Ogden Council adopts HUD five‑year consolidated plan, funds for housing rehab, down‑payment assistance and HOME‑ARP tenant aid

The Ogden City Council on May 13 adopted the city's 2025–2030 HUD five‑year consolidated plan and its fiscal year 2025–26 annual action plan, setting how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME and related HUD funds will be spent.

Kathy Fuentes, senior community development coordinator, told the council the consolidated plan is the application mechanism the city uses to receive HUD entitlement funds and that, if an activity is not specified in the plan, HUD funds cannot be used for it. She said the current five‑year plan has brought the city more than $19 million in entitlement funding to date and that HUD had not announced the fiscal 2026 award at the time of the hearing; the draft action plan therefore uses the current year's dollar amounts and a contingency approach that will be updated when HUD announces the award.

The plan the council adopted would fund a range of housing and community programs. Fuentes summarized the proposed fiscal 2025–26 allocations: a housing purchase/rehab/resale program (CDBG $1,806,459; HOME $912,001.51; HOME match line items noted in the draft), an emergency home repair program (CDBG $40,000), an "Own and Ogden" down‑payment assistance program (HOME $250,000 plus HOME match $100,000) targeting roughly 30 loans, an infill housing program, micro‑enterprise assistance (CDBG $250,000) and a small business loan program (CDBG $350,000). The draft also includes a one‑time HOME‑ARP (American Rescue Plan) tenant‑based rental assistance balance of $846,370, with a stated year‑one goal of housing 22 people; Fuentes said that because HOME‑ARP supports multi‑year assistance, the funds are expected to stretch across multiple years.

Fuentes said the city had selected the Ogden Housing Authority through a request for qualifications to administer the HOME‑ARP tenant assistance and that the authority's caseworkers are helping families sign up for housing authority wait lists so supports continue after the HOME‑ARP funds are spent. Fuentes also explained that if HUD awards differ from the draft, the city will present an amendment in the fall to reflect the actual entitlement award.

Public commenters during the hearing praised the plan and urged care on how HUD funds intersect with other local development efforts. Resident Travis Pate supported the neighborhood revitalization strategy area (NRSA) and urged caution about using HUD funding to add market apartments in areas where the city wants to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing. Fuentes replied that HUD‑funded programs in the draft are targeted primarily at preserving naturally occurring affordable single‑family housing; she said HUD funds are not budgeted for private market apartment construction except in rare circumstances such as Community Housing Development Organization projects that renovate subsidized apartments.

The council adopted proposed Resolution 2025‑8 on a roll‑call vote (motion by Vice Chair Hyer; second by Council Member Blair). The roll call recorded ayes from Council Members Blair, Chibirka, Graff, Myers, Ritchie, Vice Chair Hyer and Chair White.

Why it matters: HUD entitlement funds are tightly constrained to activities listed in the consolidated plan and annual action plan. Adoption of the document lets the city submit its application to HUD and positions specific programs to begin July 1 if HUD approval follows; revisions will be required if actual HUD awards differ from the draft.

What's next: Fuentes said the staffing and program administrators will update the plan after HUD announces entitlements and will return to the council with any required amendments in the fall.