(a) In enacting this section, it is the intent of the Legislature to provide disaster assistance for farmworkers displaced by the 1997 floods in the most expeditious and fiscally sound manner possible. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Housing and Community Development administer this section in accordance with those goals.
(b) In counties in which a disaster has been declared by the Governor pursuant to Section 8625 of the Government Code, and for a period of 12 months after the declaration, the department may award funds for the purposes of this section, subject to the following terms and conditions:
(1) Loans may be made to local public entities, nonprofit corporations, and private property owners to repair, rehabilitate, or replace housing previously used exclusively by migrant farmworker households or unaccompanied migrant farmworker adults, which will be used in the future for those purposes. Loan funds may be used to acquire or lease “manufactured structures,” which, for the purposes of this section, means structures subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13. Private property owners shall be eligible for loans only to the extent that other federal and state resources, private insurance proceeds, or private institutional lending sources are not available in a timely manner or do not provide the coverage needed to rehabilitate or reconstruct the housing without increasing the rent above that charged for the units prior to the disaster.
(2) The department may enter into contracts directly with nonprofit corporations, local public entities, or private property owners to carry out the activities authorized by this section.
(3) Loans made under this section shall be secured by, and subject to, security instruments approved by the department, including, but not limited to, real property leases or liens, regulatory agreements, and liens on manufactured structures. The department shall establish loan terms and conditions with consideration to the financial feasibility and prudent operation of the housing units financed. In no event shall the loans require interest at a rate higher than 3-percent simple interest or have a term longer than the useful life of the housing units. Repayments may be deferred for the first five years of the loan term, if the department determines that it is necessary for fiscal integrity or to prevent foreclosure.
(4) In making any loan, the department shall require that the borrower meet all of the following conditions:
(A) The borrower shall be capable of providing occupancy in decent, safe, and sanitary housing that meets all of the requirements of law within six months after the award of funds.
(B) The borrower shall demonstrate the financial feasibility of the project.
(C) Prior to disbursement of funds, the borrower shall identify the property on which the housing will be repaired, rehabilitated, or replaced, and provide information satisfactory to the department related to the costs and sources of funding necessary to complete the repairs, rehabilitation, or replacement. All costs shall be reasonable, considering the necessity of expeditious rehabilitation or replacement.
(5) Priority for use of the funds shall be given to borrowers who will provide housing at the earliest date.
(6) All units assisted under this section shall remain affordable to low- and very low income households for the life of the project. For the 1997–98 growing season, farmworkers who previously occupied the damaged or destroyed housing shall have first priority to occupy any unit assisted under this section.
(7) If units assisted under this section are built or rehabilitated in the same natural disaster zone as the units damaged or destroyed by the disaster, the borrower shall maintain disaster insurance on the units for the useful life of the units. For purposes of this section, “disaster insurance” means fire, earthquake, flood, or other insurance against the natural disaster that damaged or destroyed the housing units.
(8) To the extent that any housing unit that was damaged or destroyed is reconstructed under this section with substantially the same number of units, it shall be deemed to be “existing housing” for the purposes of subdivision (d) of Section 37001.5.
(9) The department may waive any requirements of Section 50517.5 and any regulations promulgated thereunder that are inconsistent with prompt and effective implementation of the program described in this section. In addition, any rule, policy, or standard of general application employed by the department in implementing the provision of this section shall not be subject to the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 12 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. Awards of funds made pursuant to this section shall not be subjected to review or approval by the Local Assistance Loan and Grant Committee of the department operating pursuant to Subchapter 1 (commencing with Section 6900) of Chapter 6.5 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 222. Effective January 1, 2005.)