County Seeks Input on Distribution of Housing Funds

The Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles is seeking input on how to disperse about $30 million in housing and community development funds.

There will be a series of meetings on the county’s annual Action Plan open to anyone who lives or works within the county, according to a statement by the Community Development Commission.

The 201-2015 Action Plan will disperse about $30 million of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, which can fund childcare programs, senior citizen services, homebuyer assistance, home repair programs, homeless services, low interest business loans, graffiti removal and street and sewer repairs.

The funds are broken into the following categories:

• About $22 million from the Community Development Block Grant Program to fund low- and moderate-income communities.

• More than $6.5 million from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which funds services such as housing rehabilitation, first-time homebuyer programs and the construction of low- and moderate-income households.

• More than $1.5 million from the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, which can fund street outreach, emergency shelter, and homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing.

However, the commission notes that these funds can be subject to additional cuts as a result of Federal sequestration.

Residents are asked to complete a “CDC Residents Survey,” which will be used in developing the Action Plan. The survey is available on the CDC website at www.lacdc.org. 

For more information, call Brian Talbot at (626) 586-1752.

If residents cannot attend any of the community meetings, written comments may be submitted through Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, to Raymond Webster via e-mail at Raymond.Webster@lacdc.org, by fax (626) 943-3838, or mail (postmarked by Oct. 26, 2013) to the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, CDBG Division, 700 W. Main Street, Alhambra, CA  91801.

The following is the schedule for the community meetings:

Tuesday, Sept. 10

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

YWCA Union Pacific Empowerment Center

4315 Union Pacific Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90023

Thursday, Sept. 12

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

MLK Center for Public Health

Community Room

11833 Wilmington Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90059

Tuesday, Sept. 17

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

West Knoll Apartments

Community Room

838 West Knoll Drive

West Hollywood, CA 90069

Thursday, Sept. 19

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

South Whittier Community

Resource Center

10750 Laurel Avenue

Whittier, CA 90605

Stephen Sorensen Park

Thursday, Sept. 26

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Gymnasium/Community Center

16801 East Avenue P

Lake Los Angeles, CA 93591