income residents for affordable housing. The City should consider creating its own Housing Authority so that it can more efficiently meet this need rather than relying on the County, whose offices are far from the City, to take care of the situation. Other communities similar to Santa Clarita in ethnic make up and average income but smaller in populhe a ionty ssuch as Burbank have their own Housing Authority. contact the Housing Authority officials in such cities to learn how to implement a similar program. Table of Contents The final CHAS should contain a Table of Contents for easier reference. Thank you for considering our comments. Again, we urge the City Council to focus on the low and very low. income renters of Santa Clarita living in substandard housing. As the recent unrest in Los Angeles has tragically illustrated, to ignore the needs of persons living in blighted areas of the community is to invite disaster. Respectfully submitted, X?7 R. Moria awatao, Esq. Anthony Rodriguez, Esq. San Fernando Valley Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. 900'39Ud 331nd3S IU931 nAS WOHJ IZ:SI 266 VI Abw