ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING and HOUSING COMMITTEE REPORT relative to the 43rd Program Year (PY) of the Housing and Community Development Consolidated Plan (Con Plan) - Fifth Year Action Plan (2017-18).

Recommendations for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR:

1. FIND that the 43rd PY Con Plan - Fifth Year Action Plan will not have a significant effect on the environment, pursuant to the City's environmental guidelines, and in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970; that the Notice of Exemption reflects the independent judgment of the lead Agency of the City of Los Angeles; that the documents constituting the record of proceedings in this matter are located in the Council file in the custody of the City Clerk; and, acknowledge the Notice of Exemption for the 43rd PY Con Plan, to be submitted by the Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) and attached to the Council file.
   
   
2. APPROVE the 43rd PY Con Plan and the related budgets for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), included as Attachment B to the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) report to the Housing Committee dated February 17, 2017, as amended to increase from $125,000 to $250,000 Row 18 – Healthy Neighborhood Market Network Program, and to decrease by $125,000 Row 56 – Building Improvement Fund.
   
   
3. AUTHORIZE the General Manager, HCIDLA, or designee, to:
   
   
   1. Sign, on behalf of the City, the Application for Federal Assistance for the CDBG, HOME, HOPWA and ESG programs and the associated Grantee Certifications, subject to the approval of the City Attorney as to form and legality.
      
      
   2. Submit the annual 2017-2018 43rd PY Action Plan to the United States Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) after Council and Mayor approval and the 30-day public comment period has been satisfied, as well as after the 2017 federal entitlements have been announced by HUD.
      
      
4. INSTRUCT the General Manager, HCIDLA, or designee, to:
   
   
   1. Provide written notification to all applicants of the 43rd PY Con Plan, as follows:
      
      
      1. To successful applicants, advising them of final award recommendations and required contracting processes to facilitate program implementation.
         
         
      2. To unsuccessful applicants, informing them that they are not recommended for award and further advising them of current and forthcoming alternative competitive application processes.
         
         
      3. For all categories, notify all departments that have requested CDBG funding, the relevant Council offices, and the City Attorney of these correspondences.
         
         
   2. Provide written notice to all implementing departments and agencies to refrain from programming or expending CDBG savings and/or program income as articulated in the CDBG Expenditure Policy and Guidelines adopted by Council and approved by the Mayor (Council file No. 01-2765-S2).
      
      
   3. Monitor public services and administrative services expenditures against the 43rd PY statutory spending limitations respectively and report to the Mayor and Council within 30 days with recommendations for necessary adjustments in the event it is anticipated that either cap will be exceeded.
      
      
   4. Prepare Controller instructions and/or make any technical adjustments that may be required and are consistent with the intent of the 43rd PY Con Plan actions, upon approval of the CLA; and, AUTHORIZE the Controller to implement these instructions.
      
      
   5. Make revisions to the 43rd PY plan as needed when the final federal entitlements are announced by HUD, in alignment with the Contingency Language in Attachment A of the CLA report to the Housing Committee, subject to the approval of the CLA.
      
      
   6. Execute contracts consistent with this action and final General Fund FY 2017-18 appropriation (where applicable) and subject to HUD's final determination of entitlement.
      
      
5. APPROVE the reprogramming of $463,015 in CDBG funds, detailed in Attachment D of the CLA report to the Housing Committee, and approximately $6.1 million in HOPWA prior year savings, as a source of revenue for the 43rd PY Action Plan budget, subject to verification of availability by the HCIDLA.
   
   
6. INSTRUCT the HCIDLA, the CLA and the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to ensure that 43rd PY projects recommended for funding are in compliance with the City's CDBG expenditure policy and guidelines, to establish a multi-year future projects priority funding list, and to revise the current CDBG expenditure policy to comply with the aforementioned multi-year funding list for future program years.
   
   
7. INSTRUCT all Departments receiving CDBG funds to submit billing and reimbursement documentation on a quarterly basis to the HCIDLA, and to continue to work with the CLA and the CAO to identify salary and expense savings throughout the fiscal year and transfer those savings to the General Fund to compensate for unrecovered related costs.
   
   
8. INSTRUCT the CLA, with the assistance of the CAO and the HCIDLA, to meet with all departments with active CDBG projects on an as-needed basis to determine if additional savings can be realized; and, if such savings are found, DIRECT the HCIDLA, with the assistance of the CLA, to report to Council with recommendations for new expenditures of these funds.
   
   
9. INSTRUCT the HCIDLA:
   
   
   1. With the assistance of the CLA and the CAO, to report on the feasibility of changing the Con Plan program start year from April 1st to July 1st, including the amount of funding that would be required to fund providers and staff and a strategy to minimize the one-time impact to the General Fund, if the program year is modified.
      
      
   2. To provide the CLA with a quarterly report, at minimum, of the CDBG timeliness ratio and CDBG balances and notify the CLA immediately should the City be at risk for missing the timeliness test.
      
      
   3. To issue a Request for Proposals for a slum blight study for the San Pedro Beacon Street / Pacific Corridors areas of Council District 15 and report to Council with the recommended award.
      
      
10. FIND that program work can be performed more economically or feasibly by independent contractors than by City employees and, in accordance with Charter Section 1022, approve of the use of the contractors listed in the Neighborhood Improvement Projects (Attachment G of the CLA report to the Housing Committee).
    
    
11. AUTHORIZE the Controller, if necessary, to process a Reserve Fund loan for up to $12 million, to be available April 1, 2017 for up to $4 million for the period April 1 to June 30, 2017, and $8 million for the period July to September 2017 for cash flow purposes related to the Consolidated Plan grants (CDBG, ESG, HOPWA), to be fully reimbursed from grant receipts in FY 2017-2018.
    
    

Fiscal Impact Statement: The CLA reports that the PY 43 CDBG will provide approximately $26 million to support positions (direct salaries: $12.7 million; expenses including contracts: $3.7 million; and related cost reimbursement: $9.6 million). For PY 43, the CAO has calculated total related costs to be approximately $10.5 million. Of this amount, approximately $9.6 million can be funded with CDBG dollars. This results in a balance of approximately $900,000 in related costs that may be considered by the Council and Mayor to be potentially funded with a General Fund allocation. For reference, the previous year's PY 42 fiscal impact was estimated at $800,000 in related costs paid by the General Fund. The City's financial policies state that the City will pursue program grants, but will limit financial support of these programs to avoid commitments beyond available funding.

Community Impact Statement: None submitted.

APPLICATION relative to naming the community located within an area bordered by an unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County to the east and the north, South La Brea Boulevard to the west, and West Fairview Boulevard and the City of Inglewood to the south, as Ladera.

Community Impact Statement:  Yes.

(Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental Relations, and Neighborhoods Committee waived consideration of the above matter)

ADOPTED

MOTION (BONIN - HARRIS-DAWSON)

Recommendations for Council action:

1. ADOPT the application naming the community of Ladera, within the boundaries detailed below:
   
   Area bounded easternmost by La Brea Avenue between 62nd Place and Inglewood City border, unincorporated Los Angeles County border between La Brea Avenue and Flight Avenue to the north, Flight Avenue from unincorporated Los Angeles County border to Fairview Boulevard to the west, southernmost bounded by Fairview Boulevard from unincorporated Los Angeles County border to Inglewood City border, easterly by La Cienega Boulevard from Fairview Boulevard to unincorporated Los Angeles County border.
   
   
2. INSTRUCT all relevant departments to perform the necessary requirements to effectuate the naming of this community, including, but not limited to, the fabrication and installation of signs at the following locations:
   
   La Brea Avenue at 62nd Place going south (facing north)
   La Brea Avenue at 63rd Street going north (facing south)
   Fairfax Avenue at 63rd Street going north (facing west at T-intersection)
   La Tijera Boulevard at closest location to City boundary (6251 La Tijera Boulevard) going south (facing north)
   64th Street at La Tijera Boulevard going west (facing east)
   La Cienega Boulevard at 64th Street in center median, facing both directions
   64th Street at Flight Avenue going east (facing west)

ATTEST:  Holly L. Wolcott, CITY CLERK

By

          Council Clerk                                  PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL