Housing Division

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City of Merced Housing Program

The City of Merced Housing Division oversees several grants to help improve the housing quality within the City of Merced. In addition, mini-grants are provided annually to those non-profit organizations that provide programs pertaining to the Housing Division's Annual Report Goals.

Our primary sources of funding are Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds issued and administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The primary use of CDBG funds is to give maximum feasible priority to activities which will carry out one of the national objectives of benefit to low- and moderate-income families or aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight. The intent of the HOME program is to provide and increase the supply of decent, affordable housing to lower-income households and work with non-profit housing providers, the State, and private-sector participation to accomplish that goal.

The Housing Division is also involved in community development and neighborhood revitalization. HOME funds can only be used for housing activities, while CDBG can be used for broader community development purposes within established guidelines. Community Activities selected are designed to reflect Annual Plan Goals and may include public services, neighborhood restoration, and renovation.

Public Services are programs and services provided by local non-profit community organizations that improve quality of life for the citizens of Merced.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Resources:

2020-2024 HUD Five-Year Consolidated Plan and 2020 Annual Action Plan Meetings & Hearings

The City of Merced Housing Division is currently in the process of gathering public input towards the drafting of our 2020-2024 Five-Year Consolidated Plan ("ConPlan"), First-Year/2020 Annual Action Plan (AAP). Additionally, we are also drafting the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice report (AI). HUD requires these documents as a part of the City's CDBG and HOME entitlement grant.

Accordingly, we are seeking our residents' and community organizations' input as it relates to fair housing choice and our community's funding needs and priorities, as well as formulating the activities for which to spend CDBG and HOME funds.

This effort began in Fall of 2019. Please see the below public participation timeline and announcements:

December 2019 - Four focus group meetings were held to discuss the needs and priorities of residents and community groups regarding the topics of housing, economic development, public services, public infrastructure, and more. Invitations to these meetings were published in the Merced County Times and the Merced Sun-Star.
March 2020 - Community non-profit organizations attended three informational workshop meetings that provided information and technical assistance on how to apply for CDBG and HOME grant funding for programs designed to help partner with the City in meeting our community's needs.
June 4, 2020 - A Public Notice was published in both the Merced County Times and the Merced Sun-Star inviting public comment and participation in this process (link below).
PLEASE ACCESS THE DRAFT 2020-2024 CONPLAN AND FIRST-YEAR (2020) ANNUAL PLAN HERE. (please note, this is a large document, so it may take a while to download)
30-Day Public Comment Period will be open from June 10 to July 10, 2020. To submit written public comment, please send an email to: housing@cityofmerced.org. In our efforts to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, we strongly encourage emailed submissions. We will accept in-person and mailed comment submissions to: Merced City Housing Division, 2nd Floor Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th Street, Merced CA 95340. Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on July 10, 2020, regardless of postmark date.
DRAFT 2020 UPDATE TO ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE (AI) report is ready to view. Please use this link to go to the AI page.

Notice of Public Hearing and Notice of 30-Day Review and Opportunity to Comment

Note: this process's normal and previous expected timeline was disrupted by the local arrival of and the City's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March, but with waiver allowances granted by HUD for later submission of the ConPlan/AAP and AI documents, we are now on an adjusted submission schedule. Please see dates below.