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Council opens consolidated-plan outreach; consultant seeks public input on housing and community needs
Summary
At a required first public hearing on the 2025-2029 consolidated plan (CDBG and HOME), the city's consultant reviewed objectives and funding limits, invited public comments and surveys, and council accepted public input for inclusion in the draft plan.
The City of Southgate held its first public hearing on Feb. 11 to gather community input for the 2025'2029 consolidated plan, the five-year strategic document that guides the city's use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership funds.
What staff and the consultant said Anna LeNeu of Avant Garde, the city's housing consultant, said the consolidated plan identifies housing and community-development priorities and must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She reviewed the plan timeframe (program years 2025'2029), the types of eligible activities under CDBG and HOME and the requirement that public services spending not exceed 15% of the annual CDBG allocation.
Current funding context and common goals LeNeu summarized the city's current categories used in recent annual action plans: administration and fair housing, housing preservation (residential rehab), public facilities and infrastructure, public services, commercial/fae7ade programs, and affordable-housing development (including the CHDO set-aside). She told the council the estimated 2025 allocations to date were roughly $1.2 million for CDBG and $560,000 for HOME, which implies a five-year program worth approximately $6.2 million in CDBG and $2.8 million in HOME subject to federal appropriations.
Public comment and priorities from the hearing Residents urged the council to invest consolidated-plan funds in parks and neighborhood improvements, pointing to needs at Southgate Park and Holiday Regional Park and to local street and alley repairs. Speakers also recommended using CDBG to leverage state grants for park construction and to target infrastructure improvements in underserved neighborhoods. The consultant said the city will distribute a survey, host citizen advisory-committee meetings and produce a draft plan for a 30-day public comment period before a second hearing.
Next steps and schedule LeNeu said outreach will continue with an online survey and two citizen advisory committee meetings planned in February; the consultant expects to circulate a draft plan for a 30-day review period and to hold a second public hearing (tentatively April 22) before sending the consolidated plan to HUD (the transcript noted a target submission after the comment period and allocation confirmation). The consultant and staff asked the public to use the posted QR code and survey to prioritize needs.
Council action Council accepted the public input at the hearing and directed staff to include the comments and survey results in the draft plan to be considered at the second hearing and during the public comment period.
