Torrance Will Account for How It Spent Federal Community-Development Money

Torrance residents will get a look Tuesday night at how the City spent federal money intended for housing and community-development programs.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025–26 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report, better known as the CAPER.

The report is submitted annually to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and tracks how Torrance used money received through two major federal programs: the Community Development Block Grant program, or CDBG, and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

One detail stands out.

According to the City’s public notice, Torrance did not spend HOME program funds on an affordable-housing project during FY 2025–26.

The City says the high cost of land and property in Torrance makes affordable-housing projects difficult to undertake and that the unused allocation is expected to be directed toward a future affordable-housing project.

Torrance did use CDBG funds during the year.

Those dollars helped support a sidewalk-improvement project designed to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, along with a fair-housing project.

The distinction is important because these federal programs come with restrictions.

HOME funding is primarily intended to expand affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households, while CDBG money can support projects ranging from infrastructure improvements and public facilities to housing rehabilitation and certain public services.

Torrance is also receiving new federal allocations for FY 2026–27: approximately $960,936 in CDBG funding and $414,228 in HOME funding.

Tuesday’s hearing is therefore more than a routine accounting exercise.

It offers residents a chance to see what happened to last year’s federal dollars before another round of community-development money works its way through City Hall.

The regular City Council meeting begins Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the LeRoy J. Jackson Council Chamber.

Article Link: Review Torrance’s CDBG and HOME Funding Information