The Housing and Community Development division uses federal, state, and local funding to provide a variety of public service programs and public facility projects including Affordable Housing, Grants Administration, and Redevelopment Successor Agency Housing Fund activities.


NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS 


Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Three Federally-Funded Grant Programs

Please check back frequently for any updates to the NOFAs.

1. Emergency Solutions Grants – Coronavirus Round 2 (ESG-CV2) program.  Applications due 11/20/2020 by 5pm.  State HCD designated the County of Santa Barbara as the Administrative Entity (AE) for these funds. These funds are to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Coronavirus among individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or receiving homeless assistance. To view the ESG-CV2 NOFA, CLICK HERE.

2. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Services programs.  Applications due 1/8/2021 by 5:00 pm.  Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations that administer eligible programs for the low-income community. To view the CDBG NOFA, CLICK HERE.

3. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Capital Projects.  Applications due 1/8/2021 by 5:00 pm.  Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations and County government or quasi-governmental organizations.  Eligible activities include facility improvements, including for ADA compliance, infrastructure improvements, and housing acquisition and/or rehabilitation.  Buildings used for the general conduct of government business are limited to ADA improvements only. To view the CDBG NOFA, CLICK HERE.

Please send questions to:
ESG-CV2 – Jett Black-Maertz, jblack@co.santa-barbara.ca.us, (805) 568-2484
CDBG – Public Services, James Francis, HCDNOFA@co.santa-barbara.ca.us, (805)-568-3549
CDBG – Capital Project, Carlos Jimenez, HCDNOFA@co.santa-barbara.ca.us, (805) 568-3529

Capital Loan Committee Meeting

The Capital Loan Committee will meet at 10:00AM on Wednesday November 4, 2020 to review housing development projects for County funding.  The meeting will be held via Zoom, and meeting materials will be made available on the Capital Loan Committee's webpage. 

  • FY 2020 CDBG Funding Awards: On May 5, 2020, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved CDBG funds for FY 2020-21 Capital and Public Services projects. To see a summary of funded projects, click here for Capital and click here for Public Services.


  • LOAN FORBEARANCE AVAILABLE TO BORROWERS AFFECTED BY COVID-19: 

    At the direction of The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they will provide payment forbearance to borrowers who have experienced a hardship resulting from COVID-19 (for example, unemployment, reduction in regular work hours, or illness of a borrower/co-borrower or dependent family member), which has impacted their ability to make their monthly mortgage loan payment...

    On March 21, President Donald Trump ordered all foreclosures and evictions to cease for 60 days nationwide. This moratorium applies to most but not all mortgages. President Trump announced HUD is suspending all foreclosures and evictions for 60 days....  

    Many mortgage lenders have already announced help for customers who are financially affected by COVID-19. Click here for more information and links to lenders who have put out official announcements

     The State also will administer a CDBG Owner-Occupied Program (CDBG-OOR), which will provide grants to eligible homeowners whose primary residence was impacted by the 2017 Thomas fire and debris flow.  Click HERE for the CDBG-OOR Fact Sheet.  The State is asking homeowners, landlords, and tenants whose residential property was damaged by the events to complete a survey.  To complete the survey, go to: https://recover.hcd.ca.gov/and click on the eGrants Login.

     The CDBG Disaster Recovery program (CDBG-DR) will provide funds to the County on a non-competitive basis for Infrastructure projects, including public facilities, such as neighborhood facilities, firehouses, public schools, and libraries, and public improvements, such as streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, parks, playgrounds, water and sewer lines, flood and drainage improvements, parking lots, and utility lines.

     For more information, contact Carlos Jimenez by email cjimenez@co.santa-barbara.ca.us or by phone at (805) 568-3529 

  • COUNTY DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAMS:  The State will receive special allocations of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for disaster-related projects tied to the 2017 Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flow.  The CDBG Mitigation program (CDBG-MIT) will offer funds on a competitive basis to jurisdictions to support infrastructure projects, housing activities, public services, economic development, disaster preparedness, and planning efforts.  Projects must increase resilience and reduce or eliminate risk from potential future disasters.  Click HEREfor the CDBG-MIT Fact Sheet.  An informational meeting was held by the State in Santa Barbara on March 5, 2020, which may be viewed at: https://youtu.be/trmESZaQkw8?t=554​  

  • Community Forums: Thank you to all who attended October's community forums! Click here for the Santa Maria presentation, click here for the Santa Barbara presentation, and click here for the Lompoc presentation.  

  • Continuum of Care (CoC) Board Calendar of Meetings and Events
  • The Santa Maria / Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care (CoC) has approved the final priority listing for the FY 2019 CoC Application for over $2 million in federal funding to address homelessness.
    To see the projects recommended to the Department of Housing and Urban Development please click here. 


  • The Inaugural Meeting of the City Working Group on Housing and Homelessness will be held at the Lake Cachuma Clubhouse on Wednesday September 11, 2019.  The purpose of the meeting is to discuss regional housing and homeless needs, and opportunities for collaboration.  See meeting agenda, slides and materials here .

  • CoC NOFA Technical Assistance Handbook

  • Local Process Handbook for the HUD CoC Program Competition

  • The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development released the Fiscal Year 2019 Continuum of Care Program Competition NOFA on July 3rd, 2019. The NOFA, and additional information regarding the competition, is available on the HUD Exchange website HERE. Please contact HCD staff with any questions.

  • Point In Time (PIT) Count

    The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care releases the 2019 Point in Time Count report. 

    Results of the biennial Point in Time (PIT) Count of persons experiencing homelessness were released today. Conducted on January 24, 2019 by the Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care (CoC), the Count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and serves as a snapshot of homelessness in the county on a single night. The County and CoC provided oversight of the PIT Count, working closely with Northern Santa Barbara County United Way Home for Good, Applied Survey Research, Simtech Solutions, and more than 500 volunteers. To view the initial results, you can find a Press Release HERE and a more detailed presentation HERE. A more comprehensive report will be available later in the year. 

    Countywide, 1,803 persons were counted with the largest number counted in the city of Santa Barbara. The count includes 1,133 persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness and 670 persons living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. In 2017, the official PIT count was 1,860. There was a notable shift between sheltered and unsheltered persons between 2017 and 2019.

    To learn more about, local efforts and planning to address homelessness, the Phase 1 Community Action Plan to Address Homelessness is available HERE.

  • The County of Santa Barbara, Division of Housing and Community Development recently conducted a Notice of Funding Availability process to solicit proposals for the County's application to the State of California for their 2018 Emergency Solutions Grant Program (2018 State ESG). On July 19th the Continuum of Care (CoC) Review and Rank Committee met to make recommendations for the allocation of the County's estimated award amount of $326,955. Click here to see the Committee's recommendations and for more information.

    • Popular Links

    for adults

    2-1-1 is a comprehensive information and referral system connecting people quickly and effectively to health and human services, disaster relief and public information. The 2-1-1 helpline is available to every resident of Santa Barbara County. Available in multiple languages. If out of the area or unable to connect to 2-1-1, try 800-400-1572.

    Santa Barbara County 2-1-1

    Dial 2-1-1 to get connected to a specialist for personalized assistance. Free, Confidential, 24/7.


    VISIT THE 2-1-1 WEBSITE

    for youth

    The Federal Fair Housing Act and California state law protects your rights. Everyone should be able to rent or purchase a home as long as you qualify financially. No one may be denied housing based on his or her race, gender, color, nationality, religion, disability, marital, or family status.

    Landlord-Tenant Issues

    The Federal Fair Housing Act and California state law protects your rights.



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    for children

    While the County does not provide direct assistance to those facing foreclosure, the Department of Housing and Community Development works closely with local community organizations that offer assistance, including foreclosure prevention workshops, housing counseling services, and other programs that may be helpful for households at risk of foreclosure.

    Foreclosure Assistance & Prevention

    The Department of Housing and Community Development works closely with local community organizations that offer assistance.

    Click below for information on:

    LOAN FORBEARANCE AVAILABLE TO BORROWERS AFFECTED BY COVID-19 

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