Board approves submission of $25 million HUD grant application to preserve mobile homes

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously May 7 to authorize staff to submit a $25,000,000 grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement.

Housing and Workforce Solutions Deputy Director Juan Garcia told the board the draft application — posted for public review — would target assistance to low- and moderate-income manufactured-homeowners and disadvantaged communities across Riverside County. Garcia said there are roughly 34,000 registered mobile homes in the county and that the funding would expand existing rehab programs funded through community development block grants, ARPA-funded home-rehab programs and more recent state awards.

The board opened the public hearing required for the HUD opportunity; no members of the public registered comments on this item. After the hearing, Supervisor Perez moved and Supervisor Gutierrez seconded a motion to authorize submission of the draft application. The motion carried 5–0.

If awarded, the county said the dollars would expand mobile-home rehabilitation and preservation work alongside other local initiatives. Staff said the draft application had been available for public review and circulated to stakeholders since April 2022.

Next steps include finalizing the application materials for submission to HUD; staff did not provide an award timeline during the meeting.