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Elkhart Redevelopment Commission opens public hearing on 2025–29 CDBG consolidated plan and NRSA boundary changes
Summary
The Elkhart City Redevelopment Commission held a public hearing June 10 on the city’s 2025–2029 consolidated Community Development Block Grant plan, a 2025 annual action plan and proposed changes to the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) boundaries. The commission will send the plan to the City Council for final approval on July 7.
The Elkhart City Redevelopment Commission opened a public hearing Tuesday on the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement application, the 2025–2029 consolidated plan, the 2025 annual action plan and a proposed amendment to the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA).
Redevelopment staff said the consolidated plan is a five-year framework required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that guides how the city will invest CDBG funds. The 2025 annual action plan will direct spending for the coming program year after the city’s allocation is finalized.
The city has received an estimated CDBG allocation of $712,246 for program year 2025, staff said. The draft annual action plan includes a recommendation of projects to be brought back to the commission for formal approval this summer; staff emphasized the list remains subject to public input and change before final submission to HUD and City Council approval, tentatively scheduled for July 7.
The hearing packet included a proposed change to the NRSA boundaries. Staff said the NRSA has been shifted south and slightly west — extending south to the Hyvely area and west of Oakland — and noted the NRSA must meet low- and moderate-income thresholds to qualify. Advantages of NRSA designation identified in the presentation include greater flexibility in identifying CDBG beneficiaries and targeting investments.
Staff outlined plan objectives shared across the consolidated plan and NRSA: expand housing supply, increase homeownership and median household income (including job training activities), improve housing quality and infrastructure, reduce environmental hazards in homes, decrease vacancy rates, and strengthen neighborhood commercial corridors. Staff said the consolidated plan was coordinated with other local planning efforts including the Venom housing project, the THRIVE program and the downtown plan.
Commissioners and staff also discussed program income shown in the packet, which staff said stems from earlier Neighborhood Stabilization Program activity and small ongoing loan repayments and rental income from city-owned homes. Staff said typical loan repayments are small monthly amounts (examples cited in the presentation ranged from about $30 to $100). Staff said the city is prioritizing moving city-owned homes back into private ownership.
The public hearing was opened and, with no public comments offered in person or electronically, staff closed the hearing and said they would continue work on the draft before forwarding it to City Council for final approval.
