Davis senior commission hears HUD-funded housing update, residents press city on in-lieu fees and long wait lists

The Davis Senior Commission on March 11 received a detailed briefing from the city's Department of Social Services and Housing on senior housing programs, homeless outreach and the department's upcoming HUD-required consolidated plan for 2025'029.

"We're a new department...we have finally gotten a full staff of six members," Jennifer Block, a management analyst, told commissioners as she outlined the department's priorities and funding. Block said the department relies largely on HUD grants, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME program funds, and that the city's HUD allocation for the current fiscal year is "a little more than $700,000." She said the consolidated plan will go to the Social Services Commission for review, and then to the City Council.

The presenters described the city's winter shelter and outreach work. The city operates a seasonal winter shelter (December through March) with congregate space at Paul's Place (about 10 beds) and non-congregate motel rooms at High Wheel/High Wheeled Flats (about 10 rooms reserved for medically compromised seniors). The department also coordinates with police on an encounter/response protocol emphasizing outreach and compliance; Block said enforcement has not been used to date.

Patty Bryant, the department's administrative specialist and rental resource administrator, summarized local housing programs and unit counts: seven senior rental complexes with about 256 one- and two-bedroom units targeted to households at 50% area median income, and an affordable homeownership program containing 125 deed-restricted homes (about 60 in Green Terrace) that the city monitors through resale restrictions. Bryant said those ownership units historically sold between roughly $338,000 and $616,000.

Residents used the meeting to press the commission and staff on policy outcomes. One attendee said downtown townhomes that originally were expected to include affordable units instead were "bought out by the developer," and asked why the city permits developers to pay in-lieu fees rather than build on-site affordable housing. "That shocked the bejesus out of me," the resident said during public comment. Bryant responded that in-lieu fees have long been an option in Davis and that development decisions and fee-versus-unit negotiations are handled by the planning department and City Council, not by the housing monitoring unit.

The presentation also addressed wait lists and program administration. Bryant said the city's homeownership wait list was reduced to 41 active applicants after outreach and reapplication; she described deed restrictions and a spreadsheet-based resale formula the city uses to cap allowable resale prices and preserve long-term affordability. Commissioners and residents asked for clearer accounting of where in-lieu fees are deposited; Bryant said the money is set aside for housing purposes but deferred a precise fund name to the city manager's office or community development staff.

Speakers flagged recent countywide trends and state funding windows. Commissioners cited a county report showing large increases in unsheltered counts; presenters noted the state set aside $300 million for 2025 homelessness awards but said the 2026 allocation will be zero, increasing urgency for local grant applications.

The commission took a procedural vote at the meeting's conclusion: commissioners approved routine agenda items and minutes, and they voted to hold the May meeting at the Main Library on May 8 from 10:30 a.m. to noon so commissioners can meet with local seniors attending another library event.

What happens next: staff said the consolidated plan will be posted for review and go next to the Social Services Commission and then to the City Council for consideration; the department will also issue an application for a steering committee to implement the homeless strategic plan. Residents requested follow-up on how in-lieu fee revenues are tracked and applied.

Quotes used in this article come only from speakers identified in the meeting transcript and are attributed to those speakers or labeled as public comment when no name was given.