South Gate Housing Authority approves five-year PHA plan and related HUD certifications

The South Gate Housing Authority voted unanimously March 25 to approve its five-year public housing agency (PHA) plan for fiscal years 2025–2029, the FY2025–2026 annual plan for the Housing Choice Voucher program, and the accompanying certifications required for submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The approval follows a required public comment period and a resident advisory board meeting and authorizes the authority chair to sign the certifications by a state or local official, the civil rights certification, and the PHA certification of compliance. The authority also authorized the executive director or designee to submit the plans to HUD.

Carol Averill, housing authority staff, told the authority the plans are required under the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 and that HUD uses the annual plan to assess Section 8 program status. She said the authority maintains a “high performer” status from HUD and described program goals including increased leasing, inspections, owner outreach and use of CDBG and HOME funds for rehabilitation.

Averill said the authority opened a waiting list between May 27 and June 10, 2024, received approximately 5,502 applications and selected 1,000 by lottery to limit multi-year backlogs on the list. She reported the Housing Choice Voucher program currently assists about 368 families. The emergency housing voucher (EHV) allocation totals 34 vouchers; the authority has issued about 25 of those and leased up 19 units. Averill said voucher subsidy amounts for households served range roughly from $600 to $2,500 per month depending on unit size and household income.

On budget, Averill presented a projected annual budget of about $5,300,000 for the Section 8 program, including approximately $587,000 in administrative fees. She said the authority’s projected annual EHV administration budget is about $32,695. The plans also describe ongoing outreach to recruit landlords, routine unit inspections, and fair-housing workshops conducted with the Fair Housing Council of Long Beach.

Authority members asked how public comments are incorporated. Averill explained that, for the first time this year, PHA plans are submitted through a portal with a field for public comments; comments from the resident advisory board meeting and any written comments will be attached to the plan submitted to HUD. No members of the public spoke at the hearing, and no emails on the item were received.

A motion to approve items A, B and C as presented passed on a roll call vote: Authority Member Rosado — yes; Authority Member Rios — yes; Vice Chair Baron — yes; Chairperson Davila — yes. The motion directs staff to finalize required certifications in a form acceptable to the city attorney and submit the plans to HUD.

With the vote complete, the authority will transmit the approved documents and any appended public comments to HUD as required under federal rules.