Escondido council adopts $1.3M CDBG annual action plan; excludes MAC allocation amid parking concerns

The Escondido City Council voted to adopt the city’s 2026–27 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan and corresponding Resolution 2026‑83, approving staff‑recommended allocations for administration, public services and capital projects. Staff said Escondido’s FY 2026–27 CDBG allocation is approximately $1.3 million.

Housing and Neighborhood Services manager Danielle Lopez and management analyst Doulce Salazar walked council through HUD’s national objectives, the city’s consolidated‑plan priorities (affordable rental and ownership preservation; supportive services to reduce homelessness; public‑facility and infrastructure improvements; and supportive services to vulnerable populations), and the allocation structure: a maximum 20% for administration, up to 15% for public services and roughly 65% for capital and neighborhood revitalization. Staff described outreach efforts, application scoring, and noted that three applicants initially withdrew because of a temporary HUD guidance requiring immigration‑status verification; two later asked to be reconsidered after DOJ/HUD guidance put enforcement on hold pending litigation.

In the recommended funding package staff listed specific public‑service and capital projects and identified proposals not recommended for funding, including Shabbach Humanitarian Bank (timeline/permit concerns) and a Westside Park fencing request (found ineligible). Staff recommended partial or full funding for a set of applicants and recommended $43,460 for MAC’s Asencia project (a proposed 180‑unit affordable rental development at Escondido Boulevard and Fifth Avenue) to support acquisition and site stabilization while the project advances.

During public comment, representatives from CSA San Diego County (Estella de la Rios, George Abara), Voices for Children and Legal Aid urged continued funding for fair‑housing and legal services; MAC’s interim CEO Adulfo Ventura and others described Asencia’s proposed 180 units (including a small number of four‑bedroom units) and said the funding would help the project compete for larger outside grants.

Council reopened public comment and asked MAC representatives detailed questions about the Asencia site: council members were told the Asencia site currently has a used‑car sales lot and a single‑family residence, that the proposed building would be seven stories, would include studios through four‑bedroom units targeted between 30% and 80% AMI, and that the project proposed 134 parking spaces for 180 units. Councilmembers expressed concerns that the parking count would be insufficient for the planned unit mix and height, and emphasized neighborhood impacts and the need to ensure HUD timeliness. One council member moved to approve the staff recommendations but remove the $43,460 allocation for MAC/Asencia and place the funds in an unallocated account pending further information; the motion passed 5–0.

Staff said unallocated funds would be held in an unallocated account and could be assigned later in the fiscal year, and that the city is monitoring HUD guidance and federal litigation about immigration‑status verification. Staff also said that awarded subrecipients will enter into contracts and will be monitored quarterly for compliance and spending timelines.