Welcome to the City of Merced

Housing Division!

We try to keep this page up-to-date and informative for Merced's residents on our Annual Plan and reporting cycles related to the Federal funding sources that our Division manages, plus news about other special current projects in the works.

Please see below for important information and for participation opportunities! 

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Opportunity to

Review and Comment

2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan

The City of Merced Housing Division is providing the public with an opportunity to review and comment on the 2025-2029 HUD Consolidated Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan. 

The 2025-29 Consolidated Plan ("Con Plan") will help guide the use of annual Federal funding allocations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over the next five years, spanning from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030.  The 2025 Annual Action Plan, once approved, will carry out the first year of the new Con Plan.

We welcome your comment and participation!  Thank you.

HOW TO REVIEW:

Public review documents are currently posted

and available on the following page:

 

Consolidated Plans (<-- click on link to go to page)

 

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

The Housing Division previously held a 30-day Review and Comment period from February 19 to March 20, 2025, which made available the Preliminary Draft of the Con Plan and Annual Plan document. 

This previously-posted preliminary draft will remain posted and will continue to be updated and reposted during the interim time between March 20, 2025, and the start of the new/extended 30-day Review period that officially begins April 23, 2025. 

By April 23, 2025, a fully complete FINAL DRAFT will be posted at the above-linked page for another full 30-day period, through May 24, 2025 (extended by one day).

 

HOW TO COMMENT:

Any member of the public may provide comment on the posted documents through 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the Public Review and Comment Period. 

NOTE: The Comment Period originally ended Thursday, March 20, 2025, but has been extended through Friday, May 23, 2025.

By Wednesday, April 23, 2025, a completed FINAL DRAFT will be reposted and available for public input for a full 30-day period ending 5:00 p.m. on May 23, 2025. 

Written comments may be submitted by:

1. E-mail: housing@cityofmerced.org  Please enter "Public Comment" on the subject line.  Please enter your telephone contact information if you have any questions, so that we may better answer them.
2. Post Office Mail: mail to:  Merced City Housing Division-Public Comment, 678 W 18th Street, Merced CA 95340  Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the final comment period.
3. In-Person: written comments may be delivered in person to the Housing Division office, 2nd Floor Merced Civic Center/City Hall, 678 W. 18th Street, Merced.  Business hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (closed noon-1pm for lunch).

The Civic Center is ADA accessible.  Please contact the Housing Division for Spanish or Hmong language translation, vision/hearing impaired services, or other special accommodation needs.  Please allow staff up to 72 hours (3 days) to arrange services.

Please contact the Housing Division at (209)385-6863 or email: housing@cityofmerced.org if you have any questions. 

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 The 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and

2025 Annual Action Plan

process has begun! 

The Housing Division is working with a consultant to develop and prepare the next Five-Year Consolidated Plan covering program years 2025 through 2029. 

What is a Consolidated Plan? It’s a broad-level strategic plan that helps cities identify and prioritize the community's needs, set reasonable goals, and provides a plan for how we expect to use federal funding over the next five years that will help address the needs that were determined during the process. 

The 2025-29 Consolidated Plan will help guide the use of annual Federal funding allocations over the next five years (July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030). 

The input of Merced residents is a very large and important part of this process:

• Beginning December 2024 and lasting until January 17, 2025, we put out an online Community Needs Assessment survey that asked what Merced residents how they felt Federal funds should be spent in the areas of housing, services, economic development, and public improvements.  Thank you to everyone who responded to this survey!

• On January 8 and 16, 2025, we held Community Input meetings, one virtual and one in-person, so that residents could directly participate in conversations about how best to direct these important and necessary funds. We had two wonderful meetings filled with loads of useful comment, and we thank all residents who attended.

Here is the slideshow presentation from the resident input meetings: Presentation Slideshow Here!   A recording of the January 8th virtual meeting can be made available upon request.

• On January 9 and 17, 2025, we held similar meetings with our community stakeholders, asking them to tell us from their "boots on the ground" perspective, how funds could best be used in the community.  Thank you to all stakeholders who participated!

 

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Accepting Applications!

Single-Unit Homeowner-Occupied Repair/Rehabilitation Program

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~Housing Division Calendar~

This section will be updated with dates and locations of public meetings and hearings related to HUD and other Housing Division-related processes and events. Thank you.

For all City Council Meetings listed below, Please see the City Clerks' webpage for the City Council Agenda, Staff Report, and Minutes.

~  HOUSING DIVISION - UPCOMING MEETINGS  ~
Date & Time	Meeting	Description/Other Info
Wednesday 1/29/2025 10 a.m. -and- Thursday 1/30/2025 2 p.m.	2025 Funding Opportunity  Information Meetings (2) Sam Pipes Room, 1st Floor, Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th Street, Merced	These are mandatory meetings if you are an interested and established 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization and are looking to apply for 2025 Program Year CDBG and/or HOME assistance to fund your community project. CDBG and HOME funds come with many complicated regulations and requirements.  These meetings are given to provide an in-depth overview of those requirements and the responsiblities your organization would have to HUD and the City if funding is awarded to your project. Please allow up to approximately 2.5 hours for the meeting, including question and answer time.  This is also a great time to make connections with other local non-profits to share information and for future collaboration opportunities! If for some reason you are unable to attend one of the two provided meetings, you must schedule a one-on-one appointment with Housing staff to receive this information.   We also use these appointments to assist you in developing your program concept to better meet HUD requirements (this helps us both!). Please see the "NOFO" sub-page link on the left for more information.
Tuesday 2/18/2025 6 p.m.	PUBLIC HEARING - Merced City Council City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor Civic Center, 678 W 18th St, Merced	Agenda Item ____ Public Hearing #1 (of 2) - Introduction of the 2025-29 Five Year Consolidated Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan At this public hearing, we will introduce the work done thus far on the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan, specifically regarding the Needs Assessment and the draft goals for the next five year. All public comment is invited and encouraged.  We appreciate your input.
Tuesday 2/25/2025 5:30 p.m.	Community Input Meeting #3 (virtual) Zoom Meeting Zoom Meeting Link Meeting ID: 817 8561 4293  Passcode: 243491	We will be holding our third and final Community Input Meeting.  All Merced residents are encouraged to attend! We will be informing residents about the progress of the Con Plan and Annual Plan development process and answering any questions you may have about the draft plan. This is a ZOOM meeting.  On the date & time of the meeting, please join using the link in the box to the left.
(Tentative) Monday 6/16/2025 6:00 p.m.	PUBLIC HEARING - Merced City Council City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor Civic Center, 678 W 18th St, Merced	Agenda Item: _____ Public Hearing #2 (of 2) - Final Approval of the 2025-29 Five Year Consoldidated/Strategic Plan and 2025 (first year) Annual Action Plan At this public hearing, we will present the final draft of the 2025-29 Consolidated Plan and the 2025 Annual Plan to the public and the City Council for approval.  Included in the draft Annual Action Plan will be the final list of projects recommended to be carried out over the coming year.   Following approval, all public comment received, either at public hearings or during the public review and comment period, will be summarized and included in the final plan that will be submitted to HUD for their approval. All public comment is invited and encouraged.  We appreciate your input.

All meeting locations are ADA accessible.  For Spanish and Hmong translation, please provide staff with 48 hours notice prior to each meeting, in order to provide City staff sufficient time to arrange for a translator.  Thank you.

Todas las reuniones son accesibles según la ADA. Para la traducción al español y al hmong, informe al personal con 48 horas de anticipación antes de cada reunión, para que el personal de la ciudad tenga tiempo suficiente para contratar un traductor. Gracias.

Txhua lub rooj sib tham yog siv tau ADA. Rau kev txhais lus Mev thiab lus Hmoob, thov qhia cov neeg ua haujlwm nrog 48 teev ua ntej txhua lub rooj sib tham, txhawm rau muab sijhawm rau cov neeg ua haujlwm hauv nroog txaus los npaj tus neeg txhais lus. Ua tsaug.

Please note: when virtual meeting attendance options are offered (not including City Council meetings), we use Microsoft Teams online conferencing software. Here are your access options:

• Download the Teams app here.  Then, enter the meeting using the direct link provided.
• Join on the web at this link, here.  Then, enter the corresponding meeting id and passcode provided.
• By phone (audio only) - to attend by phone, the corresponding call-in phone numbers and meeting id's will be provided.  When attending by phone, please remember to keep all background noise at a minimum.

  

 About the City of Merced Housing Program:

The City of Merced Housing Division oversees several grants to help improve the housing quality within the City of Merced.  In addition, mini-grants are provided annually to those non-profit organizations that provide programs furthering the Housing Division's Annual Goals and Priorities, as determined by the 5-year Strategic Plan/Consolidated Plan and each year's Annual Action Plan.

Our primary sources of funding are Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds issued and administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

The primary use of CDBG funds is to give maximum feasible priority to activities which will carry out one of the national objectives of benefit to low- and moderate-income families or aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight.  The intent of the HOME program is to provide and increase the supply of decent, affordable housing to lower-income households and work with non-profit housing providers, the State, and private-sector participation to accomplish that goal.

The Housing Division is also involved in community development and neighborhood revitalization.  HOME funds can only be used for housing activities, while CDBG can be used for broader community development purposes within established guidelines.  Community Activities selected are designed to reflect Annual Plan Goals and may include public services, public facilities and infrastructure improvements, and residential rehabilitation projects.

Public Services are programs and services provided by local non-profit community organizations that improve quality of life for primarily low-income citizens of Merced.