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Longview council approves 2025–2029 Longview‑Kelso consolidated plan for HUD submission
Summary
City council voted to approve Resolution 25-69 to submit the 2025–2029 Longview‑Kelso Consortium consolidated plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Staff said the plan keeps existing five‑year goals and lists projects previously approved by the council.
The Longview City Council on July 22 approved Resolution 25-69 to submit the 2025–2029 Longview‑Kelso Consortium consolidated plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
City staff told the council the consolidated plan is a required five‑year HUD document that lays out goals and projects for affordable housing, housing preservation, supportive services and public facilities. "It outlines the goals of HUD programs for a five‑year period," Staff member Kenny Robinson said during the public hearing, adding that the annual action plan lists the single‑year projects already approved by council.
The consolidated plan, staff said, reports progress and ongoing projects: about 72 affordable housing units developed between Longview and Kelso; funding committed for a 40‑unit project at Catlin and Maine; Foundation for the Challenge group homes with three units under construction and five more planned across the two cities; homeowner rehabilitation through Lower Columbia CAP (10 families served so far); tenant‑education classes and tenant‑based rental assistance programs; and public‑facility improvements including the Highlands lighting project, speed humps on Alabama and Michigan streets, ADA curb cuts and elevator repairs at the Salvation Army.
Robinson also summarized analysis in the plan: population growth projections from the Washington Department of Commerce, growth in older adults and in people 18–34 below the poverty line, declining regular school attendance, and increases in homeless students. He said that 68% of local housing stock is single‑family and that many households are cost‑burdened, paying more than 30% (and in many cases more than 50%) of income for housing.
During the hearing, members of the public urged more explicit treatment of shelter programs and transitional housing. Resident Arlene Hebble said she wanted assurance that the city is taking action on homelessness and that services and possessions for people without housing are being considered. Robinson replied that Hope Village had been added to the plan as a shelter category in a revised draft uploaded earlier the same day.
After hearing public comment and staff responses, the council moved to approve Resolution 25-69. The motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. The resolution authorizes staff to submit the consolidated plan and the city's annual action plan for 2025 to HUD.
The plan keeps the city's stated five‑year goals intact while listing projects already committed by the council; staff said keeping the goals unchanged signals continuity to HUD and reflects partial progress with more work needed to meet housing and supportive‑service needs.
Council members did not record individual roll‑call votes in the hearing transcript; the motion carried with no recorded opposition.
The council record shows the hearing opened at the public hearing segment for the consolidated plan and closed before the council took final action on the resolution.
