AGENDA #4c(1)

MEMORANDUM

TO: Mayor and Town Council

FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT: Process for Submittal of the 2000 - 2005 Consolidated Plan

DATE: April 24, 2000

The purpose of this agenda item is to review with the Council the process for adopting the 2000- 2005 Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development Programs in Orange County.

SUMMARY

The Consolidated Plan serves four separate, but integrated functions. The Plan is:

1. A planning document for the Town and County;
2. An application for federal funds including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership Act (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA);
3. A strategy to be followed in carrying out HUD programs; and
4. An action plan that provides a basis for assessing performance.

In addition, the Plan:

1. Establishes clear priorities, objectives and goals for housing and community development programs in the Town and County;
2. Provides timely and readable information on the needs, goals and proposed projects to the citizens of the Town and County;
3. Provides measurable indicators of progress; and
4. Reporting on Progress against these measures.

BACKGROUND

In 1995, the Orange County HOME Consortium received federal HOME funds, and the Town received federal Community Development funds, therefore we jointly submitted the 1995 - 2000 Consolidated Plan to HUD in May 1995. Fiscal year 1999 – 2000 represented the final year covered by the 1995 – 2000 Plan. We have been notified that the Town and County will continue to receive federal Community Development and HOME Program funds in fiscal year 2000 – 2001. Therefore, the Consortium is required to submit a new five-year Consolidated Plan.

DISCUSSION

The new five-year plan will include the following information:

• Identify the housing and community development needs of Chapel Hill and Orange County and objectives for meeting these needs;
• A housing market analysis that will detail the characteristics of the existing housing stock, characteristics of the public and assisted housing, discussion of homeless facilities and barriers to affordable housing;
• A plan for how federal resources will meet the priority needs and specific objectives of the new Plan;
• An annual Action Plan for the Community Development and HOME Program grants;
• Performance Measures; and
• An assessment of the housing and homeless needs.

The Process

Orange County is the lead entity in the Orange County HOME Consortium. Therefore, Orange County has the responsibility of assembling the Consolidated Plan to submit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The County Commissioners held a public hearing on the Consolidated Plan on February 29, 2000 to receive citizen comments on the housing and community development needs of the County. Various interest groups and individuals received notification of this hearing. These comments will be addressed in the Consolidated Plan.

Comments received from public hearings held by the Council on the Community Development Program and the HOME Program on January 31 and March 29, 2000, will also be incorporated into the Consolidated Plan.

In addition to the public hearings, the Consortium obtained citizen input in the following manner:

1. On March 13, 2000 the Orange County Commissioners held a Housing Summit. Approximately one hundred people attended the Summit and discussed the housing needs in Orange County, the barriers to fulfilling those needs and what could be done to remove the barriers.

2. A discussion with the Town’s Housing and Community Development Advisory Board at its Annual Board Retreat was held on March 18. At that meeting, the Board discussed the housing needs for public housing residents and the barriers to addressing these needs. The Board also discussed the need for more transitional housing opportunities in the Town and County.

3. County and Town Community Development staff representatives met with Special Needs Housing providers to discuss the housing and community development needs for their populations they serve.

Comments received at these meetings will be incorporated into the Consolidated Plan.

The Town’s Citizen Participation Plan requires a thirty-day comment period on the Consolidated Plan. Federal regulations allow this plan to be in draft form. The comment period began on April 14, 2000 and will end on May 14, 2000. The draft Consolidated Plan is available for review at the Chapel Hill Planning Department, the Chapel Hill Library and the Orange County Library in Hillsborough. An advertisement was placed in the newspaper to announce the comment period and the availability of the draft plan.

The draft report contains the annual action plan for the HOME and Community Development programs. Please note that the plan also includes the recommended Comprehensive Grant Program activities. The Council is scheduled to consider the recommended Comprehensive Grant Plan on tonight’s agenda.

Although Orange County is the lead entity of the Consortium, it is necessary to have approval of the Consolidated Plan from all four jurisdictions before the document is submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on May 15, 2000.

NEXT STEPS

We will return to the Council on May 8, 2000 for consideration of a final 2000 - 2005 Consolidated Plan. At that time, we would review a proposed plan with the Council.

The Council is scheduled to adopt the 2000 – 2001 Community Development and HOME Program Plans on tonight’s agenda. Once approved, the Annual Plans would be incorporated into the Consolidated Plan.

The Orange County Commissioners will consider the Plan on May 3, the Hillsborough Board of Aldermen on May 8, and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on May 9.