Did you know? The Own National City Study was entirely funded by a grant called "HAP 2.0." The City was awarded $450,000 to conduct the Study for homeownership in National City!
Grant Funding | Housing Acceleration Program (“HAP”) grant funds were provided by the California Housing Community Development (“HCD”) state program called the Regional Early Action Planning (“REAP”) and must meet requirements mandated by HCD. San Diego Association of Governments (“SANDAG”) is a recipient of REAP funds and provided an opportunity for jurisdictions to apply for funding through their Housing Acceleration Program (HAP).
Delayed Award of Funding | A The proposed Housing Acceleration Program 2.0 (“HAP 2.0”) Notice of Intent to Award by SANDAG was provided to the City in late 2023. Due to the proposed FY24-25 California State Budget, a letter from SANDAG's Executive Director on 2/14/2024 notified the City that there may be a reduction in the HAP 2.0 grant funding and that the program was paused until further notice. In July 2024 SANDAG notified the City that the full grant award of $450,000 the City originally applied for is available for its project (“HAP 2.0 Project”). A notice to proceed with the use of grant funds was provided in August 2024. The application for funding was scored in the top tier of applications submitted for funding.
Key Grant Objectives | The HAP 2.0 Project objectives align with the City’s policies and the HAP 1.0-funded FGPU. The objectives prioritize homeownership development on City-owned property zoned for residential use, helping to reduce the ownership disparity between National City and the surrounding region. Specifically, the HAP 2.0 Project objectives per the HCD REAP requirements must meet the following guidelines:
- Accelerate infill development that facilitates housing supply, choice, and affordability. National City will accomplish this by:
- Implementing the HAP 1.0-funded FGPU and city policies.
- Providing new housing on vacant City parcels will contribute towards the RHNA objectives and bring housing supply closer to demand, alleviating housing price pressure.
- The City ownership of these sites allows for primary control over the type of housing built and the degree of affordability for future residents.
- Allow for homeownership opportunities through these models to expand housing options for National City that will help rectify National City's overrepresentation of renters.
- Affirmatively furthers fair housing.
- Only 32.7% of the National City population are homeowners compared with 54.1% for the surrounding San Diego County.
- The parcels are located in census tracts that are almost entirely Low or Moderate Resource areas, defined by economic indicators, including poverty, adult education, employment, job proximity, median home value, and additional environmental indicators.
- Reduce vehicle miles traveled – the parcels for the study are within close proximity to transit, which will help reduce VMT and associated emissions
"The Study" for Homeownership in National City | To carry out the Own National City Study the City entered into an agreement per CDC-HA Resolution 2024-94 with Keyser Marston Associates Inc. (“KMA”) to assess the development potential and feasibility of potential homeownership models to determine which model(s) would be the best to pursue on six (6) City-owned properties. These models may include a combination of condominiums, rent-to-own, deed restrictions, community land trusts, limited-equity cooperatives, and other approaches.
For the Own National City Study, the following scope of services will be provided but are not limited to:
- Site reconnaissance: Collect site-specific information, data, maps, plans, legal info, and other relevant documents. This information will provide direction and parameters on potential usage.
- Evaluate demographic and economic trends: Gather data and review trends in the local market area, including population, households, income, and employment, to understand the market context within which the sites will be developed.
- Survey best practices: Research examples of implemented innovative homeownership models. This will include a review of key approaches of programmatic elements and interviews of participants and stakeholders involved.
- Perform development feasibility analyses utilizing different homeownership models. Evaluate a wide variety of parameters to reveal under which conditions each site and homeownership model may be feasibly developed.
- Output viable development scenarios for studied sites to inform the proposed City RFP. Transition to draft the RFP for interested development organizations. The site studies will be utilized as guides for the RFP to highlight viable options.
Reference Document Webpages
Phased Homeownership Initiative