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Santa Clara council approves annual HUD housing funds report

Santa Clara council approves annual HUD housing funds report

Money Moves Santa Clara, CA local

The council voted 7-0 on Sept. 15 to send the city's 2025-26 spending accounting to Washington, keeping federal dollars flowing.

September 15th, 2026: Council adopts 2025-26 CAPER on 7-0 vote

Overview

Updated Oct 18

Santa Clara's City Council voted 7-0 on Sept. 15, 2026, to approve the city's annual report to HUD on its federal housing grants. The report covers Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships, and Emergency Solutions Grant funds spent on affordable housing, homelessness services, and neighborhood projects.

The grant year was difficult. New federal conditions in 2025 forced Santa Clara to hold spending while it joined a lawsuit with other governments; an April injunction let it sign its grant agreements, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed that ruling in August. CDBG public-service funds went unspent and will shift to capital projects next year, and local officials say HUD's new Continuum of Care rules could cut Santa Clara County's homelessness funding by 40-65%.

Why it matters

Approval secures Santa Clara's continued access to federal housing dollars and records how millions were spent locally.

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Key Indicators

40-65%
Potential cut to Bay Area HUD homelessness funding
Local officials' estimate of the share of Santa Clara, San Francisco and Alameda counties' combined $160 million in annual HUD funding that could be lost under new Continuum of Care rules.

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People Involved

Santa Clara City Council
Santa Clara City Council
Governing body voting on the CAPER
Approved the 2025-26 CAPER on a 7-0 vote on Sept. 15, 2026 and authorized its submission to HUD

Organizations Involved

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Federal agency
Received Santa Clara's 2025-26 CAPER after council approval on Sept. 15, 2026; review pending

The federal agency that distributes CDBG, HOME, and ESG funds to cities and reviews annual performance reports.
City of Santa Clara
City of Santa Clara
Municipal government
Approved the 2025-26 CAPER on Sept. 15, 2026 and authorized its submission to HUD

The Silicon Valley city that administers federal housing grants locally and reports annual results to HUD.

Timeline

July 2025 September 2026

4 events Latest: September 15th, 2026 · 1 month ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Council adopts 2025-26 CAPER on 7-0 vote

    Latest Hearing

    Councilmember Hardy moved and Councilmember Chahal seconded adoption of the 2025-26 CAPER; the council voted 7-0 to approve it and authorize submission to HUD.

  2. Council agenda published with CAPER item

    Procedural

    The Sept. 15 agenda lists the CAPER hearing and approval for submission to HUD.

  3. Ninth Circuit affirms injunction blocking federal grant conditions

    Legal

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction stopping the administration from imposing ideological conditions on HUD and DOT grants. Santa Clara County is a leading plaintiff in the case.

  4. 2025-26 program year begins

    Cycle start

    Santa Clara's HUD grant year opens, setting the accounting period the CAPER will cover.

Scenarios

1

Council approves CAPER as submitted; report goes to HUD

Deadline passed (Oct 15, 2026)

Discussed by: Standard municipal practice

The council votes to approve the report on Sept. 15 and the city submits it to HUD. This is the routine path; the report documents that Santa Clara met its Consolidated Plan spending requirements for the year.

2

Council defers or pulls the CAPER item

Deadline passed (Oct 1, 2026)

Discussed by: Possible given the summary's caution that items are routinely deferred

The item is moved to a later meeting after council questions or staff requests more time. Deferral is common for documentation issues; it delays submission but rarely changes the substance of the report.

3

HUD issues findings on Santa Clara's CAPER after submission

Unlikely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Possible if the report shows underperformance against housing goals; HUD routinely monitors grantees

After submission, HUD reviews the CAPER and flags deficiencies such as unspent funds, missed affordable housing targets, or documentation gaps. Findings could trigger a corrective action plan or affect future allocations.

4

Unspent CDBG public-service funds shift to capital projects next year

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: City staff report presented at the Sept. 15, 2026 council meeting

CDBG money allocated for public service projects in FY 2025-26 could not be committed before the grant deadline, so the city says it will carry the funds into the next Annual Action Plan as prior-year resources for capital projects. HUD rules require the switch when public-service dollars go unspent in the year they were allocated. The city says HUD has told it the current work plan is in compliance.

5

HUD's Continuum of Care rules cut Santa Clara County homelessness funding

Possible Resolves by Dec 1, 2026

Discussed by: NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit; local officials in Santa Clara, San Francisco and Alameda counties

HUD's 2026 Continuum of Care competition reallocates about a third of its $4 billion toward transitional housing and non-housing services, away from permanent housing programs that drew nearly 90% of funding in recent years. Local officials say the three Bay Area counties could see 40-65% of their combined $160 million in annual HUD funding cut. A federal judge ruled the process procedurally invalid, but an appeals court let HUD restart applications while the challenge continues.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

August 1974

Community Development Block Grant launch (1974)

Congress created the CDBG program under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, consolidating several urban renewal programs into block grants distributed to cities by formula.

Then

Cities gained flexible funding for housing and neighborhood projects with fewer federal strings.

Now

CDBG became the backbone of local community development funding, now requiring annual performance reporting to HUD.

Why this matters now

Santa Clara's CAPER is a direct product of this 1974 framework; the annual report is how HUD verifies block grant spending.

1995

HUD consolidated planning reform (1995)

HUD adopted the Consolidated Plan rule, requiring grantees to submit one integrated plan and an annual Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report instead of separate submissions per program.

Then

Cities submitted a single planning document covering CDBG, HOME, ESG, and other programs.

Now

The CAPER became the standard accountability document, with annual deadlines tied to the federal fiscal year.

Why this matters now

This reform created the exact document Santa Clara's council is voting on, setting the format and deadline for the Sept. 15 submission.

Sources

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California Department of Housing and Community Development Santa Clara Legistar SA Pulse PublicCEO NBC Bay Area Santa Clara Legistar