City presents five‑year consolidated plan and FY25‑26 action plan to HUD; staff cites 5,800+ public responses

City staff presented Concord’s consolidated plan and the fiscal year 2025‑26 action plan to the City Council on Tuesday, a submission required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that combines a five‑year forecast with the current year’s action plan.

Mary (staff) explained the consolidated‑plan process and described public outreach conducted in advance of the document. She said the city completed a Tri‑County housing study presented in August of the prior year, provided a public input survey from November to January and held an open comment period from May to June. “To date, we have received over 5,800 responses,” Mary said, and she summarized the three main priorities identified in the responses as: the need for more and affordable housing (including repairs), more safety infrastructure such as sidewalks, traffic calming and lighting, and more education around budgeting, credit and small business startup support.

Council asked about potential federal funding reductions in the recently enacted federal budget; a council member said he had seen proposed cuts to HUD and CDBG programs and asked whether those changes affected Concord’s allocation. Mary said the city’s allocation was provided about 45 days earlier and “does not affect our allocation” for the consolidated plan submission deadline; she added that staff would seek more detail from HUD representatives and lobbyists for a future work session. Mary also noted an unrelated allocation correction that increased Concord’s HOME‑ARP funds for a RAD conversion project.

The transcript excerpt does not include a council vote adopting the plan; staff said the funding amounts in the consolidated plan mirror the budget the council approved in the previous month and offered to answer questions.