Staunton City Council on July 24 received a progress report on the city’s housing strategy and approved a resolution adopting the fiscal year 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan and a substantial amendment to the consolidated plan.

City staff said the housing strategy is a starter plan focused on three goals — producing housing, preserving housing, and providing housing stability — and set an 18-month implementation window. Staff recommended forming a housing commission, conducting a housing-conditions “windshield” survey (potentially with Virginia Tech or Mary Baldwin students), and creating a consolidated resource guide for housing-stability services.

Joyce, a city staff member who led the presentation, told council the strategy grew from four public engagement sessions (two virtual, two in-person) that drew 45 people and from an online survey with 149 responses at the time of presentation. The draft strategy lists 11 strategies and an action matrix that shows responsible parties, potential funding sources and timeframes for the first 18 months.

Council also voted to adopt the FY2025 CDBG annual action plan. City staff said Staunton’s HUD entitlement for FY2025 is $317,797. The program-year budget presented to council included:
- $76,598 for a blight-removal or property-reuse seed fund to address derelict structures and properties for potential housing reuse;
- $65,000 to Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta for essential repairs and accessibility improvements;
- $65,000 to support improvements at Elizabeth Miller Gardens and Ferrier Court (continuation of a prior subrecipient project);
- $47,640 allocated to six nonprofit public-service subrecipients ($7,940 each): Blue Ridge CASA, Blue Ridge Legal Services, Valley Mission, VPAS Meals on Wheels, VPAS Senior Transportation, and Valley Supportive Housing;
- $63,559 for program administration (HUD allows up to 20%);
Total structural-project allocations listed in staff materials total $206,598, with the remainder covering public services and administration.

Staff said the blight-removal line is “seed money” for properties that might be unsafe, derelict or have heirs who do not maintain them; the city would work with property owners, heirs and housing partners such as Habitat for Humanity and the Staunton Redevelopment and Housing Authority to explore reuse or demolition and reuse for housing. Joyce said the $76,598 figure is an initial, arbitrary allocation to begin the program, and staff will return with policy and criteria for prioritizing properties.

Council approved a substantial amendment to reallocate certain previously awarded funds among subrecipients (Habitat for Humanity to support construction worker salaries assisting Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta) and authorized the city manager to sign subrecipient agreements with the recommended agencies.

Discussion versus formal action: discussion items included forming a housing commission, conducting a housing-condition survey, and drafting policy for blight-removal programs; formal action included the council’s vote to adopt the FY2025 annual action plan and the substantial amendment and authorization for the city manager to execute related agreements.

Next steps and budget note: staff said they will proceed to finalize the housing-strategy document and start implementation tasks, and the action plan takes effect with the federal fiscal year in October. Staff also advised council that federal funding for CDBG is subject to the federal budget process and noted the president’s budget at the time did not include CDBG funding, meaning the city will monitor federal appropriations.