Contra Costa County-Department of Conservation and Development is seeking proposals from nonprofit organizations, affordable housing developers, public agencies, and others serving Contra Costa County who are interested in applying for FY 2025/26 CDBG, HOME, Measure X Housing, and other various housing development funds.
Donor Name: Contra Costa County
State: California
County: Contra Costa County (CA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/05/2024
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Grant Period
Applicants for funds must demonstrate that all funding for the project will be secured and that the applicant will be prepared to enter into binding legal agreements with the county within 12 months of the start of the fiscal year for which funds are awarded.
Funding Sources and Eligible Activities
- Community Development Block Grant – Housing
- The primary purpose of the CDBG program is to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities principally for persons of low income. The County’s goal is to develop and conserve viable communities in areas where blight and disinvestment threaten residents’ safety, vitality, and productivity. County CDBG funds may be used only for projects that benefit Urban County residents. CDBG funds can be used for acquisition, rehabilitation, and down payment assistance loans. CDBG cannot be used for new construction of housing.
- HOME Investment Partnerships Program
- The purpose of the HOME program is to expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing with primary attention to rental housing for very low and low-income households. Contra Costa County as the Urban County representative, and the Cities of Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, and Walnut Creek, are a Consortium for purposes of participation in the HOME program. HOME funds may be used for projects to acquire, rehabilitate, and construct housing for lower-income households in the Consortium area. HOME funds cannot be used for emergency shelters (including for disaster victims) or facilities such as nursing homes, convalescent homes, hospitals, resident treatment facilities, correctional facilities, halfway houses, housing for students, or dormitories (including farmworker dormitories).
- Inclusionary Housing In-Lieu Fees
- Every residential project in unincorporated Contra Costa County consisting of five units or more is subject to the County’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (IHO) Chapter 822-4 of the County Ordinance Code. The IHO promotes affordable housing by requiring 15% of units in the development to be affordable units. Alternative methods of compliance include the payment of a fee in-lieu of building affordable units on-site, building offsite, or any other feasible alternative. The in-lieu fees are approved and conditioned as part of the project’s entitlements, paid at the time of building permit issuance, and deposited in a fund with DCD. These funds may only be spent on new affordable housing construction in unincorporated Contra Costa County.
- The funding award would be:
- Provided as a forgivable low-interest loan, secured against the affordable housing property, to be reconveyed after the property is in service as affordable housing for five years;
- Affordable for the construction of housing for households earning up to 80% AMI;
- Preference for projects with larger units (two or more bedrooms); but
- May not be used to support affordable housing required to be built as part of a market-rate project using density bonus or to meet inclusionary housing requirements. This targets the funding to affordable units that might not be built but for the assistance.
- Measure X Housing Fund
- Measure X is a countywide 20-year, ½ cent sales tax approved by Contra Costa County voters on November 3, 2020. Collection of the tax began on April 1, 2021. The ballot measure language stated that the intent of Measure X is “to keep Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed; fund community health centers, emergency response; support crucial safety-net services; invest in early childhood services; protect vulnerable populations; and for other essential county services.”
- On November 16, 2021, the County Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of Measure X funding to establish a new funding for housing-related activities, now termed the Measure X Housing Fund (MX Housing Fund). Eligible projects under the Measure X Housing Fund for Year 3 project funds to be distributed through the Affordable Housing Program include:
- Affordable housing for populations earning up to 80% area median income (AMI), with a focus on ≤50% AMI – Acquisition, pre-development, construction, rehabilitation, and operating and reserve funds
- Innovation pilot programs and capacity building technical assistance for affordable housing activities (acquisition, pre-development, construction, rehabilitation, and operating and reserve funds).
- Grant writing for affordable housing activities (acquisition, pre-development, construction, rehabilitation, and operating and reserve funds).
- Permanent Local Housing Allocation
- The Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Program is a State of California program with entitlement and competitive components. The State designated Contra Costa County as the administrator of the entitlement grant award for the Contra Costa “Urban County”, which includes the unincorporated communities and all the cities except for Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, and Walnut Creek, which has their own entitlements. Eligible projects under the PLHA Program include:
- Increase the supply of housing for households at or below 80% AMI;
- Facilitate housing affordability, particularly for lower- and moderate-income households; and
- Promote projects and programs to meet the local government’s unmet share of regional housing needs allocation.
- The Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Program is a State of California program with entitlement and competitive components. The State designated Contra Costa County as the administrator of the entitlement grant award for the Contra Costa “Urban County”, which includes the unincorporated communities and all the cities except for Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, and Walnut Creek, which has their own entitlements. Eligible projects under the PLHA Program include:
Project Criteria
Project must meet one of the following criteria:
- Long-term affordable rental housing which is either permanent or transitional housing; or
- Homeownership activities that provide long-term affordable ownership housing that qualifies as ownership housing under CDBG or HOME regulations; or
- Special needs housing, including permanent supportive housing, group homes, or emergency shelters.
For more information, visit Contra Costa County.
