City Forums Invite Residents to Identify Community Needs

Every five years, the City develops a plan to identify the housing, economic, and community needs in low to moderate income communities in San Diego.

This month, the City will host a series of community forums to allow members of the public to share thoughts and suggestions on how the city should spend federal government grants specifically dedicated to the investment of those communities.

The Consolidated Plan summarizes the needs of communities based off public input and recommends goals. Currently, the City is in the planning process for the Consolidated Plan of fiscal year 2020 through 2024.

Community forums will be held in Valencia Park, Linda Vista, San Ysidro, Barrio Logan, Skyline, and City Heights in the month of July. A forum will be held in downtown San Diego in August.

According to the 2015-2019 plan, the city received over 1,000 responses from community surveys and 245 individuals participated in the forums.

The needs addressed in the 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan included increasing job availability for low income residents and affordable housing. It also addressed the need to improve nonprofit facilities such as senior and youth centers, and city facilities that provide public services like libraries and fire stations.

The federal entitlement grant programs, which are used to invest in low to moderate income communities, are the Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Solutions Grants, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awards grant funds to the city for the improvement of communities and expansion of various services.