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Press Releases 2002

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• Sacramento City Council Unanimously Approves Next Step In Franklin Villa Revitalization Plan With Resolution Of Necessity

• Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency Receives 259 New Vouchers From U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development

• Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency Receives $500,000 To Combat Poverty And Welfare Dependency

• Public Urged To Help Set Priorities For The City's and The County's Community Development Block Grant Programs

• Festive Celebration May 11th Marks New Era For Locke, Lion Dancers Provide Special "Good Luck" Ceremony

• Sacramento's "Dream Street" Volunteers Converge On Alder Street For Nation's Largest, All-Day Block Beautification Project

Sacramento City Council Unanimously Approves Next Step In Franklin Villa Revitalization Plan With Resolution Of Necessity

Voluntary Sales Of Properties Continue At Brisk Pace; Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency May Not Need To Use Eminent Domain Authority

SACRAMENTO, Calif., -- The Sacramento City Council, sitting as the Housing Authority of the City of Sacramento, unanimously voted to give the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) the power of eminent domain as part of its plan to revitalize the Franklin Villa community.

The City Council voted unanimously, 8-0, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in favor of the Resolution of Necessity that gives SHRA (www.shra.org) the authority to acquire privately owned property for a public purpose if a voluntary sales agreement cannot be reached with that property owner. Councilmember Bonnie Pannell, who represents the eighth district, including Franklin Villa, made the motion to approve the action.

"Continued progress on the revitalization of the Franklin Villa community is too important to Sacramento to have this project stymied by a handful of people who are unwilling to proceed with the much-needed improvements in the community," Councilmember Pannell said. "We have to keep moving forward with the Franklin Villa plan and I want to thank my fellow council members for their support in this effort."

Often called a "tool of last resort," eminent domain is a tightly controlled process that requires property owners to be fully and fairly compensated for the property being acquired by the government agency. The authority is used only when a voluntary sale cannot be agreed upon or when a property owner simply refuses to negotiate at all.

The first phase of SHRA's Franklin Villa Revitalization Plan calls for the Agency to purchase all 464 units contained within 116 fourplex buildings that make up the Morrison Creek Terrace and Morrison Creek Commons homeowner associations of Franklin Villa.

Since October 2001, SHRA has successfully purchased 173 of the 464 units, with 291 still to purchase. The Agency currently has about 83 of the 291 remaining units in various stages of purchase transactions, bringing its inventory to 256 units, Agency officials said.

The Agency must control all 464 units in order to obtain about $56 million in private financing for the $64.6 million acquisition and rehabilitation plan, according to SHRA Executive Director Anne Moore.

The Agency's plans call for the purchases to be completed by early 2003 and to apply for the private financing by mid-2003, Moore said.

"We're purchasing properties as fast as we can and we remain very hopeful that we'll be able to conclude all of the transactions through voluntary sales without using any eminent domain action," Moore said. "But we needed the council's action in order to keep this project on track and we're grateful for Councilmember Pannell's leadership as well as the support of Mayor Fargo and the rest of the City Council."

Once the financing is secured, SHRA plans to do extensive rehabilitation of the housing inventory. The Agency wants to create a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments to accommodate large and small families alike, in addition to ground-floor units for seniors. Currently, all of the units are two-bedroom apartments. When completed, there will be approximately 400 units that have been completely renovated.

The Agency also wants to eliminate alleys that are used as a base for illegal activities and to create patios with fences and other semi-private landscaped yard areas for residents. Plans also call for a new community center and Head Start facility.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Cassandra Jennings, Deputy Executive Director, SHRA
(916) 440-1333

Liz Brenner, Public Information Officer, City of Sacramento
(916) 264-1406

Aileen Foley, District Director for Councilmember Bonnie Pannell
(916) 264-7337

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Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency Receives 259 New Vouchers From U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development

The New Housing Choice Vouchers Will Help 259 Families Find Affordable Housing

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $1.58 million to fund 259 new rental-assistance vouchers to Sacramento County to help low-income families rent apartments or buy homes.

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency's Housing Authority is one of only eight housing agencies in California to receive the new Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) that were approved in HUD’s 2002 budget. The Agency's HCV program currently assists about 10,000 families.

"These new vouchers will help more Sacramento families find affordable housing," said HUD Assistant Secretary Michael Liu, who made the announcement in Sacramento at a news conference Aug. 6 with Anne M. Moore, Executive Director of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA).

Sacramento County’s vouchers are part of the $95 million in vouchers HUD awarded Aug. 6th to 48 states and Puerto Rico. The vouchers will allow 16,460 low-income families to lease or purchase homes or apartment units. All totaled, the eight housing agencies in California received $18,174,740 for 2,292 new vouchers.

HUD’s Housing Choice Vouchers Program is the federal government's major initiative that helps low-income families, including the elderly and disabled, afford housing. The HCV Program currently assists 1.8 million families with rent payments. Over the past three years, about 300 families have used their vouchers to become homeowners. Families receiving HUD rental assistance vouchers generally pay 30 percent of their income for rent, with HUD subsidies picking up the remainder.

The vouchers distributed Aug. 6th are called "fair share vouchers" because they are distributed to communities that compete for the vouchers based on the housing needs of low-income families in each state. Only housing authorities that demonstrated an ability to use 97 percent of their 2001 vouchers were eligible to compete for the new vouchers.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation’s fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available at www.hud.gov.

Media Contact:

HUD Office of Public Affairs, (202) 708-0865

Or William Boyer, SHRA PIO

Click here to see pictures of HUD Press Conference with Assistant Secretary Michael Liu

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Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency Receives $500,000 To Combat Poverty And Welfare Dependency

Agency Receives Largest Grant Among All Recipients;
Money Will Fund SHRA's Family Self-Sufficiency Program

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) was the top money recipient for new federal funding that will help develop financial self-sufficiency and homeownership opportunities for low-income families.

Two awards of $250,000 each were made to SHRA's Housing Authority for both the City and the County of Sacramento. The Housing Authority is part of SHRA, (www.shra.org) an umbrella public agency that represents both the City and the County of Sacramento for housing and redevelopment projects, programs and services.

SHRA's Housing Authority was among 37 public agencies and non-profit organizations in California, Arizona and Nevada that will split $4.4 million that was awarded May 30th by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Sacramento Congressman Doug Ose made the announcement of California-based winners.

The SHRA Housing Authority will use the funds to increase participation in its Family Self-Sufficiency Program. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is a self-help program that encourages low-income families to save money that can be used to help purchase a home while also teaching participants the skills needed to end their reliance on government subsidy programs.

Mark Stephenson, Assistant Director for the Housing Authority, said "the grant will double the capacity of our Family Self Sufficiency Program." The program currently has about 100 families enrolled, and Stephenson estimated the funding will allow SHRA to increase that amount to as many as 200 families

"For many of them, this means a chance to end the cycle of poverty and dependence on subsidy programs," Stephenson said.

Program participants typically set aside a portion of their monthly income into a savings account, usually about $50 per month. SHRA deposits matching funds into an account called the Individual Development Empowerment Account (IDEA). The money from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco will be used by SHRA to provide matching funds, Agency officials said.

Participants stay with the program for up to five years, during which they are taught budgeting, saving and other money management and social skills to help them permanently improve their financial independence and move away from government subsidy programs, Stephenson said.

Upon graduation from the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, the participants are free to use their money any way they wish, but the matching funds provided by SHRA in the IDEA account can only be used as part of the down payment on a home, he said.

Many of the participants in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program also receive rent vouchers under the Agency's Housing Choice Voucher Program. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds the rental assistance program formerly known as Section 8, has allowed SHRA to let voucher holders use their vouchers to help pay for a home mortgage instead of monthly rent.

So far, the Agency has assisted two voucher holders to buy homes under its Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program. More than 2,400 applications for the new program have been received, with about 500 of the applicants having received their initial orientation and 65 others who have been referred into the homeownership counseling program, Stephenson said.

By combining the resources of the Agency's Family Self-Sufficiency Program, the new Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program and strategically providing job opportunities, SHRA is establishing new pathways for low-income families to become self-reliant and end their welfare dependency, said Edward White, Jr., Director of the Agency's Housing Authority.

"We're not only helping low-income families with their short-term housing needs, but it's very gratifying to them and us that we're able to help them attain financial independence and move out of the welfare system," White said.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. --Residents of the City and County of Sacramento can help set priorities for the federally funded Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) and several other housing and homeless programs by attending one of several upcoming meetings designed to obtain the public's input.

The meetings will help the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) prepare recommendations on which programs to fund for the next five years. The Sacramento City Council and the County Board of Supervisors make the final funding decisions for the estimated $110 million that is expected to come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for 2003 to 2007.

The funding is also for the Emergency Shelter Grant, the HOME Investment Partnership Act and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS programs.

Each year, both the City and the County each receive about $11 million for these programs that are administered by SHRA. Federal budget challenges could possibly limit these funds in the future so obtaining public input now is key to helping set priorities for funding options, SHRA officials said. Residents who cannot attend the meetings can obtain survey information and program details from the SHRA website at www.shra.org.

The funds traditionally have been used to fund housing and social service programs for low and moderate income households, business economic opportunities and civic improvements in low and moderate income neighborhoods.

Programs such as the Senior Nutrition Program, new playground equipment for community parks, new streetscape landscaping, business façade improvements and first-time homebuyer programs are typical programs that have received these funds.

The upcoming meetings are:
May 30, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Hart Senior Center, 915 27th Street;
June   6, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Robertson Community Center, 3525 Norwood Avenue;
June 11, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Fruitridge Community Center, 4000 Fruitridge Road;
June 17, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Oak Park Community Center, 3425 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.;
June 19, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Elmo Allen Slider Community Clubhouse, 7815 35th Avenue.

MEDIA CONTACT:
William Boyer, SHRA Public Information Officer

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Festive Celebration May 11th Marks New Era For Locke,  Lion Dancers Provide Special "Good Luck" Ceremony

Land Sale Completed & Federal Funding Secured For New Sewer System

LOCKE, Calif. -- Several hundred people will gather along the rustic Main Street area of this tiny Sacramento River Delta town at noon Saturday, May 11th to witness a traditional Lion Dance that heralds a new era for Locke, a National Historic Landmark and the nation's last remaining, free-standing rural Chinese American town.

The celebration is being held to commemorate the town's land sale to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), and to announce that federal funding has been secured to replace the town's rapidly deteriorating sewer system.

"We're beginning a new chapter in the history of Locke," said Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli. "As we continue to move forward with the preservation and protection of this important community, future generations will be able to come here and learn about its history as well as the significant roles and important contributions that Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans have made to California."

The Lee-Jet-Don Lion Dancers of Sacramento will parade through Locke's Main Street to both begin and conclude the celebration that starts at noon on Saturday, May 11th. As many as two dozen costumed dancers will perform a Lion Dance in the troupe's unique, martial arts style known as Yau Kung Moon Kung-Fu that originated in southern China. Lion Dances are a traditional part of Chinese culture that bring good luck and prosperity. The world famous St. Mary's Drum and Bell Corps of San Francisco also will provide musical entertainment.

SHRA closed escrow in late February on the purchase of the township's 10-acre site for $250,000 from the Locke Property Development Company. SHRA needed title to the land as part of the application process for funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to replace the town's sewer system. The federal grant was approved in April. Dave Hartwell from the USDA's Rural Development office in Davis, Calif., will present a check for $825,000 to county officials as part of Saturday's festivities.

The Sacramento County Sanitation District 1 is responsible for the sewer work. The four-month project is expected to begin in September of this year. SHRA (www.shra.org) will provide approximately $200,000 in matching funds for the sewer system work, Agency officials said.

Nottoli, current chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, whose district includes Locke, and Supervisor Illa Collin will co-host the celebration. Other elected officials, plus state, county and local officials and many of the town's 80 residents are expected to partake in the celebration. Representatives from many local and statewide Chinese American cultural and civic organizations are also expected at this important, milestone event.

County and SHRA officials plan to make announcements about the work by Locke's Community Advisory Committee and to talk about plans to reconnect the building owners with the land under their structures.

Authors Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow also will be in Locke to autograph the latest edition of their book, Bitter Melon: Inside America's Last Rural Chinese Town.

The celebration coincides with Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, which is celebrated during the month of May to recognize the contributions made to this country by Asian/Pacific Americans. The May 11th celebration also coincides with the 31st anniversary of when Locke was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places on May 6, 1971. Locke became a National Historic Landmark on Dec. 14, 1990.

Also, 2002 marks the 50th anniversary of when the California State Supreme Court declared the state's Alien Land Act to be unconstitutional. The Alien Land Act was passed by the California Legislature in 1913 to prohibit people who were not eligible for citizenship from owning land in the state. It was primarily directed at Asian Americans, including many of the founders of Locke, who, by the time of the Act's passing, had become significant contributors to the state's agricultural industry.

The Alien Land Act prohibited Locke's Chinese American founders from owning the land under their homes or businesses. This detachment between ownership of the land and the buildings continues today and has contributed to the town's structural decline because improvement loans usually need to be secured by both the land and the building.

Media Contacts:

William Boyer, SHRA Public Information Officer
Claudia Goss, Sacramento County Sanitation District 1, Public Information Officer, (916) 876-6058
Ginny Monroe, USDA, Rural Development, Public Information Officer, (530) 792-5803

News coverage of the celebration can be found at Sacramento Bee and the Contra Costa Times.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 24, 2002

Sacramento's "Our Dream Street" Volunteers Converge On Alder Street For Nation's Largest, All-Day Block Beautification Project

650 Local Volunteers Organized Through The "Rebuilding Together" Organization In Connection with National Rebuilding Day April 27th

SACRAMENTO, Calif. --Hundreds of volunteers from throughout the greater Sacramento County region will paint, landscape, clean up and improve the 3900 block of Alder Street in Del Paso Heights on Saturday, April 27th for Sacramento's second annual neighborhood improvement marathon that beautifies an entire block of homes in one day.

For the second year in a row, Sacramento is the only city in the nation that has planned to beautify an entire block of homes for National Rebuilding Day, event organizers said. The "Our Dream Street" project is organized through the local chapter of Rebuilding Together With Christmas in April, a national organization that is sponsoring about 860 home improvement events across the country on April 27th.

In less than 10 hours, about 200 gallons of paint, 1,200 feet of fencing, 4,500 nails, 80 cubic yards of concrete, several truckloads of plants, shrubs and flowers and dozens of light fixtures will be used by more than 1,300 eager hands filled with tons of "can do" spirit to improve the 18 homes on Alder Street. Volunteers and residents will also work together to pack eight giant, 40-cubic-yard trash dumpsters full of yard waste, trash and debris during the neighborhood cleanup.

The action officially starts at 7:30 a.m. with special opening ceremonies hosted by Sacramento City Councilmember Sandy Sheedy, whose district includes Del Paso Heights. Several shifts of volunteers will work throughout the day until about 4:00 p.m.

Sacramento City Councilmember Sheedy said the Alder Street transformation is "another victory for the residents of Del Paso Heights."

"It's been wonderful to see all of the support that Our Dream Street has received from both the public and private sectors," Sheedy said. "Their combined efforts, along with our volunteer workforce of over 600 people, is a true testament to the generosity of Sacramento's residents and their commitment to strengthen our communities."

The City of Sacramento and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (www.shra.org) are also sponsors for the local event.

National Rebuilding Day is an annual, nationwide event spearheaded by Rebuilding Together. This year, about 250 affiliate chapters of Rebuilding Together will repair and rehabilitate about 8,000 houses and non-profit facilities in about 865 cities and towns across the country with skills and labor donated about 250,000 volunteers.

"It's our volunteers who make Rebuilding Together the success story that it is and Sacramento's plans to tackle an entire street really embodies the whole spirit of what's possible when you get a large group of volunteers together," said George Waldie, president of the local chapter's board of directors. "We're thrilled with Sacramento's Our Dream Street project."

Anne Moore, SHRA Executive Director, said the improvement project is an important part of the Agency's goals to help improve Sacramento's communities.

"We've been looking forward to doing this event again ever since we completed the first project last year on Fell Street. Our Dream Street really is more than just making a huge difference on these homes. It's about pride and re-building neighborhoods and bringing back the community spirit of knowing your neighbors and helping each other."

Additional event sponsors include: the Del Paso Heights Redevelopment Advisory Committee, MCM Construction, Home Deport, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, Bank of America, Roebellen Contracting, USAA, Women in Construction, Union Bank of California, World Savings, National Association of Remodelers Industry, Building Trades Council, Intel, Reeve-Knight Construction and Chapel of the Chimes.

Read about the event from coverage by the Sacramento Bee.

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