HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-05-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - RESID EARTHQUAKE REHAB PGM (2)City Manager Approval
Item to be presented by:
Sarona Becker
CONSENT CALENDAR
DATE: May 14, 1996
SUBJECT: ADJUSTMENTS TO RESIDENTIAL EARTHQUAKE REHABILITATION
PROGRAMS
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
After the January, 1994 earthquake, the City received funds from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) to assist with earthquake recovery projects, especially with respect to
residential rehabilitation. With the help of the City Council, three programs were formulated
to address a variety of single family residential earthquake recovery needs. The programs are
as follows:
Major Rehabilitation - This program is a deferred, low interest loan program, designed
to assist residents with large amounts of residential repair needs. Loans of $5,000 to
$30,000 are being offered.
Limited Assistance - This program provides grants to homeowners to target visible
external rehabilitation needs, such as damaged driveways, doorways, and chimney repair.
Grants of up to $5,000 per household are being offered.
HOME Program for Disaster Relief - The HOME Program provides low interest,
deferred, loans to low income households, designed to assist residents with large residential
repair needs. Loans of $5,000 to $20,000 are being offered.
When these programs were being formulated, staff paid careful attention to make sure that they
would meet the criteria of the Federal government, be easy to administer, meet the needs of the
City, provide for visible improvement to the City's earthquake damaged housing stock, and meet
the goals of the City's Consolidated Plan. The Council set up these programs in a manner that
requires each applicant to seek out alternative funding sources before turning to the City for
assistance.
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The earthquake rehabilitation programs have been in place for several months, and staff has
been in contact with hundreds of residents with varying degrees of earthquake damage.
Because the City's programs are the last resort for citizens who still have damage, it is
important that the programs are able to fund significant repairs to damaged residences. If
applicants are unable to get assistance through these programs, their homes will remain
damaged until citizens are able to fund the repairs on their own.
There have been numerous requests from applicants for assistance beyond the current limits..
Staff researched this issue to determine if the current limits of the program were high enough
to meet the needs of the citizens. Submitted applications reveal that many residents still have
significant amounts of earthquake damage. The average damage estimate of these applications
is $36,500, with the lowest damage estimate at $4,000, and the highest damage estimate at
$93,000.
The goals of the City's earthquake rehabilitation programs are to assist homeowners in Santa
Clarita with necessary repairs to aid in their recovery from the property damage caused by the
earthquake, and to preserve the condition of the City's housing stock. Staff has consulted with
U.S.E. Community Services Group, the firm responsible for the administration of the loan
programs. U.S.E.C.S.G. reports that several applicants have needs well beyond the program
limits, and recommends that the City increase the loan limits. It is the opinion of U.S.E.C.S.G.
that the current limits will assist with only a small portion of the significant damage, while
leaving the rest incomplete. Staff agrees that the limits on the City's rehabilitation programs
are too low to meet the program's goals. It is the position of staff that in order to best utilize
the funding sources available, an adjustment in the limits of these programs is needed.
It is proposed that the grant limits be raised from $5,000 to $10,000, and the limits in both loan
programs be raised from $20,000 in the HOME Program, and $30,000 in the Major
Rehabilitation Loan Program, to $40,000. This will retain the policy of issuing a grant or loan
for only the amount necessary to cover the documented needs, while providing the provide the
flexibility to issue larger grants and loans when they are warranted.
Staff recommends that the Council raise the limits of the grant program from $5,000 to $10,000,
raise the limits of the Major Rehabilitation Loan Program from $30,000 to $40,000, raise the
limits of the HOME Program from $20,000 to $40,000, and direct staff to notify the State
Department of Housing and Community Development of this action.
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