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Fresno County waives prior-approval requirement to submit two Homekey Plus applications for supportive housing
Summary
The Board authorized staff to waive an internal requirement and submit two Homekey Plus applications — up to $31.6 million and up to $35 million — for two permanent supportive housing projects. The board voted to consider the two applications separately and approved both; one project's unit count was clarified during the meeting.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 11 authorized county staff to submit two Homekey Plus funding applications for permanent supportive housing and made a finding that waiving Administrative Policy No. 27 (which ordinarily requires board approval before application submittal) was in the county’s best interest because the funding agency requires board approval prior to final application submission.
Dylan McCully, homelessness program manager in the county's administrative office, said the county planned two applications in partnership with developers selected through competitive procurement: one application for up to $31,600,000 and the other for up to $35,000,000. If both awards are made, staff said the two projects could bring roughly 90 new permanent supportive housing units to the region, including about 51 units in a rural city. Susan Holt, director of behavioral health and public guardian, told the board the projects target people with serious mental illness and described the county's role: "When persons who are unhoused with serious mental illness are provided both housing and the on‑site wraparound supports, they have the ability to accelerate their recovery and thrive."
During the meeting a supervisor questioned per-unit costs after staff presented project budgets: one project’s figures initially suggested a per‑unit cost of roughly $779,000. Housing authority staff later clarified that the Sanger project contains 63 units (not 39 as listed in the agenda), which significantly lowers the per‑unit figure. A supervisor noted that rising materials costs, prevailing‑wage and other state funding requirements contribute to higher per‑unit development costs.
Because one board member said the higher per‑unit number made them unable to support that particular project, the board split the item into separate votes. The board approved the Sanger project by voice vote (after the 63‑unit clarification) and then approved the other application in a separate vote. Supervisors also approved the motion finding it was in the county’s interest to waive Administrative Policy No. 27 so the county could meet the funding agency’s submission requirements and pursue the two Homekey Plus awards.
