HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSAC - Letter to US HUD RE Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery Menchaca, Clarissa
From: Bennett, Robin
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 4:45 PM
To: Menchaca, Clarissa
Cc: McCracken, Shari;Teeter, Doug
Subject: BOS correspondence
Attachments: CSAC Letter to US HUD RE: Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery
Please find attached a letter from CSAC to the BCS regarding 2017 Fire Disaster
Recovery,
Thank you,
Rd4e Vey ea,
(530) 87 -6304,rban n ettCc�butteco u ntly.itet
llutte ("oway sorts Of
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Supervisor Vom, Teeter.
Iloard of'S'uperrisors, ffistrict 5
747 Elliott 1?oad
Paradise. C,(I 95969
Menchaca, Clarissa
From: Nick Cronenwett <ncronenwett@counties.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 3:03 PM
To: Nick Cronenwett
Cc: Cara Martinson
Subject: CSAC Letter to US HUD RE:Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery
Attachments: CSAC HUD- CDBG-DR Request final 031918.pdf
To: 2017 Fire Disaster Impacted:
a County Supervisors
o CAOs
o Legislative Coordinators
From: Cara Martinson, CSAC Senior Legislative Representative
Nick Cronenwett, CSAC Legislative Analyst
RE: CSAC Letter to US Department of Housing and Urban Development RE: Community Development Block Grant
for Disaster Recovery
On March 191h, CSAC submitted a letter to Neal Rackleff, HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning&
Development,to request an expeditious allocation of federal funds through the Community Development Block Grant
for Disaster Recovery(CDBG- DR) program.These funds would address California's critical needs in the aftermath of the
devastating 2017 wildfires and help with long-term recovery. Please find a copy of the letter attached.
Thank you,
Nick Cronenwett
Nick Cronenwett
Legislative Analyst
Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources
California State Association of Counties
1100 K Street, Suite 141
Sacramento,CA 95814
(916)650-8108 x531
(916)224-9133-Mobile
(916)441-5507-Fax
ncronen wettRcou ntles.orq
www.csac-counties.org
Z
California State Association of(ounties°
�o March 19, 2018
1100 K Sheet Neal Rackleff, HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning & Development
Suite 101 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Saaamento 451 7t" Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20410
California
958)4
tcko- Dear Assistant Secretary Rackleff:
916.327.1500
farm* The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) requests that the Department of Housing
916.441.5507
and Urban Development(HUD) expeditiously allocate funding dedicated to disaster impacted
communities through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
Program. Since the 1990's, HUD's CDBG-DR funding has helped hundreds of thousands of
families across the country recover from the impacts of natural disasters, such as wildfires and
mudslides. This funding is critical to the long-term recovery of our communities impacted by
natural disasters in California.
The 2017 fire season was among the worst in the history of California. On October 8, 2017, a
series of wildfires erupted in Northern California and engulfed 100 square miles. Sparked by
the same hot, windy conditions, other major wildfires soon broke out across the state,
devastating more than 245,000 acres of land and destroying over 8,900 structures.
Containment took nearly two weeks, and tragically 44 lives were lost. On December 4, 2017,
another series of wildfires erupted in Southern California, resulting in significant destruction in
Ventura, Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties. These fires spread quickly due
to strong winds and dry brush. The fires destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures,
burned almost 300,000 acres, and caused widespread power outages that forced the closure of
major highways and local roads.
Furthermore, on January 8,a storm system swept across Southern California, bringing high
winds, substantial precipitation, and flooding to Santa Barbara County causing devastating
flash flooding, erosion, and substantial mud and debris flows throughout the burn scar areas,
1 forcing the evacuation of residents. This event resulted in 21 fatalities, damaged critical
infrastructure, destroyed homes, and forced the closure of major highways and local roads,
including Highway 101.
Estimates of the total recovery costs across California are in the billions of dollars, and the full
economic impacts will not be realized for years due to the widespread losses across multiple
industries and communities. These disasters are coupled with and compounded by California's
urgent and expanding need for affordable housing. Thousands of homes were destroyed or
damaged by these wildfires and mudslides. Initial data indicates that up to 20% of homeowners
are uninsured and up to 40% of homeowners are underinsured.
In addition, the scale of these disasters has strained the supply of construction workers and
materials throughout California, creating localized shortages and escalating costs to rebuild.
Insurance settlements based on normal recovery costs are woefully inadequate, and the cost to
rebuild will far exceed insurance coverage due to labor and material shortages and increased
building codes. In some counties, approximately 40% of the household displaced by recent
disasters were renters. With vacancy rates of less than 2% prior to the fires, renters have few
long-term housing options.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge HUD to allocate funding dedicated to disaster impacted
communities, as their timely allocation is necessary to putting our disaster impacted areas back
on the road to recovery. Thank you for your agency's efforts on behalf of the people of
California and for your prompt consideration of these requests. If you have any questions or
concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 916-650-8100.
Sincerely,
7 r tat4 ���:k
Matt Cate
CSAC Executive Director
cc: Secretary Ben Carson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Deputy Secretary Pamela Hughes Patenaude, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
California Congressional Delegation
Ben Metcalf, Director, California Department of Housing and Community Development
Graciela Castillo-Krings, Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.