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County to perform HUD-required environmental reviews for North Chicago School District and housing authority agreement extended
Summary
Lake County will perform 24 CFR part 58 environmental reviews for a North Chicago School District retrofit project and extend an annual intergovernmental agreement with the Lake County Housing Authority to cover environmental review services for housing projects.
The Lake County Health and Community Services Committee on Sept. 2 approved agreements for the county to perform federal environmental reviews under 24 CFR part 58 for a North Chicago School District retrofit project and extended a standing intergovernmental agreement with the Lake County Housing Authority to cover reviews for its funding streams for one calendar year.
Dominic Strezzo, the county’s community development administrator, told the committee the school district is a direct recipient of HUD community project funding and does not meet the federal definition of a responsible entity, so the county will complete the required environmental review record on the district’s behalf. “We are seeking approval to enter an agreement with the North Chicago School District to perform an environmental review,” Strezzo said, adding this would be the second such agreement with the district; the first was a 2022 demolition project.
On reimbursement, Strezzo said the county is “reimbursed for time and materials on these reports.” He said the county has entered roughly “about 10 of these agreements since about 2022,” and that reports are completed and signed by Lake County staff, although consultants are used when third-party technical analyses are required.
A separate but similar resolution extended the intergovernmental agreement with the Lake County Housing Authority so the county can perform 24 CFR part 58 reviews covering all the authority’s funding streams for a calendar year. Strezzo described the housing authority arrangement as functionally similar to the school-district agreement but covering multiple potential projects over the year.
Both motions were moved and seconded by committee members and approved by voice vote.
Why it matters: HUD requires environmental review records for certain federally funded projects. The county’s role as the responsible entity in these agreements allows projects to comply with federal environmental laws while charging back for staff time and any necessary third-party analyses.
Next steps: The county will execute the agreements and proceed with the environmental reviews for the specified school-district project and any housing authority projects that arise during the covered calendar year.
