Hampton briefed on HUD five‑year consolidated plan, fair‑housing analysis; public hearing set

Jonathan McBride, Hampton’s Housing and Neighborhood Division manager, told the City Council at its work session that the city is updating its five‑year HUD consolidated plan, the associated annual action plan and the federally required analysis of impediments to fair housing.

The consolidated plan guides use of annual entitlement grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships program funds. McBride said the plan is primarily a five‑year strategy; the city receives an annual HUD allocation and adopts a one‑year action plan during the budget process. "The consolidated plan is required by HUD for us to be able to access entitlement funds," McBride said.

Hampton’s last-year allocations were listed in the presentation as roughly $907,000 in CDBG and $505,000 in HOME funds; city staff warned council that HUD allocations are still pending federal budget action and that the annual action plan adoption could be delayed until May. CDBG activities discussed included public‑facility and infrastructure work, housing rehabilitation, accessibility and a capped public‑service set‑aside (15 percent of the allocation). McBride said HOME funds are focused on affordable housing activities such as acquisition, rehabilitation and down‑payment assistance, and that the city partners with Habitat for Humanity to develop about two homes per year when lots are available.

Council members pressed staff on how the city addresses blight and on tenant‑based rental assistance. Vice Mayor Brown asked whether the city tracks blighted parcels and how prior capital improvements have been used; McBride said the city uses capital improvement program (CIP) funds and a demo contractor to remove blighted structures and places liens to recover demolition costs, and that the housing authority is used to assemble properties for redevelopment. On tenant‑based rental assistance, McBride said the city is not currently funding a tenant‑based rental assistance program and that some local nonprofit partners and federal voucher programs (housing choice vouchers) provide rental help now.

McBride described several outreach steps: an online survey posted at hampton.gov/hudplans (about 170 responses were recorded at the time of the briefing), meetings with the neighborhood commission and the mayor’s committee on disabilities, and presentations to housing stakeholders and resident groups. Staff said a draft plan will be prepared in April and a public draft shared in May, and that a public hearing on the consolidated plan and impediments analysis will be held this evening to collect comments before council acts.

City staff emphasized that the analysis of impediments — required under HUD’s fair‑housing guidance — will examine segregation and integration, concentrations of poverty and areas of opportunity, and housing burden (households paying more than 30 percent of income on housing). McBride cautioned that plan goals are strategic estimates, not guaranteed funding commitments across the five‑year period.

Council members asked staff to return with more detail about specific eligible activities, site selection for Habitat partnerships and how previously appropriated CIP dollars for blight mitigation have been spent. Staff said they will share survey results early in the budget process and will bring a staff draft in April for council review.