Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vancouver council approves $11.15 million in affordable housing awards; veterans project not funded this cycle
Summary
The Vancouver City Council on May 12 approved $11,150,000 in awards from the city's Affordable Housing Fund. Staff said awards followed advisory committee scores; the 32-unit women veterans project did not receive funding this year and will receive applicant feedback and capacity-building referrals.
The Vancouver City Council on May 12 approved $11,150,000 in awards from the city's Affordable Housing Fund and directed staff to provide applicants with feedback to improve future proposals.
City housing staff said the selections followed scores from the city's housing advisory committee and that the top-scoring applications received awards. "We based that on our housing advisory committee's scores, and so we were able to award the top 5 scoring applications, and we're giving applicant feedback so that they can come back and request some funding in the future," a housing staff member said.
The vote to approve the awards was moved by Council Member Fox and seconded by Council Member Stober; the motion passed.
Why it matters: the award package draws on federal and local housing funds and is intended to support rapid rehousing, tenant-based rental assistance and nonprofit housing projects in Vancouver. City staff told council the awards align with the five-year consolidated plan and the annual action-plan process used to allocate HUD and local funds.
What council heard and decided: during public comment, Peggy Sheehan, executive director of Community Roots, thanked the council and described recent openings: "All of the people that we house have come from homelessness," she said, adding Community Roots now manages multiple developments and a total of 46 units. Bruce Barnes and other residents urged continued attention to veteran services and fiscal impacts of broader planning decisions; a number of commenters raised concerns about program eligibility and enforcement.
Council questions centered on committee composition and how applicants that were not funded this year would be supported. Staff said the housing advisory committee is a volunteer community advisory group that reviews CDBG and affordable housing applications and meets monthly. Staff also said they will offer debriefs and help connect unfunded applicants to capacity-building opportunities.
Next steps: staff will provide the standard applicant feedback referenced during the meeting and will continue coordinating with funders and community partners to support capacity building for future applications.
