Pasadena to Submit Five-Year and Annual Public Housing Plans to HUD

The Pasadena City Council will hold a public hearing and consider submitting the city’s Public Housing Agency (PHA) Five-Year Plan for 2025–2030 and Annual Plan for 2025 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), paving the way for continued federal funding of its Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.

The annual plan (2025) highlights progress made under the current Five-Year Plan (2020–2025), including assisting 181 very low-income individuals experiencing homelessness to secure permanent housing through incentives and deposit assistance.

Other progress includes securing and issuing Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers, in collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services, hosting fair housing training sessions and scheduling additional workshops for April, advancing digitization of client files, with approximately 25% completed to date.

HUD requires the five-year and annual PHA Plans as a condition of receiving federal funds for the HCV program—commonly known as Section 8—which provides rental assistance to about 1,400 low-income households in Pasadena, roughly 2.5% of the city’s population. For fiscal year 2025, the city’s HCV budget totals approximately $20.5 million.

The Five-Year Plan (2025–2030) outlines long-term goals and objectives that the City of Pasadena Housing Department (CoPHD) will pursue, including expanding access to affordable housing, promoting fair housing education, and maintaining high operational performance. Among the key priorities are:

• Increasing outreach to landlords to encourage participation in rental assistance programs.
• Applying for new or special purpose vouchers when funding becomes available.
• Ensuring compliance with federal funding requirements to protect existing allocations.
• Providing regular training on local, state, and federal fair housing laws.
• Continuing modernization efforts, including digital file conversion and program access improvements.

The department continues to hold a “high performer” status under HUD’s Section 8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP), reflecting strong program oversight and operational excellence.

City officials noted that HUD has not yet issued guidance on completing a newly added section of the Annual Plan related to Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) strategies. As a result, that section remains incomplete and is not currently required for submission.