Mesa presents draft 2025–2029 HUD Consolidated Plan; staff prioritizes affordable housing, public facilities and homeless services
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Summary
City staff outlined the draft five‑year Consolidated Plan and FY2025 action plan required by HUD. The draft emphasizes affordable housing, public facilities and homeless services, notes constraints on using CDBG for economic development, and opens a 30‑day public comment period before submission to HUD.
Justin Boyd, housing and community development administrator, and consultants briefed the Mesa City Council on the draft 2025–2029 Consolidated Plan and the city’s annual action plan for HUD entitlement funds.
The Consolidated Plan is the federal requirement that frames use of three entitlement grants — Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) — for the next five years. Staff told council the draft will be posted for a 30‑day public comment period and submitted to HUD for acceptance before fiscal‑year allocations are released.
Why it matters: the CDBG, HOME and ESG grants provide recurring federal funds to support affordable housing, public facilities, homeless services and certain public services in Mesa. The plan establishes the city’s priorities that will guide annual budgets for those federal dollars.
Major points from the presentation
- Program overview: staff explained the three HUD grants and their allowable uses. CDBG is the most flexible of the three but cannot typically fund new construction of housing (it can be used for acquisition and substantial rehabilitation); HOME is the primary program the city uses for affordable housing development and requires a developer match (a 25% match is generally required for CHDO/ HOME‑funded projects); ESG funds are restricted to activities addressing homelessness, including prevention, shelter operations, street outreach and rapid rehousing.
- Draft priorities and public feedback: survey responses and stakeholder outreach ranked affordable housing and supportive services as top needs. Staff said the draft priorities align with the community survey but also reflect legal and programmatic constraints determined by HUD rules.
- Economic development: multiple council members asked about economic development uses of CDBG funds. Staff explained that direct business grants or loans under the CDBG “economic development” category carry heavy federal reporting and compliance requirements and are rarely used; instead, staff said the city currently pursues workforce development, incubator facilities and other local funds for business support. Councilmembers asked staff to keep an economic‑development pathway open if feasible.
- Timing and next steps: staff said the draft plan will be posted for public comment for 30 days beginning March 30 and that staff will consolidate comments, revise the plan as appropriate, and submit it to HUD in May for acceptance and release of funds effective July 1.
What council asked for
Council members requested additional historical context (a five‑year lookback) and said they wanted to review program performance, leveraging by nonprofit partners, and how leveraged funds (state, local, philanthropic) are tracked. Staff confirmed annual reporting tracks match and leverage for HOME and ESG programs and that those leverage figures appear in the annual performance report.
Ending
The council did not adopt a substantive change at the meeting. Staff opened a public comment period and will return to council with any material changes before final submission to HUD.
