SunnyvaleRTC

May 10, 2005

SUBJECT: Consider Approval of FY2005-2010 Consolidated Plan for Submittal to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

REPORT IN BRIEF

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that all entitlement jurisdictions receiving federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding prepare a Consolidated Plan, a five-year strategic planning document. The proposed City of Sunnyvale Consolidated Plan covers the period from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2010.

The Consolidated Plan identifies Sunnyvale’s overall housing and community development needs, and outlines a strategy to address those needs. The Plan must also include a One-Year Action Plan that outlines the intended use of HUD funding and other resources. The 2005-2006 Action Plan describing the activities to be implemented during the first year of the Consolidated Plan will be described in the Report to Council RTC-05-135 to be heard following presentation of this report.

Staff recommends the approval of the 2005-2010 City of Sunnyvale Consolidated Plan (Attachment A) including the housing and community development priorities and objectives to be implemented during the next five years.

BACKGROUND

The Consolidated Plan is a five-year strategic planning document, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD), that identifies Sunnyvale’s overall housing and community development needs and outlines a strategy to address those needs. The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 24, Volume 1, Section 91.205 through 91.230 requires for the Plan to include the following components:

· An Assessment of the housing and community development needs of the jurisdiction;

· A Strategy that establishes priorities for addressing the identified housing and community development needs; and

· A One-Year Action Plan that outlines the intended use of HUD funding and other resources.

HUD regulations require that the needs assessment and housing and community development strategy cover a five-year planning period. This Consolidated Plan covers the period from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2010. However, the Plan will remain in effect and be implemented only so long as Sunnyvale continues to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and HOME funds directly from the federal government under the entitlement provisions of these programs. A one-year Action Plan is updated annually as an amendment to the Consolidated Plan and is described in the Report to Council RTC-05-135, to be heard following presentation of this report.

A Consolidated Plan must be consistent with the statutory requirements, the objectives and the priorities of the CDBG and HOME programs. The primary objective of the CDBG program is to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. The objectives of the HOME program include the acquisition and development of affordable rental and ownership housing for low-income households.

The preparation of the Consolidated Plan is guided by the following three major commitments and priorities expressed by HUD:

To provide decent housing by assisting the homeless in obtaining appropriate housing; by preserving the affordable housing stock; by increasing the availability of permanent housing that is affordable to lower-income households; and by increasing the supply of supportive housing for those with special needs.
To provide a suitable living environment by improving the safety and livability of neighborhoods; by reducing the isolation of income groups within an area through deconcentration of housing opportunities and revitalization of deteriorating neighborhoods; by restoring and preserving properties of architectural, historic, or aesthetic value; and by conservation of energy resources.
To expand economic opportunities by creating jobs accessible to lower-income persons; by providing access for lower-income households to mortgage financing and credit for development activities that promote long-term community viability; and by empowering lower-income persons to achieve self-sufficiency to reduce poverty in federally-assisted and public housing.

As part of the development process of the Consolidated Plan, the staffs of the CDBG entitlement cities of Sunnyvale, Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara and the County of Santa Clara met a number of times to discuss data resources and to coordinate requests for information to both the public and private countywide agencies. The cities have also participated jointly in a countywide community needs countywide assessment through a countywide telephone survey of public opinion on important community needs.

To encourage citizen participation in the development of the 2005 - 2010 Consolidated Plan, staff conducted eight community meetings during October and November, 2004. Meeting locations were selected to encourage participation of various low-income and special needs groups, as well as to provide broad geographic distribution throughout the city.

The City conducted a Housing and Community Development Needs Survey to develop priorities for allocation of CDBG and HOME funds. The surveys were printed in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese and were distributed to service providers, at public meetings, at City Hall, and posted on the City’s website. A total of 155 questionnaires were completed, ranking priority needs for the following categories: community facilities; community services; infrastructure; neighborhood services; special needs services; businesses and jobs; and housing.

The following is a summary of the citizen input which occurred in several different venues and formats:

Eight Consolidated Plan community meetings in 2004 on October 13 and 14 and November10 and 18 in diverse locations;
Annual public review and comment on the City’s participation in the CDBG Program;
Interviews with 14 organizations serving low-income and special needs groups at six focus group meetings in October 2004;
Housing and community development needs survey, in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese that were available at community centers/public buildings and distributed at all community meetings;
Participation in a countywide telephone survey of public opinion on important community needs;
Two Consolidated Plan public hearings and a joint meeting of the Planning Commission and Housing and Human Services Commission on March 7, 2005; and
Public review and comment on draft Consolidated Plan during a 30-day comment period beginning on February 23, 2005 and the ending on March 25, 2005.

EXISTING POLICY

Housing and Community Revitalization Sub-element:

Goal 2.3C: Promote and maintain diversity in tenure, type, size, location and cost of housing to permit a range of individual choice for all current residents and those expected to become city residents as a result of normal growth processes and employment opportunities.

Policy 2.3C.1: Attempt to maintain as many as possible of the existing rental units affordable to lower income families and seniors.

Policy 2.3C.1d: The City should encourage and assist non-profit housing organizations to develop 100 new low and very low income rental units within the City over the next five years.

DISCUSSION

Sunnyvale examined a number of community trends, characteristics, and conditions to reach a conclusion regarding community needs and conditions. Below is a summary of the highlights of the findings:

Demographic profile

The City’s population peaked in 2001 at 132,711 and declined through 2004 to 131,709. A possible reason for the population decrease is the recession in the high technology sector of the local economy, which has led to job losses.
While the age distribution of residents has remained relatively constant, there have been slight shifts in the age structure of the community, as reflected in the City’s increased median age from 32.3 to 34.3. Over the past decade, the proportion of school-age children (age 5 to 17) increased slightly from 12.7% in 1990 to 13.2% in 2000, representing an increase of over 2,600 school-age children in Sunnyvale.
Sunnyvale’s senior population has shown a slight increase in number and proportion. Seniors age 65 and over accounted for 10.3% of the population in 1990. In 2000, this proportion increased to 10.6%.
Sunnyvale enjoyed low unemployment rates in the 1990s. The annual unemployment rate for 2000 was 1.7%. However, the 2003 annual unemployment rate in Sunnyvale increased to 7.0. By December 2004, the unemployment rate had declined to 4%. It is difficult to discern how much of the decrease in unemployment is due to individuals who have stopped looking for work or who have moved from the area.
The number of family households increased from 54.9% in 1990 to 62.2% in 2000. The share of families with children rose from 22.9% of all households in 1990 to 27.5% in 2000. The number of families without children also increased, from 32% in 1990 to 34.5% in 2000.
There were 14,519 families with children under 18 years of age in Sunnyvale, according to the 2000 Census. Of these families with children, approximately 18.8% were single-parent families. Approximately 72.5% of single-parent families had female heads of household. According to the 2000 Census, there were 6,377 single-parent households residing in Sunnyvale.
Approximately 13% of all households in Sunnyvale were overcrowded in 2000 (more than one person per room). The extent of overcrowding varied considerably by tenure. Approximately 19.9% of renter households experienced overcrowding, compared to just 5.4% of owner households.
From 1990 to 2000, the proportion of non-Hispanic White residents decreased from 64.6% to 46.6% of the City’s population. In contrast, the proportion of Asian residents increased significantly during the same period, from 19% to 32.6%. Asians are currently the second largest racial/ethnic group in the City. The share of Hispanic residents also increased, from 12.8% to 15.2%.
2000 Census median household income in Sunnyvale was $74,409, and the median family income was $81,634. Male-headed single-parent families with children under the age of 18 had a median income of $56,500. Female-headed single-parent families with children under the age of 18 had a median income of $41,900. Nearly 45% of Hispanic households earned 80% or less of median income compared to 22% of white households, 23% for Asian households, and 34% of Black households.
Sunnyvale has large numbers of residents who are characterized as special needs populations, including over 14,000 seniors (nearly 5,000 of whom are frail elderly), nearly 12,000 persons with one or more disabilities (physical, developmental, mental, and/or self-care), over 4,500 large family households, over 4,300 female-headed households with children, and nearly 300 persons who experienced homelessness at least one night during the year (mostly single adults).

Homeless Needs

It is the goal of the jurisdictions within Santa Clara County, including the City of Sunnyvale, to coordinate services and facilities for the homeless through a regional, cooperative strategy, known as a Continuum of Care. The goal of the Continuum of Care program is to help homeless residents get housing, job training, childcare, and other services. The Continuum of Care stresses permanent solutions to homelessness through comprehensive and collaborative community planning. The goal of a comprehensive homeless service system is to ensure that homeless individuals and families move from homelessness to self-sufficiency, permanent housing, and independent living.

Homelessness is a shared problem among Santa Clara County jurisdictions. Any attempt to quantify homeless needs must recognize that homeless individuals and families are not contained by jurisdictional boundaries, nor are facilities and services for homeless persons. Based on the County’s Continuum of Care funding application to HUD, Sunnyvale and other cities and the County have agreed to a homeless needs and gaps analysis that assigns each jurisdiction a share of the countywide need based on homeless clients’ last reported place of residence in the Homeless Management Information System database (a federally-mandated recordkeeping system for tracking homeless clients). According to the database, approximately 4.4% of homeless clients countywide who reported a permanent residence stated they last lived in Sunnyvale.

Based on the HMIS data, it is estimated that there are 299 homeless persons whose last reported permanent residence was in Sunnyvale, of which 120 (40.1%) currently have shelter. Approximately 73.9% of the homeless populations in Sunnyvale are individuals, and approximately 26.1% are members of homeless families. Estimated homeless subpopulations in Sunnyvale include:

Eight chronically homeless persons;
42 homeless persons who are seriously mentally ill;
36 homeless persons with chronic substance abuse problems;
12 homeless persons who are veterans; and
Six homeless persons with HIV/AIDS.

Sunnyvale’s share of the gaps in facilities and services includes the following, measured in beds:

For individual homeless: 73 in emergency shelter, 102 in transitional housing, and 62 in permanent supportive housing; and
For persons in families: four in emergency shelter, 11 in transitional housing, and 15 in permanent supportive housing.

Homeless facilities and services in Santa Clara County are provided through the individual efforts of the cities and the County and through a collaborative effort. The Santa Clara Collaborative on Affordable Housing and Homeless Issues (the Collaborative) is the lead entity for the implementation of the countywide Continuum of Care process and official forum for planning and implementing a response to end chronic homelessness in the County. The work of the Collaborative is shared by its members with staffing support provided by the County Homeless Concerns Coordinator. The Collaborative has drafted a comprehensive Five-Year Continuum of Care Plan, which includes specific goals, strategies and action steps to work toward ending homelessness in the community.

The City of Sunnyvale, as a participant in the Collaborative, supports regional efforts to address homelessness.

Santa Clara County is currently preparing a “Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness” as recommended by the federal government. The needs of the homeless within the City of Sunnyvale will be addressed in the Countywide Plan, and Council will be asked to consider this document once the County completes its preparation.

Housing Market Conditions

The median priced home in Sunnyvale in November 2004 was $591,500, compared to $562,500 countywide. Median rents in Sunnyvale in December 2004 ranged from $755 for a studio apartment to $1,723 for a three-bedroom rental unit. Only about one-in-five households can afford to buy or rent the median priced home in Santa Clara County.

About 2,620 single-family homes (11% of all single-family homes) and 4,465 multi-family units (17% of multi-family units) need substantial rehabilitation in Sunnyvale.

A small number of Sunnyvale households (647) receive monthly rental assistance from the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County under the federal Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program.

Through adoption of inclusionary zoning in 1980, creation of the housing mitigation fee in 1983, and establishing housing as a priority in the use of federal funds, the City has created nearly 2,000 housing units with prices which are affordable to low and very low income households.

Housing and Community Development Needs

The following identifies some of the major housing and community development issues for which the use of federal funds would be appropriate. The following list was compiled through the above demographic and market analysis, the input received from the citizen participation effort, examination of adopted City policies, documents, and technical reference material, and staff input. The needs are addressed in more detail in Chapter 3 of the Consolidated Plan, and the City’s strategic response to addressing these needs is contained in Chapter 4 of the Consolidated Plan. The most pressing community needs for federal funding identified through preparation of the Consolidated Plan are as follows:

Housing

Rehabilitation of older single-family and multiple-family housing units, particularly in specific neighborhoods identified as high concentrated needs;
Additional rental vouchers and affordable rental housing units for lower-income households;
Expanded affordable ownership housing opportunities for Sunnyvale households;
Preservation of assisted housing at risk of converting to market-rate housing;
Expansion of accessible and affordable housing, particularly rental housing, for special needs groups: seniors, disabled persons, female-headed households and persons with HIV/AIDS; and
Housing and supportive services for homeless and households at risk of becoming homeless, particularly emergency rental assistance and down payment assistance.

Supportive Services

Supportive services for special needs groups (such as seniors, persons with disabilities, and single-parent households) that allow for independent living; provide access to homes, neighborhoods, and daily life activities in the community; and assist individuals in obtaining work paying self-sufficiency wages.

Community Development

Street and sidewalk improvements throughout the city including older neighborhoods and commercial districts to make them ADA-compliant;
Future expansion of the Columbia Neighborhood Center; and
Replacement or reconditioning of the sewer collection system in older and lower income neighborhoods.

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund. All activities are supported with federal grant funds.

Conclusion

There have been major economic and demographic shifts in Sunnyvale since the preparation of the 2000-2005 Consolidated Plan, including job losses, a dramatic downward trend in the rental housing market and a countywide median income that has not increased in three years. After careful review of the 2000 Census data, decent affordable rental and ownership housing has continued to be the most critical need of lower income families in Sunnyvale. Preservation or expansion of affordable rental housing for large families, single- parent households and seniors remains the most challenging, followed by increased homeownership housing for low and moderate income households and preservation of housing stock for low income residents through housing improvement programs.

Base public service needs have increased due to the economic downturn. These include: food services for seniors and very low income families, rental assistance for security deposits and rental assistance to prevent eviction, and supportive services for special needs households who need assistance with daily living activities.

Homelessness continues to be a regional and local priority need; however, Sunnyvale’s percentage of countywide homeless is relatively low at about 4% of the countywide population.

Limited and or further reductions of funding will add to the restricted implementation of the goals and priorities over the next five years.

PUBLIC CONTACT

An important aspect of the Consolidated Plan is the provision of an adequate opportunity for citizens to participate in an advisory role in the planning, implementation and assessment of the Consolidated Plan process. In order to encourage public participation in the development of the Plan the City of Sunnyvale has followed the required, detailed citizen participation plan.

Public Meetings were conducted in Sunnyvale on:

October 13, 2004

Senior Nutrition Program, 535 Old San Francisco Road, and Lakewood Village Neighborhood Association, 834 Lakechime Drive;

October 14, 2004

Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E. Remington Drive, and Raynor Park/ Birdlands Neighborhoods, 1565 Quail Avenue;

November 10, 2004

Adobe Wells Mobile home Park, 1220 Tasman Drive, and

Columbia Middle School, 739 Morse Avenue, and

November 18, 2004

India Community Center, 285 Wolfe Road, and

Sunnyvale City Hall - 456 West Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale

A joint public hearing was conducted by the Planning Commission and the Housing and Human Services Commission on March 7, 2005. Public hearings were conducted by the Housing and Human Services Commission on March 23, and April 13, 2005 and the final required public hearing on May 10, 2005 before the City Council.

A thirty-day public comment and review period began on February 23, 2005 and ended on March 25, 2005. A formal comment from the members of the Community Advisory Committee for the Columbia Neighborhood Center was received by staff and is included (Attachment C).

ALTERNATIVES

1. Approve the 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan for submittal to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

2. Modify the strategic goals described in Chapter Four and approve the 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan for submittal to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

3. Take no action.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends Alternative 1.

Reviewed by:

Robert Paternoster, Director, Community Development Department

Prepared by: Annabel Yurutucu, Housing Officer

Approved by:

Amy Chan

City Manager

Attachments