Lowcountry COG outlines 2026 CDBG opportunities; Beaufort County asked about demolitions, sewer extensions

Michelle Knight of the Lowcountry Council of Governments presented Beaufort County Council with the 2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program during a public hearing on Feb. 9, describing program categories, deadlines and eligibility criteria and encouraging local input for the state’s five‑year consolidated plan.

Knight said the state’s annual CDBG allocation for non‑entitlement areas is expected to be about $20,100,000 and outlined three main set‑asides for the state small cities program: community infrastructure (spring round; up to $1 million requests), community enrichment (fall round; up to $750,000), and local priorities (fall round; up to $300,000). She also described business development funding and regional planning grants and noted a typical 10 percent match requirement.

Council members asked how CDBG funds could be used for demolition of vacant or nuisance residential structures and for replacing failing septic systems. Knight said the county could prepare targeted demolition applications—starting with code enforcement lists—and could pursue sewer or water extensions with grant support if the utility prioritized the project and publicly owned infrastructure or service extension was feasible. She recommended coordination with Beaufort‑Jasper Water and Sewer Authority for sewer projects.

Knight also described noncompetitive CDBG options that can move quickly when pre‑work (design, permitting, environmental review) is complete, and she encouraged submission of housing‑needs input to inform the regional HOME consortium’s consolidated plan.

The county will route CDBG rankings through committee and staff (grants administrator/CFO) for application preparation, Knight said.