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& Announcements

NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS 

  • Elected Leaders Forum to Address Homelessness

    The County of Santa Barbara's Community Services Department will host the next meeting of the Elected Leaders Forum to Address Homelessness, scheduled for Tuesday, August 4, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon via Zoom. Meeting details can be found here.
     

  • Round I Emergency Solutions Grant- Coronavirus (ESG-CV)

    On July 7, 2020 the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution authorizing Santa Barbara County HCD to apply for the formula allocation of $1,031,300.00 in Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG-CV) funds created by the CARES Act and administered through the Sate of California. $977,000 in ESG-CV funds will be available for award as State HCD has allocated 5.2% to the administrative entity for administrative costs. On June 16, 2020 the CoC Planning Committee voted to allocate 70% ($683,900)of Round I of ESG-CV funding to Emergency Shelter providers and 30% (293,100) of Round I ESG-CV funding to Street Outreach activities.

    ESG-CV Applications are due by 5pm on August 21st, 2020

    How to Access the Application HCD will conduct an initial screening to determine eligibility before distributing applications.

    - Please email Jett Black-Maertz at jblack@sbccsd.org.
    In your email, please provide:

  • Organization Name
  • Contact Information (name and phone number of best person to answer questions)
  • Brief description of activities for which you are requesting reimbursement

  • Temporary Eviction Moratorium Due to Coronavirus COVID-19: On March 24, 2020, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance, amending Chapter 44 of the Santa Barbara County Code, to suspend evictions arising from loss of income or substantial medical expenses related to COVID-19, which was thereafter extended until September 30, 2020. 
    For More Information Click here | Para información en español, descargue aquí 

  • On July 7, 2020, the Board will consider approval of an application to the State of California for funds under the Permanent Local Housing Allocation program (PLHA), which was created under Senate Bill 2 – 2017.  The Board also will consider approval of a 
    PLHA Consortium, which will form a partnership with the cities of Goleta and Santa Maria on the administration of the PLHA program. 
    Please click the following link for: PUBLIC NOTICE & PLHA PLAN 

  • CESH, ESG, and CoC NOFA: On May 20, 2020 HCD, on behalf of the CoC, released a Notice of Funding Available for California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Continuum of Care (CoC) Program replacement funds. Please click HERE to see the full NOFA.

  • 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.

  • The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care releases Notice of Funding Availability($1.3 Million) for the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP). A mandatory applicant training will occur on April 21, 2020 by Zoom. To learn more, click here.  

  • 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 community forums this week! 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
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  • 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. 
      
  • HMIS Professional Services Needed
    The Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County Continuum of Care has been awarded funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to build capacity in our local Homeless Management Information System. As the HMIS Lead Agency, County HCD is seeking time limited services to assist with building capacity and improving HMIS bed coverage by supporting agencies using the data base system primarily new users. Please see the request for letters of interest and qualifications for agencies currently using the Homeless Management Information System and able to provide professional services to County HCD and the Continuum of Care. All letters need to be submitted by Wednesday, November 27 at 4pm. Click HERE for details.

  • 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.
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    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

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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.

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    LOAN FORBEARANCE AVAILABLE TO BORROWERS AFFECTED BY COVID-19 

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