Los Angeles Office of Public Housing
Quarterly Newsletter Summer 2015
Serving Southern California

Waterman Gardens RAD Groundbreaking

June 15, 2015 - San Bernardino, CA - The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB) broke ground on the first of a multiphase Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion of the Waterman Gardens public housing development. The 76 units in this first phase of a total conversion of 242 units should be complete sometime during summer 2016.

The project is funded with $25 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Rental Assistance Demonstration program and a permanent loan from PNC Real Estate. The State of California awarded approximately $12 million in tax credits. In addition, the city is investing $2.3 million of federally allocated HOME-Investment Partnership Funds into the project.

The new development will include a swimming pool, computer lab, community center, and playgrounds.

Earth Day in LA County

Long Beach, April 22, 2015 - Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for Public and Indian Housing (PIH), Lourdes Castro Ramirez, PDAS Chief of Staff, Jennifer Jones, and Los Angeles Office of Public Housing (LAOPH) Director, Marcie Chavez, came together with leaders of the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA), at their annual Earth Day celebration.

Located at the Carmelitos Public Housing Development and operated by the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles (HACoLA), The Growing Experience (TGE) was host to the sixth annual free event for all Carmelitos residents, as well as the surrounding Long Beach Community. Over 150 participants came out to learn about sustainable agriculture, tour the farm and aquaponics towers, participate in food preservation workshops, and taste healthy snacks.

Sean Rogan, HACoLA Executive Director, said, "The Growing Experience has worked hard to showcase environmental sustainability and serve as a replicable model for the greater Los Angeles region. Staff here have created a local food system, water/resource conservation, and paved a path for the research and implementation of new technologies to increase productivity."

TGE is a 7-acre urban farm whose goal is to support a healthy community by offering affordable, fresh, locally-grown organic food. It is the only known program operating a facility of its size at a public housing community in an urban setting, complete with a sustainable farm, community-supported agriculture program, job/skills training, and educational components.

VASH Update

On July 25, 2015, the Office of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez spearheaded the 12th Orange County Veterans Fair. The fair was an excellent opportunity for Orange County Housing Authority to present the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing (VASH) program to Veterans. Public housing agencies in Southern California are making a great effort in utilizing VASH vouchers to house homeless veterans. Despite the challenge of the increase of the general homeless population, as recorded in the recent results of 2015 Point in Time count (PIT), homelessness among Veterans in Southern California remained relatively the same. One contributing factor is the issuance of VASH program vouchers along with the VA provision of case management. As of end of June, according to Voucher Management System (VMS) data, over six thousands homeless veterans have been housed with VASH vouchers. The number keeps trending upward.

Creative and collaborative partnerships throughout the region are working toward the goal of eventually ending homelessness among Veterans. In spring 2015, the HUD Los Angeles Office of Public Housing (LAOPH) hosted a collaborative event with attendance from Greater Los Angeles VA, local public housing agencies, community partners, and the HUD Headquarter VASH Coordinator.  More than 80 representatives agreed that Southern California has made major strides, yet still, the region can do more for homeless veterans. There are still over 2500 VASH vouchers available for leasing, allocated in Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2008-2014. The Greater Los Angeles VA has made efforts to speed up leasing time and to increase the referral rate. Since May of this year, the VA assigned more staff to establish a processing center at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).

Recognizing the challenges in Southern California, HUD leadership, particularly Public and Indian Housing (PIH), has made this area a particular priority. Of all VASH vouchers allocation for FFY 2015, Southern California received additional 1249 vouchers, the largest allocation nationwide. For the first time, the Oceanside Housing Authority received 40 VASH vouchers, as part of FFY2015 allocation. With the addition of FFY2015 allocation, the grand total VASH vouchers awarded to Southern California has reached 9803 vouchers.

San Buenaventura RAD Groundbreaking

July 14, 2015 - Ventura, CA - The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) hosted a groundbreaking event for the commencement of a comprehensive $28.8 million acquisition and rehabilitation project that will fully renovate 101 existing apartment units for extremely low income seniors and disabled persons in the City of Ventura. Through the newly developed Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program implemented by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, the HACSB is providing long-term project-based voucher rental assistance subsidy to finance the acquisition and construction and ensure long-term affordability to those earning less than thirty percent of the area median income. The HACSB also received an allocation of 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits in November 2014 from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and bond allocation from the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee that will be leveraged to fund the project.

The work will involve extensive infrastructure, energy and water efficiency improvements and upgrades and interior restoration work at the HACSB's properties in East Ventura. Construction is slated to begin on the site in July 2015, and completion is anticipated at the end of February, 2016. The HACSB is partnering with Union Bank, Ashwood Construction Company, ReCap Real Estate Advisors, and Amador Whittle Architects to create a renewed, energy efficient, accessible, and affordable housing development to preserve the city's dwindling stock of deeply affordable housing.

"This project, along with our recently completed Vista del Mar Commons extensive renovation, has invested approximately $55,000,000 into the City and ensures that our properties will not only continue to be deeply affordable, but also improve the quality of life of our residents," said Denise Wise, Chief Executive Officer of the HACSB.

The HACSB is the largest residential landlord in the City of Ventura, with 471 public housing units, more than 1,500 Section 8 vouchers, and over 350 non-profit affordable rental units. The agency is actively working to increase the supply of affordable housing and to improve the quality of life for hundreds more of the low-income residents throughout the City of Ventura.

RAD DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

For more information on RAD and recent notices, please visit the following sites:

HUD RAD EXCHANGE - https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/rad/

RAD RESOURCE DESK- http://radresource.net/index.cfm

Take Notice of PIH Notices!

Visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/hudclips/notices/pih

Announcements

Public and Indian Housing One-Stop Tool (POST) for PHAs

 PHA staff can use POST to obtain quick access to PIH systems, tools, training opportunities, program requirements, commonly used external websites, PIH contacts, and much more.

 Some of the most helpful links are as follows:

• PIH A-Z Index
• News You Can Use
• Calendar of Due Dates

If you have recommendations to improve POST or if you are having difficulty accessing web pages, we want to hear from you! Please email us at POSTforPHAs@hud.gov.

Access POST

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/post

Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC)

PHAs administering public housing units are required to report on planned/completed Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMS) in the Energy and Performance Information Center (EPIC) system ANNUALLY as follows:

Lead the Way: PHA Governance and Financial Management - A Training for Board Members

 In July 2015, HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing launched Lead the Way: PHA Governance and Financial Management. This informational resource is designed to help PHA Boards and staff fulfill their responsibilities in providing effective governance and oversight.

Lead the Way is designed primarily for PHA board members/commissioners. New and experienced board members alike can benefit from the curriculum. Additionally, executive staff - CEOs, CFOs, finance teams, program managers - can use the tool to hone their skills and improve PHA operations.

In addition to Lead the Way, HUD is offering various supporting resources that you can use to accompany and supplement the curriculum. In this Training Resources section you will find quick references and handouts to support Lead the Way. Additionally, this section contains links to other existing HUD training resources such as those found on the HUD YouTube Channel.

https://www.hudexchange.info/training-events/courses/lead-the-way-pha-governance-and-financial-management/

Water Sense

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program is hosting Water Wednesdays, to help HUD project officers and HUD grantees incorporate water efficiency into their programs and projects. The webinar series will provide information about tools and resources that help public, low-income, and multi-family housing managers save water, energy and money.

Please register now for our upcoming live webinars using the links below. Links to recorded webinars will be provided 3-4 weeks after the live webinar.

http://www.epa.gov/watersense/hudwebinars/

Upcoming Deadlines

Financial Data Schedule (FDS) Submission Deadlines

Unaudited submissions are due no later than 2 months after the PHA's Fiscal Year End (FYE); for those entities required to have an audit, the audited submissions are due 9 months after the Public Housing Agency's (PHA's) FYE. PHAs are required to submit their financial information through the Financial Assessment Subsystem-Public Housing (FASS-PH) system.

 Deadlines and Key Dates

LOS ANGELES PIH FIELD OFFICE POC (Points of Contact)

The Los Angeles Field Office is to relocate to:

300 North Los Angeles Street, 4th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Effective date of moving is to-be-determined.

####