Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER ADOPTION OF A CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
As a recipient of Community Development Block Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City is required to have a written plan for incorporation of citizen participation in its processes. The City last updated its Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) in 2004, and the existing CPP (Exhibit No. 1) has been deemed deficient by HUD. Staff has developed a revised, updated CPP (Exhibit No. 2), and is presenting it to City Council for adoption.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
ADOPT the updated Citizen Participation Plan for the Community Development Block Grant Program.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
State and local government grantees that receive annual block grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for community development, affordable housing, and homelessness must - as a condition of receiving the grant funds - engage stakeholders and the general public regarding the community’s needs in these areas. The Citizen Participation Plan describes the process and mechanisms for this public engagement. The City of Carson had not updated its Citizen Participation Plan since 2004, and thus, the Citizen Participation Plan was one of the areas in which the City was deemed deficient as a result of a civil rights compliance review conducted in 2014 by HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
The Citizen Participation Plan summarizes the City’s processes for developing and amending the Five-Year Consolidated Plan and the Annual Action Plan, as well as the respective roles of the public, City staff, the Citywide Advisory Commission (CAC), and City Council in these processes (particularly the role of the CAC in facilitating this public input. The CPP should also outline how the City will accommodate the needs and interests of members of minority groups, non-English speaking persons, and persons with physical disabilities.
The areas of accommodating the needs and interests of minority groups, non-English speaking persons, and persons with physical disabilities are particular areas in which the City’s existing CPP has been found deficient by HUD. The revised updated CPP seeks to remedy these deficiencies by more specifically outlining how the City will outreach and direct communications to organizations serving minority and ethnic communities, organizations serving the disabled, and persons of limited English proficiency. A key component of the outreach to the disabled community is a proposed advisory group composed of representatives of the disabled community to advise the City on programs, services, policies, and procedures affecting the disabled. Alternatively, in the interest of using existing organizational resources efficiently, the issue of disabled access could be added to the scope of the existing Human Relations Commission. (This proposed disability advisory group is the subject of a separate Council agenda item.) The updated CPP incorporates a Limited English Proficiency Plan (required by HUD) as an appendix to the CPP.
Also included in the draft updated CPP (per a HUD-recommended best practice) is a timeline for key steps in the Five-Year Consolidated Plan/Annual Action Plan process. This timeline contemplates an expanded role for the Citywide Advisory Commission. Heretofore, the CAC’s role in developing the Consolidated Plan/Annual Action Plan has been limited to reviewing requests for and making recommendations on CDBG public service funding, which comprises no more than 15% of the annual CDBG allocation. As described in this timeline, the CAC’s review and recommendations would include the entire CDBG allocation, including the physical development activities that each year make up the bulk of CDBG-funded projects.
The very last paragraph of the existing CPP provides that amendments and revisions to the CPP require City Council approval, and that prior to that City Council approval, the draft revised CPP is to be made available for public review for a minimum of 30 calendar days in a manner similar to substantial amendments to a Consolidated Plan or Annual Action Plan. In accordance with this provision, the draft revised CPP was made available for public review on August 17, 2016 and a public notice of the availability of the draft revised CPP was issued that same date. That notice advised the public that the Community Development Department would be receiving public comments on the draft until September 19, 2016. In addition, that public notice and a copy of the draft CPP were placed on the City’s website. However, prior to circulating the revised draft to the general public for review and comment, staff took the additional step of circulating a draft to local minority and ethnic organizations, organizations serving the disabled, faith-based organizations, and the city’s neighborhood organizations and block clubs, for their input.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. City of Carson Citizen Participation Plan, September, 2004.
(pgs. 4-18)
2. City of Carson Citizen Participation Plan, Updated
August, 2016. (pgs. 19-55)
Prepared by: Keith Bennett