The Shasta County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the county’s five‑year Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) plan to add homeownership activities, including down‑payment assistance, and approved the Housing Authority’s annual and five‑year plans required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The PLHA change and the Housing Authority plans were presented by Duane Green, branch director of economic mobility. Green told the board the Housing Community Action Agency had published a request for proposals (RFP) to identify eligible workforce development and housing projects but received no applications; the agency therefore proposed amending activity #2 to add homeownership support such as down‑payment assistance.

Key facts and board action
- New PLHA funds: Shasta County received additional scheduled allocations of $267,637 (for 2022) and $190,232 (for 2023), increasing the county’s PLHA award by $457,869 to a total of $1,804,910. The board adopted the authorizing resolution to execute an amendment to the standard agreement so the Housing Community Action Agency can offer homeownership assistance.
- Rationale: Green said the agency published a notice of funding availability for workforce housing development but received no eligible development applications; adding down‑payment assistance broadens eligible activity to reach households earning up to 120% of area median income (AMI).
- Housing Authority plans: The board also approved the Shasta County Housing Authority’s FY 2025–26 annual plan and the FY 2025–30 five‑year plan required by HUD to maintain the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. The HCV program provides monthly rental assistance on behalf of roughly 1,016 low‑income tenants in the county service area; approximately 707 vouchers were leased at the time of the presentation.

Votes and implementation
- The PLHA amendment passed 5‑0. The board directed staff to enter the amended standard agreement with the Department of Housing and Community Development and to proceed with program administration under the revised plan.
- The Housing Authority annual and five‑year plans were each approved 5‑0; staff said there is no county general‑fund impact because voucher funding is provided by HUD and PLHA awards are reimbursable.

Why it matters: The change allows the county to use PLHA dollars for a broader set of housing solutions, including homeownership slots and down‑payment assistance, when earlier efforts to attract workforce development projects produced no proposals. Housing staff said the modification will let the county deploy funds more quickly to eligible households.

What the board did not do: The board did not allocate additional county general‑fund revenue for the programs; the PLHA funds are state allocations administered on a reimbursable basis and the HCV funding is federal HUD assistance.

Bottom line: Supervisors approved administrative changes to expand the types of housing activities funded by existing PLHA dollars and certified HUD-required planning documents for the local Housing Authority, a necessary step to keep federal rental assistance and state PLHA funds flowing to Shasta County.