COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM

The federal government's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program provides grants to cities and counties to help develop viable urban communities through the provision of decent housing, a suitable living environment and by expanding economic opportunities for low and moderate income persons. The amount of each grant is determined by a formula which uses several measures of community need, including the extent of poverty, population, housing over-crowding, age of housing and growth lag in relationship to other metropolitan areas.

Each city and county develops their own programs and priorities for using the funds. Priority must be given to activities which meet at least one of the three broad national objectives for the program and at least one of the local community development objectives established by each city or county.

National Objectives

• Provide direct benefit to low and moderate income persons;
• Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight; and
• Meet urgent community needs which pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community when no other financial resources are available.

Community Development Objectives

Affordable Housing

• Provide direct benefit to lower income persons through the provision or retention of affordable housing units within Carlsbad;
• Provide shelter or services to homeless or near homeless persons and families; and
• Provide direct assistance to lower income households to prevent or eliminate residential Building or Municipal Code violations and/or improve the quality of housing.

Public/Social Services

• Provide assistance to non-profit public service providers who meet the basic needs of lower income persons;
• Provide assistance to non-profit public service providers who offer counseling and self-improvement programs for lower income persons; and
• Provide assistance to non-profit public service providers who offer recreational and/or cultural programs for lower income persons.

Special Needs - Children and Adults

• Provide assistance to organizations which administer programs that directly benefit lower income children with special needs living in Carlsbad; and
• Provide assistance to organizations which administer programs that directly benefit low income adults with special needs living in Carlsbad.

Eligible Activities

Activities that can be carried out with CDBG funds include, but are not limited to: public service activities, acquisition of real property, relocation and demolition, rehabilitation of residential properties, construction of public facilities, and improvements and conversion of schools for eligible purposes. In addition, CDBG funds may be used for activities relating to energy conservation and renewable energy resources. Assistance may also be provided to profit-motivated businesses to carry out economic development activities which benefit low and moderate income persons or households.

The types of activities that generally are not eligible for CDBG funding include: buildings for the general conduct of government, political activities, income payments, construction of new housing and other facilities offering 24-hour care.

Application and Approval Process

Each year, the City of Carlsbad issues a request for proposals through the local newspaper and letters to community organizations, individuals, and City departments for projects or activities to be funded by the CDBG Program. Each eligible proposal is reviewed and evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) Organizational ability/capacity; 2) Financial capacity/stability; 3) Benefits and beneficiaries; and 4) Readiness to implement the proposal. The City Council appoints a CDBG Funding Advisory Committee to review proposals and develop funding recommendations for Council consideration.

The City Council then holds a public hearing to obtain input on the needs of the low and moderate income population and on the project proposals submitted to address those needs. The last step in the proposal selection process is Council approval of funding amounts for each project selected for participation in the CDBG Program for that year.

Funding Schedule

Summary

Although the federal regulations for the program are complex, the primary goal of the CDBG program is fairly simple. The goal is as follows: every project or activity funded through the CDBG program must primarily benefit low and moderate income persons as defined by the federal government.

Please contact Frank Boensch at (760) 434-2818 for more information or to be placed on the City's mailing list for those interested in receiving notices regarding requests for proposals.

	2007 Community Development Block Grant Application, Word version [111 kb]
	2007 Community Development Block Grant Application, PDF version [58 kb]

• Community Development Objectives
  Affordable Housing
  Public/Social Services
  Special Needs
• Eligible Activities
• Applications & Approval Process
• Funding Schedule
• Summary