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Alameda County staff present draft guidelines for local housing operating subsidy
Summary
Alameda County housing staff on July 22 presented draft guidelines for a local operating subsidy that would support permanent supportive housing for extremely low-income households; the program is unfunded but staff said it will be ready to deploy if funding becomes available and will be referred to the full Board for consideration.
Michelle Starett, Alameda County’s housing director, presented draft guidelines for a proposed local housing support program at the Board of Supervisors Health Committee meeting on July 22. The program is designed as an operating subsidy for extremely low-income renters who are formerly homeless, currently homeless or at risk of homelessness, and staff said the county has prepared rules so the program could be implemented if and when local funding is secured.
The draft guidelines limit funding to permanent supportive housing and explicitly exclude transitional housing. "This is an operating subsidy for extremely low-income renters who are either previously homeless, homeless now, or at risk of homelessness," Starett said. She told the committee that applicants must have site control — ownership of the property or a legal contract with the owner — before applying, and that the program would fund only units targeted to extremely low-income households.
Starett explained that the county does not yet have a dedicated local operating subsidy and emphasized why local operating support matters: national and federal programs such as HUD vouchers and the state No Place Like Home program provide some operating funds, but Alameda County has many jurisdictions and varied local needs. "We don't have a local source and we know that we need significant new operating," she said.
Selection and administration will be coordinated among county housing staff, the County Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), and Health & Human Services. Staff said they will draft a competitive request for proposals (RFP) and evaluate applications for feasibility, services and tenant selection before preparing a recommendation for the full Board. Starett said the draft program policies will be taken to the full Board for consideration after the Board recess, and that any contracts would subsequently return to the Board for approval.
Supervisors raised program-design questions. Supervisor Tam asked whether the program could require annual code-enforcement inspections to protect tenants from retaliation; Starett replied that the county already requires annual inspections for developments funded through county development agreements and that contract language to trigger inspections could be added for projects funded under the local support program.
Members of the public also commented. Caller Maisha House Asimota asked whether faith-based organizations could participate; Starett said county RFPs are competitive but can include criteria that accommodate faith-based properties that own land. Another caller, Diane, asked for a definition of site control; Starett clarified that site control means either ownership or a binding contractual relationship with the property owner.
Next steps: staff will bring draft program policies to the full Board after the recess and, if funding is identified, will issue an RFP for available funds. The committee did not take a formal vote on the guidelines at the meeting.
