Community Development Block Grant
Annually, the City of Palo Alto receives funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. This program funds various nonprofit agencies to implement services that benefit low-and moderate-income persons and address community development needs.
Grantees are generally selected through a competitive process and provide services such as case management to secure affordable housing and employment, fair housing, employment training senior daycare and housing rehabilitation.
Current Program Activities
The City is processing a Substantial Amendment to a previously approved Annual Action Plans (AAP) for Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2022-23. The AAP identifies the City's housing and community development needs and provides a one-year action plan to demonstrate how the City will invest its CDBG grants in order to address those needs. The Substantial Amendments include:
- The reallocation of $300,000 from the Ravenswood facilities project to an ADA Ramp Improvement Project as noted in the amended FY 2021-22 Annual Action Plan.
- The modification of the 525 E. Charleston Road project description as amended in the FY 2022-23 Annual Action Plan.
A 30-day public review and comment period on the two Draft Substantial Amendments will begin on March 7, 2023, and end on April 6, 2023.
The draft amended Annual Action Plans can be viewed electronically at the links provided below:
The City Council will hold a hybrid (in-person and virtual) Public Hearing on Monday, April 10, 2023 at 5:00 pm to adopt the Substantial Amendments to the FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23 Annual Action Plans. To get meeting details and additional information, please visit the City Council Agenda page.
Written comments may be submitted during the review period and should be sent to:
Attn: Tina Roseberry
City of Palo Alto
Planning and Development Services Department/CDBG
250 Hamilton Avenue
5th Floor
Palo Alto, CA 94301
or sent via email to tina.roseberry@mbakerintl.com.
For additional questions or comments, please contact Tina Roseberry, CDBG Consultant, at (484) 655-4276 or via email at tina.roseberry@mbakerintl.com.
Activities for Program Year 2023-2024
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for CDBG FY 2023-24 AND FY 2024-25
The City release the NOFA for FY 2023-24 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024) and FY 2024-25 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025) on October 21, 2022, with applications due by November 29, 2022. Included in the packet are a summary of program administration procedures, instructions to complete the CDBG application, and an explanation of activities eligible for funding.
CDBG FY 2023-24 & FY 2023-2025 Application Packet(PDF, 2MB)
Public Notice Card(PDF, 96KB)
Pre-Proposal Conference Presentation(PDF, 449KB) (November 10, 2022 at 11:30 AM meeting)
Services and Programs Currently Funded
The City of Palo Alto contracts with several agencies for community services. The list provided below include agencies funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement program. They City's CDBG program is primarily focused on low-income residents. For additional program details, see the FY 2022-23 Annual Action Plan (AAP).
| Service Category |
Organization |
| Housing Services |
Project Sentinel: Project Sentinel provides investigation, counseling, and legal referrals for victims of housing discrimination; community education, and outreach regarding fair housing law and practices.
https://www.housing.org/
General inquiries: (408) 720-9888 or info@housing.org
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Senior Services
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Catholic Charities: Catholic Charities Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman program provides advocacy and complaint investigation services on behalf of the residents of Palo Alto's long-term care facilities. Catholic Charities partners with the residents, their families, care providers, community organizations, and other interested parties to enhance the resident's care and living environment, and to ensure that resident's rights are known and understood. Trained, certified LTC volunteer ombudsmen maintain an ongoing presence at Palo Alto's nursing and assisted living/residential care facilities for the elderly by calling upon residents when requested, and by making regular unannounced visitations throughout the year.
https://www.catholiccharitiesscc.org/
(408) 468-0100
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Services for Disabled Persons
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Silicon Valley Independent Living Center: Silicon Valley Independent Living Center provides assistance for individuals with disabilities and their families to transition from homelessness, health care facilities, unstable or temporary housing to permanent affordable, accessible, integrated housing with emergency assistance, security deposits, rent, information & referral, and providing other assistance as needed to ensure long-term sustainability of the interdependent living solutions living environment.
https://svilc.org/category/our-services/
(408) 894-9041
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Home Improvements
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Rebuilding Together, Peninsula: Rebuilding Together Peninsula (RTP) Safe at Home program will provide critical health and safety related home repair needs for Palo Alto low-income homeowners, including home safety modifications that allow low-income seniors to safely age in a place by eliminating the threat of injury or accident, particularly form falling.
https://www.rebuildingtogetherpeninsula.org/contact-us/
Phone: (650) 366-6597
Fax: (650) 366-9053
Email: info@RTPeninsula.org
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Case Management Services
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Alta Housing: Alta Housing Management & Services Corporation provides one-on-one consultations for information and referral, support counseling, employment assistance, crisis intervention and case management to low and extremely low-income residents of single room occupancy (SRO) properties in Palo Alto to assist in retaining their affordable housing. Alta Housing Service Coordinator provides tenant counseling and support services to residents, many of whom are disabled and/or formerly homeless, with assistance in areas such as employment, mental health, alcohol/drug dependency, Social Security, healthcare benefits, and basic living skills.
https://altahousing.org/contact-us/
Phone:(650) 321-9709
Fax:(650) 321-4341
Email:info@altahousing.org
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Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER)
The CAPER is an annual document outlining the progress the jurisdiction has made in carrying out its strategic plan and its Annual Action Plan. It provides an overview of major initiatives and highlights that were proposed and executed throughout the program year.
2020-2021 CAPER(PDF, 628KB)
2021-2022 CAPER(PDF, 3MB)
Consolidated Plan 2020-2025
The City of Palo Alto is an entitlement City that receives CDBG funding from HUD. HUD requires the City to create a five-year Consolidated Plan to direct and allocate CDBG funds. The 2020-2025 Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) is built on a community-oriented participatory process and will function as an application for federal funds under HUD’s CDBG program. The ConPlan will also outline specific goals and priority needs where CDBG funds will be allocated over the next five years.
Additionally, the ConPlan contains the 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan, which serves as an allocation of funds to specific projects and activities for the first fiscal year of the ConPlan.
2020-2025 Consolidated Plan and 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan
Citizen Participation Plan (CPP)
The Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) outlines the public's participation in the City’s CDBG Program. This plan applies to citizens, nonprofit organizations, and other interested parties.
Adopted Citizen Participation Plan 2022(PDF, 726KB)