The Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved a $1.797 million federal funding plan Tuesday night that will direct Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships Act funds toward park improvements, small business assistance and housing aid for the city's most vulnerable residents.
The council voted 7-0 to adopt the proposed 2026-27 Annual Action Plan, which allocates a combined total of federal CDBG and HOME funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The plan must be submitted to HUD by June 1.
The funding is divided between two federal programs. The city received a CDBG allocation of $1.12 million for the 2026 program year — a modest increase of one-half percent over last year's award — along with $110,000 in prior-year funds and $40,000 in projected program income, bringing total CDBG resources to just under $1.28 million. On the HOME side, the city received $486,060, a decrease of 3.3 percent from the previous year, which when combined with projected program income yields total HOME resources of $526,060.
The largest single expenditure under the plan is $500,000 in CDBG funds for Phase III of the Virginia Avenue Park Playground Replacement project, which will update aging playground equipment, install an accessible surface and add shade covering to benefit children of all ages and abilities. An additional $318,762 is earmarked for park improvements at other CDBG-eligible sites in the Pico Neighborhood, with funds designated for replacing the Gandara Park basketball court and possibly adding a small dog park at either Gandara or Virginia Avenue Park.
Other allocations include $170,000 for CLARE|MATRIX to operate outreach and substance abuse treatment services for people experiencing or recently exiting homelessness, $50,000 for the city's Small Business Assistance and Tenant Improvement Program, and $400,545 in HOME-funded tenant-based rental assistance for low-income households at risk of losing their housing.
Before moving to approve the plan, council members raised pointed questions about the stability of the federal funding amid ongoing uncertainty in Washington.
Council member Ellis Raskin asked staff whether the grants had been vetted for potentially problematic conditions — a concern that has shadowed other federal funding approvals before the council this year. "This is really, really important money," Raskin said, asking whether the city had ensured "there are no conditions that could potentially be problematic."
Acting CDBG and HOME Coordinator Marc Amaral told the council that when the city executed its grant agreements last year, staff worked closely with the city attorney's office to explicitly flag and redline any terms and conditions the city would not comply with. The city informed its local HUD field office that acceptance of the funds was contingent on those requirements not applying, Amaral said, adding that a court injunction supporting the city's position remains in place and that staff intends to follow the same approach for the upcoming grant agreements.
Council member Caroline Torosis noted that earlier this year the Trump administration had proposed eliminating CDBG funding entirely before an agreement was reached to maintain level funding. She pressed Amaral on whether the city had contingency plans should future allocations be cut.
Amaral said he was confident the current allocation would come through, telling the council that "for this particular allocation, this is coming" and that the funding is approved as part of the federal budget. He expressed more concern about the HOME-funded rental assistance, however, noting that it has already declined 20 percent over the past three years and that the $400,000 currently keeping 40 households stably housed remains vulnerable. The city's housing team, he said, is actively working to transition those residents to more stable housing voucher programs as a hedge against further cuts.
Torosis called on the city to ensure CDBG dollars continue to flow to the Pico Neighborhood and urged the city's management and federal lobbyists to protect the funding. "I think CDBG is an opportunity to plug into our economic development priorities," she said, stressing the importance of "economic opportunity, particularly for people in our highest opportunity areas, which is the Pico Neighborhood."
Council member Natalya Zernitskaya asked whether the Virginia Avenue Park playground redesign would include accessible seating options for people with disabilities and those who are breastfeeding. Amaral said those design details would be determined through a future community engagement process when the Public Works team returns to council with a design-build contract recommendation.
Public comment came from Harvey Eder, founder of the Public Solar Power Coalition, who urged the council to prioritize homeownership opportunities for low- and middle-income residents and argued that the city's current approach to affordable housing falls short of state law requirements.
The plan was approved without dissent. Staff will prepare the final document for submission to HUD ahead of the June 1 deadline.