Salinas council approves HUD consolidated plan and redesignation of Alisal as neighborhood revitalization strategy area

The Salinas City Council on June 17 approved the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development five-year consolidated plan for fiscal years 2025–2029, the city's FY2025–26 annual action plan and the continued designation of the Alisal Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area. The vote was unanimous.

City staff presented the plan as the required application to HUD that makes the city eligible for federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds. Monica Flores, community development analyst, summarized public outreach carried out between December 2024 and May 2025, noting 127 resident surveys and multiple stakeholder meetings. She said the plans cover July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2030 and the consolidated-plan submission deadline is July 14, 2025.

Staff laid out priorities developed from HUD eligibility, public input and other city plans: creation and preservation of affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income households and special-needs groups; homeowner rehabilitation; homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing; public services for low- and moderate-income residents; infrastructure and parks improvements in underserved neighborhoods; economic-development programs such as micro-business support; and program planning and administration.

Francisco Rambilla (management analyst) presented the FY2025–26 funding estimates for the first program year: approximately $2.1 million in CDBG funds, about $791,000 in HOME funds and about $188,000 in ESG funding. The draft action plan proposes priorities including Chinatown neighborhood improvements, Alisal street lighting phase 1, public services (tenant counseling, financial empowerment, rapid rehousing), a Chinatown navigation center partnership, and a notice of funding availability for multifamily affordable housing to use HOME funds as gap financing.

Rambilla explained the Alisal NRSA tool: HUD allows targeted flexibility in CDBG-eligible activities when a contiguous low- and moderate-income neighborhood meets the threshold. Staff said the Alisal NRSA area meets the required thresholds and that designation enables higher programmatic flexibility, including the potential to exceed the 15% cap on public-services funding if a Community-Based Development Organization (CBDO) is secured.

Council members asked detailed questions: members requested greater clarity on the HOME funding timeline and review process, the scale of anticipated federal allocations, the composition of stakeholder meetings and outreach numbers, and how success and annual reporting would be measured. Staff said the city will publish annual performance reports to HUD and that the first-year allocations in the action plan would be appropriated with additional notices and awards to specific projects as they are identified. Staff said $785,000 in HOME funds remained unprogrammed and that a request for applications (notice of funding availability) would be released in the coming weeks for multifamily projects seeking HOME gap financing. Rambilla and Monica Flores said the city would bring back specific project recommendations (substantial amendments) for council approval once projects are selected.

On the vote: Councilmember Barajas, Councilmember Barrera, Councilmember Dirigo, Councilmember De La Rosa, Councilmember Salazar, Councilmember Sandoval and Mayor Dennis Donahue voted yes. The council passed a resolution approving the consolidated plan, the FY2025–26 annual action plan, the Alisal NRSA designation and authorized the mayor and city manager to execute related documents for submission to HUD.

Why it matters: Approval formally qualifies Salinas for federal housing and community-development funding for 2025–2026 and positions the city to pursue targeted investments—particularly in Alisal—over the five-year plan period. Staff emphasized the awards are formula-driven and annual allocations can vary with federal appropriations; they urged continued advocacy and outlined plans for transparency and annual performance reporting to show how federal dollars are spent.

The council also directed staff to return with further details on community outreach, program performance measures and proposed projects that will be funded under the action plan.