Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Adopted Budget - County of Sonoma

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Kathleen Kane, Executive Director
• Uncertainty of Revenues.
o Federal Funding: The Community Development and Housing Authority programs of the Commission are funded primarily
through a number of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) programs, totaling over $33.6 million per year. As of the date of this printing, the federal government has not completed
their appropriations decisions for federal fiscal year 2011, and allocations for these HUD and FEMA programs remains unknown.
Some level of reduction is likely, but the agency cannot accurately predict or make plans for how any such reductions will impact
services to county residents. Any significant reduction to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) funding levels would be felt most
acutely; as such reductions, would be applied retroactively to January 1, 2011.
o Local Funding: The State of California is contemplating action to either eliminate or restrict redevelopment agencies and their
activities. If legislation is enacted, implementation could take place on the date of enactment, on July 1, 2011, on January 1, 2012,
or perhaps later. Elimination of the County’s Redevelopment Agency would prevent the Agency from undertaking further blight
reduction, affordable housing development and preservation, economic development, and other redevelopment activities.
Strategic Plan Focus
The CDC’s programs all fall under one or more of the Strategic Plan focus areas of creating Safe, Healthy, and Caring Communities,
promoting Economic and Environmental Stewardship, Investing in the Future and Civic Services and Engagement. Many of the CDC’s
programs comprise upstream investments that help to stabilize living situations for assisted households, and create healthier community
conditions for all residents. Some examples of Strategic Plan and Upstream Investments connections include:
• The acquisition and planned redevelopment of the Roseland Shopping Center provides for a safer and healthier Roseland community
by removing or mitigating environmental hazards, creating new affordable rental housing units, developing new retail and community
services space in a pedestrian-oriented configuration, and providing a public plaza to serve as a vibrant community gathering place in
the center of the Roseland Redevelopment Project Area.
• Highway 12 improvements in the Sonoma Valley Springs Redevelopment Project Area is transforming a dangerous 2-mile stretch of
roadway running the length of the area’s commercial corridor into a safe area for pedestrians and bicyclists, and enhancing the
likelihood that pedestrians and motorists alike will have easier access to, and will more frequently stop to visit, businesses in the area.
• Commercial Rehabilitation Loan Programs are helping businesses in the three Redevelopment project areas to improve the physical
condition and attractiveness of their properties, thereby promoting the economic viability of each business and the project area in
general.
• Financial assistance for development of new parks promotes environmental stewardship, healthy communities, and invests for the
future of the county.
• Financial assistance for development and preservation of affordable rental housing units, and monthly rental subsidies that cap rental
costs to an affordable percentage of household income, enable very low-income families throughout the county to obtain and retain
safe, decent, and affordable housing. This addresses the upstream goal of ensuring that residents are well sheltered and safe, and
influences the upstream success indicators of reducing the rate of homelessness, increasing the housing affordability index, while also
providing stable living environments for local residents.
• Rental subsidies also contribute to a healthy economy by enabling owners of private rental properties to rent their units to thousands
of households who would not otherwise be able to afford to live independently in the area, providing a stable stream of rental income
for owners to maintain their properties, and reducing the overall vacancy rate for their units.
• Providing below market-rate loans to low-income owners single-family houses and mobile homes to complete health and safety
repairs to their homes promotes safe and healthy living conditions and invests in the future of the community’s housing stock.
• Investments in ADA improvements to public facilities including parks, libraries, sidewalks, community centers, and government
buildings enhances ability of people with disabilities and seniors to live and move around in the community in a safe way. Grants for
ADA improvements in private homes and rental units allows people to continue to live independently rather than being forced to
move into congregate care facilities or other supportive housing arrangements.
• Small business counseling, micro-enterprise assistance, marketing activities, and provision of financing for a wide range of
construction projects throughout the county all contribute to the Upstream goal of a thriving, diverse economy, and influences the
Upstream indicators of reduced unemployment and poverty.
County of Sonoma
FY 2011-2012 Adopted Budget
149
Development Services