City revises DR‑24 draft: $50M added for housing, HUD submission slated for August

City Housing Department staff and officials updated the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee on July 8 about changes to the draft Disaster Recovery (DR‑24) action plan, reporting the draft reallocation adds $50 million for housing programs and retains large allocations for power‑generation resilience and debris management while requiring additional council approvals before funds are committed.

What changed: Housing Director Mike Nichols and Assistant Director Angela Simon said the draft reduces emergency‑response public‑safety funding and reclaims an $8.8 million FEMA public‑assistance line in order to allocate $50 million to housing needs identified during public comment and hearings. The $50 million is proposed to split as $20 million for single‑family home repair and $30 million for multifamily rehabilitation. Staff said the overall grant award is roughly $315 million and that the plan still budgets significant amounts for resilience and response work, including an existing $151 million allocation for power‑generation resilience.

Public process and timing: City staff described a multi‑step public engagement process. The city held three required public hearings plus a fourth evening session after community requests; roughly 327 residents participated in the virtual hearings and the city received formal written comments and questions. Staff said the action plan on the committee agenda is still a draft; the city will seek council approval of the action plan before submitting it to HUD. The city said it submitted required waiver requests and materials and that, per a granted extension, the HUD submission deadline is Aug. 19; HUD then has 45 days to review an application and, staff estimated, approval could come in early October 2025.

Program design and oversight: Staff emphasized that the action plan must remain high level — a HUD requirement — and that program guidelines, NOFAs and RFPs will be brought back to council for approval before disbursements. The draft budget items staff discussed include (figures from the presentation): $200 million for planning activities, $151 million for power generation resilience, $41.2 million (reduced) for emergency response/public safety (with $15.3 million still shown for high‑need equipment and delivery), $41 million for homelessness services, $32 million for debris repository programs, $30 million for multifamily rehabilitation and $20 million for single‑family repairs; administration was shown at about $15.7 million. Staff warned that final program rules and HUD waivers will shape what is allowable and how quickly funds can be deployed.

Public and stakeholder comments: Public speakers and community groups urged prioritizing housing and direct home repairs over fixed generators for police stations. Laura Gallier urged reallocating CDBG funds away from police generators toward housing, flood control and immediate home repairs for displaced families. Becky Smith of Clean Water Action said investing in safe housing reduces medical emergencies and asked that the city publish detailed program‑level budgets and explain administrative costs. City staff said the resident survey and public input will be incorporated into the final action plan and that the HCD recovery website and social media are being used to publicize the survey.

Next steps: Staff said NOFA and RFP development is underway so programs can launch quickly if HUD approves the action plan; program guidelines will return to council for approval. City staff said they will continue coordination with Harris County, the state (GLO) and federal partners and will return with more detailed program rules and implementation timelines. The committee did not vote on the draft action plan at the meeting.