Roseville staff recommend five options for state housing aid as emergency rental help keeps eight households housed

Roseville officials outlined how they might spend new state Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) and reviewed an ongoing emergency rental assistance program that has kept eight households from eviction.

Community Development Director Janice Gunlock told the Economic Development Authority and council that a staff work group distilled five priority options for LAHA: a drop-in center with a dedicated caseworker to provide meals, showers and wraparound supports; targeted support for seniors and people with disabilities (partnering with nonprofit Help At Your Door); rehabilitation and replacement of manufactured homes; small-scale congregate living for elderly women or single-parent households; and down-payment assistance for renters who need first/last month's rent and security deposit.

"We wanted to bring these recommendations forward at this time, allow you to ask questions and provide feedback," Gunlock said, adding the new LAHA law is complicated and staff will need legal guidance on allowable uses. She said staff had set aside about $329,000 from prior EDA action for LAHA programming and emphasized that any program would come back to the board before spending.

Housing and economic development program manager Jean Kelsey also updated the board on the citys emergency rental assistance contract with Neighborhood House. The program, designed for households at or below 50% of area median income, caps assistance at two monthsrent plus fees within the last 18 months; staff had recommended a $5,000 monthly allocation (two-year total $132,000) including a 10% administration fee. To date, Neighborhood House has distributed a little over $24,000 and helped eight households, with average city-funded draws of about $3,000 per household and an average intake-to-decision time of about 14.5 days.

Kelsey said staff is not recommending changes to the emergency assistance program now but will return to the board if demand requires additional funding. "As the program continues, if we start finding that we need additional funding, we will bring it back to the board," she said.

EDA members pressed on implementation questions. Board members warned that a manufactured-home rehab program faces challenges including owner cooperation at the single mobile-home park, language barriers, and whether a loan or grant model would be most usable by residents. Gunlock acknowledged the difficulty, noting past low uptake for a loan program and the need to explore trusted community partners and owner willingness.

Several board members and a resident who spoke during the public-comment period urged emphasis on the manufactured-home effort and the seniors/disability supports. "Lean on the network of the community," resident Carrie Gelli said. "There are networks that have been built out since January into the community."

The board did not adopt any program tonight; members asked staff to continue legal analysis and partner outreach, and to return with more detailed program designs and budget implications. Gunlock said staff is doubling legal and professional-service budgets in the proposed 2027 EDA budget to cover necessary interpretation of the LAHA law.

What's next: staff will continue legal review and community outreach and return to the board with program development steps and any recommended funding changes.