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According to the Consolidated Plan,there were many obstacles to the City's goal of increasing and/or preserving affordable rental and ownership housing. These included a severe shortage of affordable housing stock for renters and homeowners, the staggering cost of housing, and a decrease in the amount of subsidies for existing rental programs. Additionally, many subsidized housing units were facing conversion to market-rate housing, which explains why increasingly larger numbers of certificates or vouchers were being returned to housing authorities, as the participants were unable to find landlords who were willing to accept them. In order to meet these challenges, the City implemented actions to: • Increase the number of affordable rental housing units through construction and rehabilitation; • Preserve existing affordable rental and ownership housing through programs such as Below Market Rate(BMR)rental agreements and the Pleasanton Homeownership Assistance Program; • Assist low- and moderate-income, first-time homebuyers through mortgage assistance and lease-purchase programs; and assist in land acquisition for the construction of affordable ownership units. During the year, CDBG funds were expended on housing rehabilitation services,housing service programs and public services activities, including: • Under contract with Neighborhood Solutions, the City assisted approximately eleven low- and very low-income households in Pleasanton, primarily seniors and disabled persons, with housing rehabilitation services, minor home repairs,mobile home repairs, and seismic bracing services. • The City combined approximately$100,999 in CDBG funds with other local funds in order to assist 15 agencies in their administration of public service programs. As in the past, the non-profit organizations carried out a wide array of activities,ranging from fair housing services,rental assistance programs, healthcare,homeless services, and mortgage counseling programs. These services contributed greatly to the overall sustainability and success of the City's housing and non-housing goals described in the Consolidated Plan. In PY 2010,the City provided public services to more than 4,205 people. • According to the Alameda Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care Plan,there are between 9,000 to 16,500 homeless people within Alameda County on any given night. Moreover, approximately 30 to 49 percent of the homeless population is comprised of families. During PY 2010, the City of Pleasanton continued to be an active member of the Alameda County Continuum of Care. In its Consolidated Plan the City proposed to address homeless needs by maintaining and improving the capacity of the current shelter system and by preventing those currently housed from becoming homeless. During PY 2010, all activities designed to assist the homeless or to prevent people from becoming homeless were on target. To date, a total of 225 homeless families and individuals have been assisted with transitional and permanent housing during the reporting program year.