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Housing authority warns HUD pause will limit new vouchers; outlines redevelopment projects

Humboldt County Board of Supervisors · March 24, 2026

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Summary

The county's housing authority told supervisors that HUD paused issuance of new Housing Choice Vouchers after 2024, funding was recaptured and the authority is currently funded at a lower voucher level; staff outlined project-based vouchers, VASH and several public-housing redevelopment phases and urged continued advocacy for voucher funding.

Cheryl Churchill, executive director of the Housing Authorities of the City of Eureka and County of Humboldt, briefed the board on voucher program status, redevelopment plans and program risks.

She said the county is allocated 1,234 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) but is currently funded to support roughly 995 vouchers per month; HUD paused new voucher issuance after 2024 and recaptured reserve funds, halting a period of rapid program growth. Churchill described how project-based vouchers (PBVs) support tax-credit developments and cited recent and planned projects including Laurel Canyon and Bayview Heights, where vouchers are placed to stabilize long-term affordability. Churchill also described special-purpose programs (VASH for veterans, mainstream vouchers for non-elderly disabled households, emergency housing vouchers issued during the pandemic) and said the emergency housing vouchers are sunsetting and likely to expire between late 2026 and 2027 absent new funding or conversion.

Churchill outlined several repositioning projects to rebuild or rehab older public-housing sites (termed Green, Red and Blue phases), a $2.2 million HCD grant for senior housing, and a $3.3 million state grant to replace a Boys & Girls Club building shared for tenant services. Supervisors questioned eligibility, wait-list status and landlord recruitment; Churchill said wait lists for voucher issuance are closed (about 1,600 applicants) and that staff maintain a list of tax-credit and other affordable properties to refer applicants.

Board members applauded the work but warned the sunsetting of emergency vouchers and the HUD issuance pause could create a shortfall that puts some households at risk of returning to homelessness without a conversion plan.