HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.6 - 3224 Local Early Action Planning Grant (2)
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STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL
DATE: June 2, 2020
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM:
Linda Smith, City Manager
SUBJECT:
Local Early Action Planning Grant
Prepared by: Michael P. Cass, Principal Planner
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council will consider adopting a resolution allowing for the submittal of an
application for Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant funds. LEAP provides funding
to local jurisdictions for the preparation and adoption of planning documents and
process improvements that accelerate housing production and facilitate compliance
implementing the sixth cycle of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation. As a jurisdiction
with a population of 60,000 to 99,999 residents, the City of Dublin is entitled to a
maximum award of $300,000.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the Resolution Authorizing Application for, and Receipt of, Local Government
Planning Support Grant Program Funds.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The City of Dublin is eligible to receive $300,000 in LEAP Grant funds. The LEAP
Grants Program does not require a local financial commitment or matching funds from
jurisdictions requesting grant funding.
DESCRIPTION:
The Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grants Program is part of a broader program
formerly known as the Local Government Planning Support Grants Program, which was
established by the State as part of the 2019-20 Budget Act. The 2019-20 Budget Act
provides a spectrum of support, incentives, resources, and accountability to meet
California’s housing goals. LEAP provides one-time grant funding to local jurisdictions
for technical assistance, preparation and adoption of planning documents, and process
improvements that accelerate housing production and facilitate implementing the sixth
cycle of the Reginal Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). LEAP grant applications that
propose projects in one of the State’s pre-determined priority policy areas are
automatically deemed to accelerate housing production. The City of Dublin, with a
population of 60,000 to 99,999 residents, is eligible to receive up to $300,000 in LEAP
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funds.
State mandate requires cities and counties to have a certified General Plan Housing
Element that demonstrates how the local jurisdiction can accommodate their share of
the region’s housing need identified through the RHNA process. Recent legislation has
increased scrutiny of Housing Element sites and introduced limits on whether sites can
be carried over from one RHNA cycle to the next. Local jurisdictions will need to identify
new sites and/or re-zone previously used sites to meet the needs identified in the
upcoming RHNA. The City must adopt an updated Housing Element which
accommodates the sixth cycle RHNA by January 2023. Staff recently released an RFP
for a qualified consultant to assist Staff with the preparation of the Housing Element
update and will return to the City Council this summer with a proposed consulting
services agreement.
The cost, including staff and consultant time, associated with preparing the Housing
Element update is one of the pre-determined priority policy areas under the LEAP Grant
Program. Therefore, Staff proposes applying for LEAP funds to offset the City’s cost to
prepare the Housing Element update. The LEAP funds would supplement the Senate
Bill 2 grant the City received to prepare, in part, a site analysis of vacant and
underutilized sites in advance of the RHNA. The deadline to apply for LEAP funds is
July 1, 2023.
A resolution authorizing application for, and receipt of, Local Government Planning
Support Grant Program Funds is included as Attachment 1 to this Staff Report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The Resolution authorizing City staff to submit an application for LEAP grant funds is
exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 as the application does meet CEQA’s
definition of a “project” and would not result in either a direct physical change, or a
reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
Objective 3E of the City of Dublin Two-Year Strategic Plan (2021-2022) is to “update the
City’s General Plan Housing Element in accordance with state law and to ensure an
adequate supply of sites to accommodate the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation
for the period 2023-2031.” Adopting a resolution authorizing application for, and receipt
of, LEAP Grant funds would enable the City to obtain funding to offset the cost to
implement this objective.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
None.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution Authorizing Application for, and Receipt of, LEAP Grant Program Funds
RESOLUTION NO. xx-20
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN AUTHORIZING
APPLICATION FOR, AND RECEIPT OF, LOCAL GOVERNMENT PLANNING SUPPORT
GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS
WHEREAS, pursuant to Health and Safety Code 50515 et seq., the Department of Housing
and Community Development (“Department”) is authorized to issue a Notice of Funding
Availability (“NOFA”) as part of the Local Government Planning Support Grants Program
(hereinafter referred to by the Department as the “Local Early Action Planning Grants program”
or “LEAP); and
WHEREAS, the Dublin City Council desires to submit a LEAP grant application package
(“Application”), on the forms provided by the Department, for approva l of grant funding for projects
that assist in the preparation and adoption of planning documents and process improvements that
accelerate housing production and facilitate compliance to implement the sixth cycle of the
regional housing need assessment; and
WHEREAS, the Department has issued a NOFA and Application on January 27, 2020 , in
the amount of $119,040,000 for assistance to all California jurisdictions.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Dublin City Council confirms the following:
SECTION 1. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to apply for and submit
to the Department the Application package; and
SECTION 2. In connection with the LEAP grant, if the Application is approved by the
Department, the City Manager of the City of Dublin is authorized to submit the Application, enter
into, execute, and deliver on behalf of the Applicant, a State of California Agreement (“Standard
Agreement”) for the amount of up to $300,000, and any and all other documents required or
deemed necessary or appropriate to evidence and secure the LEAP grant, the Applicant’s
obligations related thereto, and all amendments thereto; and
SECTION 3. The Applicant shall be subject to the terms and conditions as specified in the
NOFA, and the Standard Agreement provided by the Department after approval. The Application
and any and all accompanying documents are incorporated in full as part of the Standard
Agreement. Any and all activities funded, information provided, and timelines represented in the
Application will be enforceable through the fully executed Standard Agreement. Pursuant to the
NOFA and in conjunction with the terms of the Standard Agreement, the Applicant hereby agrees
to use the funds for eligible uses and allowable expenditures in the m anner presented and
specifically identified in the approved Application.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the Dublin City Council on this 2nd day of
June, 2020 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
2
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
______________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________________
City Clerk