Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 23-000958
MEETING DATE:	12/19/23
legal entity taking action:	Orange County Housing Authority acting as the Housing Successor Agency
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	OC Community Resources (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Dylan Wright (714) 480-2788
	Julia Bidwell (714) 480-2991

Subject: FY 2022-23 Housing Successor Agency Annual Report

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

No Legal Objection

Consent Calendar

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: N/A	County Audit in last 3 years: N/A
Levine Act Review Completed: N/A

Prior Board Action: 12/20/2022 #3, 1/24/2012 #32

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Receive and file the FY 2022-23 Housing Successor Agency Annual Report.

Authorize the Orange County Housing Authority Executive Director or designee to make any adjustments, as may be necessary, based on the final Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

SUMMARY:

Receiving and filing of the FY 2022-23 Housing Successor Agency Annual Report will support the County of Orange's compliance with State of California’s redevelopment dissolution law requirements.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

On January 1, 2014, Senate Bill 341 (SB 341) became effective and amended the California Health and Safety Code (HSC 34176.1), Section 34176.1, requiring redevelopment housing successor agencies to prepare an annual report containing: 1) an independent financial audit report; 2) statements relating to income, types of expenditures and fund balances; 3) updates on any activities related to fund transfers, recognized obligation payments and housing successor owned property; and 4) any excess surplus funds, as described by law. On January 24, 2012, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA) to act as Housing Successor Agency (Housing Successor) for the former redevelopment agency, Orange County Development Agency (OCDA). On December 20, 2022, the Board approved the FY 2021-22 Housing Successor Agency Annual Report (Annual Report).

The FY 2022-23 Annual Report was prepared pursuant to HSC 34176.1 and includes a fiscal statement prepared by the Housing Successor and a summary of information related to the Housing Successor’s housing activities. These activities include ongoing monitoring of deed restricted affordable units, tenant-based rental assistance, rapid rehousing program and creation of new housing units that will be affordable to households earning less than 30 percent and no more than 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). An independent financial audit of the Housing Successor prepared by Eide Bailly LLP, as part of the County of Orange's (County) Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, was utilized to develop this Annual Report. This Annual Report relates only to those assets that were transferred from the former OCDA and does not represent the entirety of OCHA operations.

In FY 2022-23, the Housing Successor continued to support the development of units for the benefit of extremely low-income households countywide through the 2016 Permanent Supportive Housing Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and the 2020 Supportive Housing NOFA, which leveraged Housing Successor funds with grants, low-income housing tax credits and other public and private sources of funds. The County released a 2023 Supportive Housing NOFA in March 2023, making up to $67.1 million in capital and 210 project-based vouchers available for supportive housing developments; however, Housing Successor funds were limited and not made available through that NOFA.

SB 341 reinstated a requirement to prevent housing successors from accumulating an excess surplus in the Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Asset Fund (Housing Asset Fund), which is generally defined as unencumbered cash that exceeds the greater of $1 million or the aggregate amount deposited into the Housing Asset Fund in the preceding four years. OCHA previously accrued an excess surplus in the Housing Asset Fund in FY 2018-19, but in the last Annual Report, it was reported that the FY 2018-19 excess surplus was expended by June 30, 2022. The excess surplus funds for FY 2018-19 were expended and encumbered prior to June 30, 2022. Additionally, OCHA has not accumulated an excess surplus in FY 2022-23.

SB 341 states that if a housing successor has excess surplus, the housing successor shall encumber the excess surplus within three fiscal years. If the housing successor fails to comply with this, the housing successor, within 90 days of the end of the third fiscal year, shall transfer any excess surplus to the California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). With the elimination of excess surplus for FY 2018-19, OCHA will not be required to transfer funds over to HCD.

In the future, all funds expended by OCHA as the Housing Successor will continue to go towards the development of units restricted to households earning at or below 30 percent of AMI and, as such, OCHA will continue to be in compliance with the five-year expenditure requirement. OCHA will continue to ensure it meets all expenditure requirements going forward through the current five-year compliance period of July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2024.

No deficiencies were noted in the Annual Report with regard to the Housing Successor's internal controls over financial reporting in FY 2022-23. In compliance with HSC 34176.1, this Annual Report is being submitted to its legislative body for review prior to December 31, 2023, and shall be placed on the Housing Successor website (www.ochcd.org/housing-development/orange-county-housing-authority-housing-successor).

Compliance with CEQA: This action is not a project within the meaning of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and is therefore not subject to CEQA, since it does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The approval of this agenda item does not commit the County to a definite course of action in regard to a project since it is to receive and file the FY 2022-23 Annual Report. This proposed activity is therefore not subject to CEQA. Any future action connected to this approval that constitutes a project will be reviewed for compliance with CEQA.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

N/A

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - FY 2022-23 Housing Successor Agency Annual Report
Attachment B - California Health and Safety Code Section 34176.1
Attachment C - SB 341