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Berkeley council approves $3.4 million HUD annual action plan focusing CDBG on public facilities and homelessness services
Summary
Council approved the 2026 annual action plan that allocates roughly $3.4 million in HUD entitlement funds (about $2.6M CDBG) for rehabilitation, public services, and homeless prevention; staff noted projected program income raising the public facility improvement program to about $1.3M and said the public comment period closes May 1.
The Berkeley City Council voted April 28 to approve the city's Program Year 2026 annual action plan, the staff-submitted spending plan for federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and HOME funds for the July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 program year.
Kat LaRue of the Housing and Community Services Division outlined the plan and said the entitlement allocation is approximately $3,400,000 across the three funding streams, with CDBG making up about $2,600,000. "The public facility improvement program is projected to have a significant increase in funding due to expected program income," LaRue said, estimating the program income-driven total at about $1,300,000.
Staff described the three buckets of spending: competitive grants to community agencies through an RFP process that covers program delivery and public-facility improvements; program delivery and administrative costs; and direct uses such as ESG-funded rapid rehousing and HOME-funded affordable housing development and rehabilitation.
Public commenters connected the plan to homelessness and shelter needs. One commenter urged prioritizing shelter funding after recent program changes put an emergency shelter at risk; another speaker thanked the city for housing preservation subsidies.
Councilmember discussion was mostly supportive; Vice Mayor Treggaub said the plan is a "laudable statement" of city values and offered to move approval, which the council adopted by roll call. The council also closed the public hearing before voting. The motion to authorize the city manager to execute agreements and finalize the plan passed on a roll-call vote with "yes" recorded by the attending councilmembers.
The plan is posted in the meeting packet and remains open for public comment through May 1; staff said the final consolidated plan is due to HUD in mid-May.
