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<br />78 <br />Page 10 <br /> <br />'It fJrsona with Soeclal Needs. For County purp0$8s. this category shalllndude, bu1 not be limited to, mentally III persons, emancipated youth, <br />victims of dome6tic violence. seniors aging In place, persons recove'rlng from substance abuse, persons recently released from prison or JaM, and low <br />income veterans. Under COBG regulations, this category (presumed benefit population) also Includes: abused children, battered spouses, the elclerly, <br />adult persons with serious disabilities. the homeless, illiterate persons, migrant farm workers, persons wltn HIV/AIDS. <br /> <br />III. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES <br /> <br />Programs and projects considered for funding must meet an of the following requirements: (I) be an eligible activity for <br />CDBO or HOME funding; (2) qualifY for funding on the basis of principally benefiting lower-income pelSOns; and (3) <br />meet one of the San Mateo County priorities described above in Section II. <br /> <br />Listed below are specific eligible activities which may be carried out with funds under this NOF A. COBO funds are <br />more restrictive than HOME funds. For example COBO funds cannot be used for direct construction costs for new <br />housing. While this list is not complete, it provides a spectrum of the more typical activities funded under the CDBO <br />program: <br />1. Land acquisition. <br />2. Site improvements (offwsite improvements and, in limited circumstances, on~site improvements) including <br />demolition. <br />3, Acquisition of existing housing to be used for lower income persons. <br />4. Prewdevelopment costs (delivery costs for eligible activities). <br />5. Direct construction costs (HOME) <br />6. Conversion ofnonwresidential buildings to housing. <br />7. Rehabilitation of existing affordable housing. <br /> <br />IV. PROGRAM-SPECIFIC QUALIFYING CRITERIA <br /> <br />A. IDcom~ Ta",etin2 for Housin Dev~lopment Activities. For housing development funding requests, Staff will <br />make 'the detennination of whether to use CDBO, HOME or a combination of both, unless there is a compelling <br />reason to use one funding source over the other. <br /> <br />While the COBO Program requires that at least 20% of the units be occupied by and affordable to lower income <br />households and the HOME Program allows mixed income development. with the use of the HOME funds restricted <br />to units targeted to a lower income group, it is anticipated that all of the units in a development assisted with County <br />Department of Housing funds will be occupied by lower income households (possibly excluding the manager's <br />unit). Priority will be given to projects targeting VerywLow and Extremely-Low Income households. <br /> <br />All units must be occupied by ulower income" households and rented at levels deemed affordable for their <br />respective income category. Exhibit I shows the CUlTOn! income and affordable rent levels. "Lower Income" refers <br />to all income categories including but not greater than "Low Income" as shown on Exhibit 1. For HOME funded <br />projects, a.n affordability deed restriction or covenant will be recorded against the property. <br /> <br />All funds used to assist home ownership units must be allocated to dwelling units which will be occupied by "lower <br />income" households, as defined above, at the time of occupancy or at the time funds are invested. whichever is later. <br />Housing that is purchased with HOME assistance qualifies as affordable housing only if the housing has an initial <br />purchase price that does not exceed $617,500, .ndlor has an estimated appraised value after repairs needed to meet <br />property standards that does not exceed $617,500. <br /> <br />B. Local Match. The HOME Program requ~ that federal HOME funds be matched 25% with non-federal fonns of <br />subsidy. The premise of the "ma1ch" requirement is that the provision of affordable housing is a local as welt as <br />federal responsibility, and, as such, should require a financial commitment from state and local sources as well as <br />the federal government. The County strongly encourages local match even if the funding source is CDaO rather <br />than HOME. The amount of leveraging of County funds will be an important consideration in any funding <br />recommendation. You will be responsible for negotiating a local match contribution from the jurisdiction in which <br />your project is located. <br /> <br />Program Guidelines for Funding of Housing Development Activities FY 2009w 10 <br /> <br />3 <br />