CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - At the March 25 Citrus Heights City Council Zoom meeting, Kathilynn Carpenter presented the Sunrise MarketPlace’s annual report. She highlighted the financial impacts of the pandemic on local businesses. To offer some relief, Sunrise MarketPlace provided $50,000 to businesses in the district for COVID assistance.

Carpenter said the pandemic has also brought on an increase in crime and nuisance in the Sunrise MarketPlace, including shoplifting, vandalism, and transients loitering in the area. Due to an effort to reduce the overcrowding in jails during the pandemic, many low-level offenders are quickly released after arrest. “But some of us have chronic offenders that are being arrested 60, 70, 80 times. … and they just get kicked right back out on the street. And there isn’t a lot we can do.” So, Carpenter said the Sunrise MarketPlace is working with the District Attorney’s office to try to address this issue.

Sunrise MarketPlace also plans to allocate additional funding to security this year, and Carpenter said the partnership with the Citrus Heights Police Department to provide dedicated patrols has been going well.

Sunrise MarketPlace Property and Business Improvement District (PBID) allows business district property owners to pool their financial resources for district-wide activities and improvements. The Sunrise MarketPlace PBID provides enhancement programs throughout the district, economic development for businesses, and policy development and administration.

The PBID renewal petition is currently underway, but it needs the support of the property owners in the district. Carpenter said they will know more in the next few weeks, but she is concerned that some don’t see the benefits of the PBID and are more focused on the cost. While Carpenter believes the PBID has been positive for the City and local businesses, she said, “This is for the property owners. … It’s really up to them.”

Councilmember Bret Daniels said the Sunrise MarketPlace PBID is “essential” and offered to help with the outreach for renewal.

Stephanie Cotter with the Community Development Department presented the 2020 Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG) Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER). The report is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which allocates the annual CDBG funding.

In 2020, the City of Citrus Heights received $639,115 for the annual CDGB allocation, $49,301 in housing loan payments, and an additional one-time allocation of $376,028 in CDBG Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funding that isn’t restricted to the 2020 program year. In total, the City received $1,064,444 in CDBG funding last year.

The largest CDBG expenditure in 2020 was $320,470 for the Accessibility and Drainage Improvement Project, which was funded with a combination of CDGB and local Storm Water funds. The improvement projects were focused on primarily low- and moderate- income census blocks within the city.

Public Services were funded with annual CDBG funds and supplemented with CDBG-CV funding to meet the increased need during the pandemic. A total of $299,150 was allocated for public services. The money helped fund the Emergency Food Closet at Sunrise Christian Food Ministry, after-school program and meals at the Sayonara Center by Campus Life, meals delivered to local seniors by Meals on Wheels, housing counseling and Renters Helpline by Sacramento Self-Help Housing, and services through WEAVE for households affected by domestic violence.

In partnership with the non-profits, the City served a total of 13,142 households with CDBG-funded public services.

The CDBG-CV allocation also allowed the City to create supplemental funding for the Homeless Navigator program to provide food, laundry vouchers, and temporary housing to clients. These services help to remove barriers and assist clients in obtaining permanent housing.

Last year the Navigator Program served a total of 218 clients. Of those, 34 are still active clients, 78 have either moved out of the area or refused services, and 106 were successfully housed during the pandemic.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve the CAPER and authorized staff to submit the final report to HUD.

Eric Singer with the Planning Department presented Council with the General Plan Annual Progress Report. The General Plan includes the City’s comprehensive long-term goals, and the Annual Progress Report highlights significant progress toward reaching those goals. The report also provides updates on the City’s progress toward reaching the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals.

In 2020, two housing applications were approved, for a total of 118 units. The majority of those units were considered very-low-income units, which took the City approximately 90 percent toward reaching the housing requirement in that category.

Infrastructure goals made progress as well: The Auburn Blvd. Complete Streets Plan moved into Phase 2, and the Council adopted the Old Auburn Road Complete Streets Plan, the Carriage/Lauppe Safe Routes to School Plan, and the Multi-Modal Transportation Safety Program.

The City also made progress on Public Safety goals: Since its inception in 2019, the Rental Housing Inspection Program has inspected over 3,600 housing units, identifying over 5,800 violations. The Citrus Heights Police Department has also continued efforts to ensure public safety and eliminate blight.

The Council voted unanimously to accept the General Plan Annual Progress Report.