Laserfiche WebLink
File Number: 20-218 <br />·Provide a suitable living environment; and <br />·Expand economic opportunity. <br />In addition, CDBG funds must be used to meet one of three national objectives: <br />1) benefit low- and moderate-income persons; <br />2) aid in the prevention of slum and blight; or <br />3) meet an urgent need. <br />Given that all CDBG-CV activities must still meet one of three National Objectives of the CDBG <br />Program noted in the current FY2015-2020 five year Consolidated Plan document, the City must <br />document COVID-19 as an Urgent Need National Objective. In order to do this, an Urgent Need <br />Certification must be provided to HUD with the current five year Consolidated Plan and Annual <br />Action Plan for the year of the Urgent Need activities. Documentation and evidence the City <br />certified that the CDBG activity was designed to address the urgent need must be maintained as <br />part of the permanent CDBG records for all applicable activities. See Attachment B: City of San <br />Leandro Justification of Urgent Need. <br />Analysis <br />In response to the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and <br />Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Public Law 116-136 was adopted and authorized on March <br />27, 2020. As a result, the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD) <br />awarded the City of San Leandro $451,972 in Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus <br />(CDBG-CV) funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. The CARES Act allows for <br />reimbursement of costs incurred prior to the date of enactment of this legislation in addition to <br />removal of the spending caps normally in place for Public Services expenditures as long as those <br />costs are in response to COVID-19. (Note that the removal of the Public Services expenditure <br />caps are only allowed for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan Program Years.) <br />Additionally, the CARES Act allows HUD to waive or specify alternative requirements to expedite <br />distribution of funding in response to COVID-19. <br />Soon after the signing of the CARES Act, HUD issued guidance that allows cities to shorten the <br />public comment period for amending prior 5-Year Consolidated Plans or Annual Action Plans to <br />maximize the use of CDBG and CDBG-CV funds allocated to entitlement jurisdictions. HUD has <br />also required CDBG grantees to make specific administrative changes to their federally <br />mandated Citizen Participation Plans. CDBG grantees like San Leandro established their Citizen <br />Participation Plans, which outline public procedures related to the use of CDBG funds (such as <br />how localities will outreach to the public, the number of public hearings to hold, and how to define <br />a substantial amendment) since federal HUD Consolidated Planning regulations were adopted in <br />the mid-1990s. <br />On April 13, 2020, the City of San Leandro received a waiver that permits a reduced period for <br />public noticing and public comment on this amendment to the 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan for <br />the period of July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. The City is taking this opportunity to re-allocate prior <br />year unspent CDBG funds for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan <br />improvements to City facilities and program new stimulus funding, CDBG-CV, towards COVID-19 <br />Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 5/28/2020 <br />15