The Administration recommends approving the Resolution.

The Five-Year Consolidated Plan is a federal requirement for all U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) entitlement cities.  The City of Miami Beach is a HUD-designated entitlement city as determined by the decennial census information on population growth lag, over-crowding, age of housing stock, and poverty.  The City of Miami Beach has been a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement community since 1975.  The HOME Program was started in 1992 to provide funding specifically for affordable housing.

As an entitlement community, the City automatically qualifies for an annual allocation of federal funding under HUD’s grant programs.  HUD requires each entitlement community to submit an annual One-Year Action Plan describing how it will utilize funding and resources to address priority needs identified in the City’s Consolidated Plan. The One-Year Action Plan is a component of the Five-Year Consolidated Plan filed with HUD.

CARES Act

On April 2, 2020, HUD sent a letter to the City notifying of a special allocation of CDBG funds to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus (COVID-19). This allocation was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which was signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020, to respond to the growing effects of the public health crisis. The CARES Act has made available to the City $564,276 in CDBG Coronavirus funds (CDBG-CV). The Administration is making amendments to the 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan and 2019 Action Plan to enable the City to receive and administer these new funds.

On April 9, 2020, HUD released a memo transmitting the CARES Act Flexibilities for CDBG Funds Used to Support Coronavirus Response Guide. Below are key federal regulation waivers that benefit the City that HUD has authorized as a result of COVID-19:

• Grantees may use CDBG-CV grant funds to cover or reimburse costs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus regardless of the date on which such costs were incurred;
• Elimination of the 15 percent cap on the amount of grant funds that can be used for public services activities for CDBG-CV and CDBG FY 2019 and FY 2020 funds; and
• Allows grantees to amend citizen participation plans to establish expedited procedures to include notice and reasonable opportunity to comment of at least 5 days.

On April 10, 2020, HUD released a memo notifying the availability of waivers and suspensions for the HOME program requirements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The waivers include:

• Increased cap on program administration expenses from 10% to 25% for FY 2019 & FY 2020;
•  Suspension of the 15% Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) set-aside requirement for FYs 2017 through 2020; 
•  Waiver of the match requirement for funds in a Major Disaster area between 10/1/2019 and 9/30/2021;
•  Self-certification of income is allowed, provided that on-site rent and income reviews are conducted within 90 days after the waiver period;
•  Waiver of on-site inspection requirements;
•  Eliminates the requirement to include an analysis of local market conditions before implementing a TBRA program;
•  Allows the immediate provision of Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) without assessing rent reasonableness;
•  Permits payments up to 100% of rent, security deposit, and utilities until 12/31/2020;
•  Suspends requirement to have written tenant selection criteria until 12/31/2020; and
•  Extends the HOME 4-year project completion deadline.

The Administration will submit a letter to HUD notifying and requesting use of these waivers.

Below is a summary of the proposed use of the CDBG-CV funds:

Rent & Mortgage Assistance: This program provides assistance to qualifying Miami Beach residents who are in danger of becoming homeless due to their inability to pay their monthly rent. Assistance will include up to three months of rent payable to the landlord upon verification of eligibility and financial position.

COVID-19 Testing for Elderly: Funds will offset the costs associated with the City’s Fire Department staff escorting testing professionals to the homes of elderly residents receiving COVID-19 testing.

Emergency Food Assistance: Groceries will be provided to qualifying Miami Beach residents experiencing financial hardship.

Small Business Assistance: This program will provide assistance to small businesses (6-12 employees) impacted by COVID-19 in the form of a forgivable loan.  Business may receive up to $10,000 to pay for normal business expenses. The business must be able to retain at least one job for a low- to moderate- income resident employee for a one-year period.

Below is a summary of funds that will be recaptured and reallocated to be used to respond to COVID-19:

TBRA: HOME funds will be used to provide direct assistance to low-income households who need help paying their rent. TBRA is a rental subsidy that helps make up the difference between what a renter can afford to pay and the actual rent for a home. This assistance will be provided to households earning up to 80% Area Median Income prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Assistance provided under this category expires on December 31, 2020.

Grocery Assistance Program: This program provides grocery delivery to elderly Miami Beach residents.

In order to receive and allocate these funds as recommended, the following amendments to 2019 Action Plan and corresponding 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan will be implemented:

•  Inclusion of Community Development Needs as a Priority Need and the Provision of Economic Development and Public Facilities and Infrastructure assistance as an Associated Goal; and
• Inclusion of tenant-based rental assistance as a goal utilizing HOME funds.

As part of this amendment, the City has also revised the Citizen Participation Plan to include the 5-day comment period as indicated above and now authorized by HUD.

Madeleine Village Seawall Rehabilitation

The City continues to have unfunded capital needs for the rehabilitation of the seawall at the Madeleine Village Apartments. The Madeleine Village is a 16-unit affordable housing property located at 7861-7871 Crespi Blvd. This project was previously awarded $505,463.93. However, this amount is insufficient as the total estimated project cost is $838,182.82.

The City has allocated $650,881.89 in CDBG and HOME funds allocated to the recently acquired Coral Apartments. However, it has been determined that this amount is in excess of the 50% FEMA threshold based on the most recent property appraisal. If more than 50% of the Property is rehabilitated, FEMA regulations would require that the habitable first floor level of the Property be raised above the flood elevation of nine (9) feet (NGVD), which would not be feasible. Therefore, the Administration would like to reallocate the funds in excess of the 50% threshold from the Coral Apartments Project to fill the funding gap for the Madeleine Village Seawall as delineated below:

Citizen Participation

 In accordance with 24 CFR 91.05(c)(2) and subpart B of the federal regulations, the following applicable waiver made available through the CARES Act will be enacted by the City relative to citizen participation compliance:

The City advertised a Notice of a 5-day Public Comment Period (May 4, 2020 – May 8, 2020) for a Substantial Amendment to the 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan & FY 2019 Action Plan and Amendment to the Citizen Participation Plan. Public comments received will be included in the submission of the action Plan to HUD for final review and approval.

Expenditures are tied to federal CDBG and HOME funds and will not impact General Fund.

The Administration recommends approval and authorization for the Substantial Amendment to the 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan & FY 2019 Action Plan and Amendment to the Citizen Participation Plan and authorizing the City Manager to execute all required documents.