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<br />9ð-1 <br /> <br />REPOR-r- <br /> <br /> <br />To. the HQnorable Mayor and City Council <br /> <br />October 24, 2005 <br /> <br />Subject <br />Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County (HEART) <br /> <br />Recommendation <br />Recommend that the City join the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo <br />County (HEART, formerly known as HEAT) and pursue modifications in the JPA bylaws after <br />joining <br /> <br />Background <br />HEART is a collaborative, public/private venture, structured as a joint powers authority to <br />raise and distribute funds from public and private sources to meet critical housing needs. It <br />envisions a county where housing is attainable for all. HEART members include 13 cities and <br />the County with a board of directors of 11 public-sector representatives and 10 at-large <br />members representing the private sector. <br /> <br />HEART's mission is to raise and distribute funds from public and private sources to help <br />meet the critical housing needs in San Mateo County. HEART's goal is to raise up to <br />$10,000,000 annually. In its first year (2004), HEART raised a total of $5,OOO,OOO-San <br />Mateo County provided $3,000,000 as seed funding. This initial investment attracted a <br />matching grant of $2,000,000 from the State through Proposition 46 housing bond funds. <br /> <br />In June of 2003, HEART presented to the City Council and invited Redwood City to join the <br />collaborative to develop a housing trust fund for San Mateo County. The Council requested <br />that this come back after budget deliberations and after further evaluation of Council <br />concerns. <br /> <br />An ad hoc subcommittee of Councilmember Howard, Vice Mayor Pierce, Planning Director <br />Michael Church and Assistant City Attorney Damien Brower met to address the Council <br />concerns. Specific concerns included: JPA language and the potential benefits - implications <br />for the Redwood City community. As a result of these discussions potential modifications <br />were created for the JPA language to support the intent of HEART to "raise and distribute <br />funds to meet critical housing needs." These modifications would need to be discussed and <br />accepted by the JPA members. <br /> <br />Currently HEART has approached the remaining non-member cities to finalize their <br />membership process. It is reasonable at this time for Redwood City to become a member of <br />the jPA, to engage in the discussion of the jPA language modification and to apply for funds <br />that are currently available for housing efforts. Redwood City has always had an interest in <br />providing housing that benefits the community, has projects that would be appropriate, and <br />