San Rafael to boost housing, service projects with federal funding
San Rafael is eyeing housing, capital improvement and public services projects that it wants to seed with nearly a half million dollars in federal funding.
Marin County is set to receive about $1.58 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be divvied up by the county, San Rafael and Novato. San Rafael’s recommendation, approved by the City Council on Monday, will be sent to the Marin County Board of Supervisors for consideration in June.
The HUD money is allocated through its Community Development Block Grant program. This year’s allocation is about a 2.5% reduction from prior years, said Molly Kron, a Marin County planner.
“There has been a proposal to cut HUD funding significantly by the House (of Representatives), so it is a distinct possibility that we can see more cuts,” Kron said Monday in response to councilmembers’ questions about the reduction.
“It is worth noting that during the previous administration, it was recommended to cut funding every year, and funding was not cut every year,” Kron said. “So it really kind of depends on who holds the purse strings, and right now the purse strings are really held by the House.”
Marin County, and the cities of San Rafael and Novato, entered into an agreement in 2020 that authorized the county to manage the funding allocations. Based on a HUD formula included in the cooperative agreement, San Rafael’s share is $475,673.
Because San Rafael’s allocation in year’s past had been $485,000, the county found alternate sources to fill this year’s gap, including American Rescue Plan Act pandemic relief funds, Kron said.
Alexis Captanian, a San Rafael housing analyst, said staff is recommending funding for two out of the six applicants seeking grants for housing projects.
Those projects include an effort by the Canal Alliance, a San Rafael nonprofit that offers services for the county’s immigrant community. Staff is recommending $180,000 in grants to help rehabilitate two affordable apartments at 153 Novato St., a 64-condominium complex it owns in the Canal neighborhood.
Another $85,000 is being recommended to support a residential rehabilitation loan program by Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. The program offers low-interest, deferred loans to low-income qualifying homeowners to complete needed home repairs, Captanian said.
In the capital improvements category, staff recommended $120,000 for two pathway improvement projects in the Canal neighborhood and $30,000 to renovate the De Colores Children’s Center and Safety Net Services Hub to increase the child care capacity for low-income families.
Staff recommended $70,000 to support five public service projects, including Pickleweed Preschool; Home Match Marin; ExtraFood.org; Family and Children’s Law Center and Legal Aid of Marin.
The funding recommendations are for fiscal year 2023-24.
“I wish we had more more funding, but I look forward to some of these projects,” Vice Mayor Maika Llorens Gulati said. “I think they are very important.”
Councilmember Eli Hill is the city’s representative on the countywide Priority Setting Committee that reviews applications and helps make recommendations.
“The whole point of this is to make certain that folks in our community that need these services, need housing, get the outcome,” Hill said. “This is, to me, the best part of government in action, is making sure that we’re serving the people.”