Longmont council directs staff to submit 2024 CAPER; staff outlines affordable-housing pipeline and inclusionary program trends

Longmont's City Council on Tuesday directed city housing staff to submit the city's 2024 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, after a staff presentation that summarized federal CDBG and HOME spending, local affordable-housing investments and trends in the city's inclusionary housing program.

Molly O'Donnell, Longmont's housing director, and members of the housing investment team told council the CAPER is the annual HUD report documenting how federal CDBG and related funds were spent and who was served. The CAPER will be submitted to HUD by the end of March, staff said, following the council public hearing and the close of the city's public comment period.

The presentation said Longmont received a HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation of $478,873 for calendar year 2024, and recorded roughly $69,000 in program income (repayments of prior loans and similar receipts). Staff reported 234 households served in 2024 using CDBG and CDBG-CV funds and described a number of completed and near-complete projects funded with federal dollars, including roofing work and accessibility upgrades at nonprofit-owned facilities and a long-delayed security camera project for Longmont Housing Authority properties.

Christy Wiseman, the city's housing investment manager, told council that the city has moved its housing-rehabilitation program to Brothers Redevelopment (a local nonprofit) after a federal procurement process; staff expect the new contractor to scale up services in 2025. Wiseman also summarized the city's HOME and HOME-ARP awards, project leverage, and pipeline numbers, saying the city currently has about $7 million in local affordable-housing fund commitments at varying stages and that those investments are projected to produce roughly 457 new deed-restricted units over the next several years.

Kayleen Whaley, the city's affordable-housing program specialist, described inclusionary-housing results: Longmont currently reports about 6% of its housing stock as income-restricted housing, staff said, while the broader region sits at about 5.56%. She summarized Proposition/Policy targets staff are tracking, and told council that unit generation depends on complex timing (entitlements, permitting and construction) and that several pipeline projects must complete entitlements and reach building-permit milestones to count toward stated goals.

Councilors asked for clarification about how fee-in-lieu payments are recognized and the timing of receipts. Staff said the city provided a grandfathering period when the fee-in-lieu increase took effect, which causes some 2025 receipts to be paid at the earlier rate. Staff also described the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) and other external funding and the city's practice of using local dollars to leverage larger state and federal investments.

Public comment at the CAPER hearing included sharply different perspectives. Gary Hodges (resident) criticized the city's affordable-housing requirements as a market distortion and asked for more transparent analysis of effects on market-rate housing. Novalee (resident) stressed the moral and social importance of affordable-housing programs and urged continued investment. Audrey Dunn, a tenant at a project-based voucher site, used final public comment time to describe urgent personal housing and health needs and asked staff for help navigating voucher portability and options.

After the presentation and public hearing, Mayor Mary Peck moved, and Councilor McCoy seconded, a motion directing staff to submit the CAPER to HUD. The motion carried (5 of 6 council members present voting in favor; Councilor Rodriguez was absent). Staff said they will file the CAPER with HUD this week.

What it means: The CAPER submission is largely an accounting and compliance step required by HUD but it also was the occasion for housing staff to summarize several policy issues the council is tracking: the scale of local investments, the pace of unit generation under inclusionary rules, and the challenges of counting units when market-rate construction outpaces deed-restricted production. Staff emphasized leveraging local dollars to attract federal, state and private investment and highlighted a new local down-payment assistance allocation and a planning/technical-assistance program that supports nonprofit developers.

Where things could go next: Staff said they will continue to bring quarterly and annual updates to council, continue implementation with Brothers Redevelopment on rehab work, proceed with HOME-funded projects already in construction or contracts, and monitor the inclusionary pipeline closely so the city can react if projects slip and threaten commitments.

Votes and formal action: Council voted to direct staff to submit the CAPER to HUD (motion moved by Mayor Peck, seconded by Councilor McCoy; outcome: approved; Councilor Rodriguez absent). Staff will file the CAPER and return as required with follow-up reports on pipeline milestones.