Oxnard staff propose $900,000 CDBG reallocation to La Colonia street project to meet HUD timeliness
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Summary
Housing Department grants manager Lorraine Mendez told the Oxnard City Council that staff seeks a second substantial amendment to the FY 2025–26 Annual Action Plan to reallocate $900,000 in CDBG funds from the Cal Geisler project to the La Colonia Neighborhood Street Resurfacing and ADA Improvement Project to satisfy HUD timeliness rules and close a funding gap.
At a Feb. 2026 Oxnard City Council public hearing, Lorraine Mendez, Grants and Compliance Services Manager in the Housing Department, proposed a second substantial amendment to the fiscal year 2025–26 Annual Action Plan to reallocate $900,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the Cal Geisler neighborhood resurfacing project to the La Colonia Neighborhood Street Resurfacing and ADA Improvement Project.
Mendez said the change is intended to address a HUD timeliness requirement. "HUD regulations allow for changes to be made to the AAP," she said, and noted that a grantee's undisbursed CDBG balance must not exceed 1.5 times its most recent annual grant allocation. For Oxnard in 2026 that 1.5x limit is $3,112,171.50; as of February 2026 the City's unexpended CDBG balance is $6,630,542, which exceeds the limit.
The staff presentation detailed that $1,000,000 is currently under contract for the Cal Geisler neighborhood street resurfacing and ADA improvement project, and that reallocating $900,000 to La Colonia — which staff described as "shovel-ready" — would allow the City to timely expend funds and comply with HUD requirements. Mendez said La Colonia has received and expended $2,000,000 to date and can receive and expend the additional funds before the next CDBG timeliness test.
Mendez provided project figures for La Colonia: an original engineer's estimate of $6,853,000, a single bid of $8,665,561.51 (before soft costs), and a total project cost of approximately $10,400,000 once soft costs are included. She said the project is located in a predominantly residential, low- and moderate-income neighborhood and will benefit approximately 2,600 residents.
Staff argued the reallocation would help close the La Colonia funding gap, advance the consolidated-plan goal of creating and maintaining quality neighborhoods, and support the citywide street resurfacing capital improvement program. Mendez stated there would be no financial impact to the general fund because the Housing Department has existing CDBG appropriations in Fund 201 to cover the proposed change.
Staff presented six recommendations to the Council: conduct the public hearing on the Second Amendment to the FY 2025–26 AAP; approve the Second Amendment to recommend use of CDBG funds for public infrastructure improvements; authorize the city manager or designee to incorporate the amended grant allocations into the fiscal-year budget and make any necessary appropriations and revenue recognition in CDBG Fund 201; authorize the city manager or designee to execute required submission documents; receive and file comments from the 30-day public comment period and comments made in person at the hearing; and authorize the city manager or designee to execute agreements necessary to implement the amendment, including subrecipient and interdepartmental agreements.
The transcript ends with the conclusion of the presentation. The record in the provided transcript does not show a Council vote or final action on the recommendations; those actions are not specified in the transcript.