Community Development Commission Accepting Comments on Proposed Changes to the Sonoma County Housing Authority Administrative Plan

The Sonoma County Housing Authority uses an Administrative Plan to serve as its local policy and procedure guide.  In response to feedback from local service providers and in response to the recent federally-declared disaster in Sonoma County, the Housing Authority is proposing making a number of changes to this Administrative Plan, and seeks comments from the public.

The Housing Authority’s advisory body, the Community Development Committee, will hold a public meeting on December 12, 2017 at 3:30PM in the Community Development Commission Hearing Room located at 1440 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa. Discussion of the proposed amendments to the Administrative Plan will be on the meeting agenda.

Written comments on the proposed changes will be accepted through December 12, 2017 at 3:30PM. A summary of the comments will be presented to the Community Development Committee members at the public meeting. Anyone who is interested in speaking on the proposed changes is encouraged to appear at the meeting and present verbal or written comments.

Pre-hearing written comments may be emailed to  SCHA.update@sonoma-county.org or mailed to Martha Cheever at 1440 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.   

The full chapters which have proposed changes are included as attachments to this email. A summary of the proposed changes are included below.

Chapter 3: Applying for Admission

• If mail is returned by the post office and includes a forwarding address, the Housing Authority will mail a waitlist update form to the applicant at the new address. If the update form is not returned to the Housing Authority within 14 days, the applicant will be removed from the waitlist.

Chapter 4: Establishing Preferences and Maintaining a Waiting List

• A new second tier preference has been added for income eligible households whose rental assistance is being terminated due to insufficient funding or term expiration of other rental assistance programs administered by the Housing Authority.
• A new second tier preference has been added for income eligible families whose rental assistance is being terminated due to loss of funding through the Sonoma County Continuum of Care.
• A Super Preference has been added to allow 36 Housing Choice Vouchers per year be made available for families engaged in homeless assistance programs within the County of Sonoma. The vouchers will be issued based on referrals from the Sonoma County Coordinated Entry Programs from agencies that have adopted a Housing First model of homeless services programs.
• The addition of recognition of the following separate jurisdiction preferences:
  • Income eligible families whose rental assistance is being terminated due to insufficient of other rental assistance programs funded through the Sonoma County Continuum of Care.
  • Income eligible families whose dwelling was within the jurisdiction of the Housing Authority at the time of application, but is no longer due to annexation. 
• The addition of a Disaster Recovery Policy which allows the Housing Authority to make Housing Choice Vouchers or Disaster Program Vouchers available to persons whose housing situation was lost as a result of the physical effects of a federal or state declared disaster.

Chapter 13: Moves with Continued Assistance

• Allows families who have been displaced by a verified catastrophic disaster to move with continued assistance.
• Provides that the Housing Authority may waive the portability process for non-resident applicants during times of federal or state declared disasters.

Documents

Housing Authority Admin Plan Ch03 rev1017

Housing Authority Admin Plan Ch04 rev1017

Housing Authority Admin Plan Ch13 rev1017

Housing Authority Admin Plan Revision Notice of Public Hearing