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Option 2 -Add City funds to the program and maintain the existing criteria and <br />terms (e.g., $60,000 maximum loan amount, etc.) <br />Option 3 -Add City funds to the program but modify the existing criteria and <br />terms for loans that are funded 100% from City funds <br />Regarding Option 1, staff does not recommend termination of the DPA program <br />as it continues to be an important local tool to promote home ownership, <br />particularly given the current favorable housing market. However, the Council <br />could temporarily suspend the program pending identification of a new source of <br />funding to match City funds. <br />Regarding Option 2, as indicated above, the program has been funded by a <br />combination of CaIHFA and City funds, and as a result, loans could be set at a <br />maximum of $60,000 without being inconsistent with a general practice of limiting <br />City home ownership loans to $20,000. While staff will continue to look at other <br />grant and funding opportunities, it is doubtful that it will receive CaIHFA funding in <br />the future due to an established a policy within its HELP program that prevents <br />cities from receiving more than one allocation for the same project. Although <br />CaIHFA provided the City of Pleasanton with a second round of funds in August <br />2007, this was apparently aone-time exception that was regarded more as a <br />"final extension" to give the program one more chance to succeed (the agency <br />provided renewed funds to several other cities in similar situations). Therefore, <br />staff does not anticipate the opportunity to receive HELP funds in the future and <br />is concerned that any loan amount over $20,000 based solely on City funds may <br />be excessive for a single household and may pose a drain on the City's Lower <br />Income Housing Fund. However, the Council could address this later concern by <br />limiting the total funding pool available to the program. <br />As a result of an interest in maintaining the program and due to concern with the <br />maximum loan amount, at its meeting of May 15, 2008, the Housing Commission <br />settled on a maximum loan amount of $20,000 with a total funding pool of <br />$300,000 if the loans are funded exclusively by the LIHF. The Commission <br />indicated that this amount would be consistent with a general practice of limiting <br />mortgage loans to $20,000 and that it could fund approximately 15 loans which <br />may be reflective of current demand. <br />Consistent with Commission action, staff recommends Option 3 above. Staff has <br />amended the current loan guidelines (Attachment 1) to reflect the reduction of the <br />maximum loan amount for 100% City-funded loans to $20,000. No other <br />significant changes to the guidelines are proposed. The modified guidelines <br />would keep the existing DPA program intact in case additional matching funds <br />are received in the future. In the event supplemental funding from an outside <br />source becomes available in the future, or if staff determines that the new <br />Page 4 of 5 <br />