HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4a. Annual Community Development Block Grant Community Needs Workshop Item 4a
Human Relations Commission
Agenda Report
For Agenda of: 9/2/2026
Item Number: 4a
FROM: Samantha Vethavanam, DEI Administrative Specialist
Phone Number: (805) 781-7064
E-mail: svethava@slocity.org
SUBJECT: ANNUAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMUNITY
NEEDS WORKSHOP
RECOMMENDATION
Receive public feedback and vote on funding priorities for the Community Development
Block Grant program as deliberated during the meeting.
BACKGROUND
Annually, the Human Relations Commission (HRC) hosts a Community Needs Grant
Workshop which allows the public to provide comments on current community
development, social equity, and human service needs in the community. This input is
used by the HRC to review, update, and approve funding priorities for the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
CDBG funds are intended to assist in the development of viable urban communities by
providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic
opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income individuals. Eligible projects
include those that meet community development needs, and that are identified as a public
improvement or facility. The estimated allocation for CDBG funding for the City of San
Luis Obispo will be released when the County of San Luis Obispo releases their Notice
of Funding Availability on September 28, 2026. For the 2026 -27 funding cycle, the City of
San Luis Obispo had an allocation of $458,347.
The primary goals of this workshop are to inform the public about the grant process,
provide an overview of eligible activities, and describe how activities are selected to
receive CDBG funding through the City of San Luis Obispo, as well as to receive feedback
from key stakeholders on the funding priorities for the CDBG program.
The ranked CDBG funding priorities for the 2026-27 cycle were as follows:
1) Provide emergency and transitional shelter, homelessness prevention, and
services.
2) Develop and enhance affordable housing for low - and very low-income
persons.
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Item 4a
3) Enhance economic development (to include seismic retrofit, economic
stability, low- and moderate-income jobs).
4) Promote accessibility and/or removal or architectural barriers for the
disabled and elderly.
NEXT STEPS
Staff have determined the next steps for the 2027 -28 CDBG funding cycle and outlined
them in the tentative schedule below:
Date Action
September 2, 2026 HRC Community Needs Workshop and Recommendation of
Funding Priorities
September 28, 2026 San Luis Obispo County Releases CDBG Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA)
October 30, 2026 Applications Due by 5:00 PM to San Luis Obispo County
October 20, 2026 City Council Reviews and Approves CDBG Funding Priorities
November 4, 2026 HRC Reviews Applications and Votes on Funding
Recommendations
February 2, 2027 City Council Reviews and Approves CDBG Funding
Recommendations
April 2027 San Luis Obispo County Reviews and Approves Funding
Recommendations*
* Public notice will be published for a 30-day review prior to the April 2027 County Board
of Supervisors meeting.
After the Community Needs Workshop, the HRC will vote to approve the funding priorities
to help guide potential CDBG applications in developing their proposals and will also
provide guidance on prioritization. After City Council approves the recommended funding
priorities, staff will return to the HRC in November for a public hearing to develop draft
CDBG funding recommendations. Those recommendations will then be sent to City
Council for approval and then to the County Board of Supervisors for final approval.
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