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Letcher County court advances housing plans as nonprofits push for stalled disaster-recovery agreements
Summary
Nonprofit developer Homes and CDFI partners updated the fiscal court on several housing projects tied to CDBG-DR disaster recovery money, while the court approved two resolutions to advance neighborhood revitalization and citizen participation requirements; progress remains blocked until state developer agreements and environmental clearances are fully executed.
Homes, a nonprofit developer that has built hundreds of affordable homes in the region, presented a portfolio of projects and urged the Letcher County Fiscal Court to push state and federal partners to finalize developer agreements so construction can begin.
"We've built more than 300 houses since the early 1990s, and the only reason we can make a home affordable is by layering subsidy and forgivable loans," said Seth Long, a longtime Homes representative. He told the court that appraisals and rising construction and insurance costs have made privately financed affordable housing nearly impossible without grant support.
Alex Ferris, disaster recovery coordinator with a regional CDFI, explained how the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) process works: federal funds flow to HUD, the state develops an action plan administered by the Department for Local Government (DLG), and projects must meet HUD rules including environmental clearance before funds can be spent. Ferris said several single-family project sites have received environmental clearance but cannot move to acquisition or construction until a state developer agreement is fully executed.
The court unanimously approved two resolutions introduced by county and Homes staff: a neighborhood revitalization plan linking proposed projects to documented flood recovery needs, and a citizen participation plan that formalizes public notice and comment requirements for CDBG-DR-funded projects. The motions passed on recorded assent from the magistrates.
Long described three proposals: converting the old high school into 18 rental units with rooftop solar, a 26-unit homeownership duplex project, and an extension of water lines and development of 12 single-family lots. He emphasized that while dollars have been reserved for these projects, the county and developer cannot start acquisition, site work or building until the DLG executes developer agreements and the parties resolve bond and procurement concerns.
Court members and staff also discussed tax and appraisal impacts on affordability; Long said a modest ranch home that previously appraised lower is now appraising substantially higher, increasing taxes and escrow costs that make monthly payments less affordable for new low-income homebuyers.
The court directed staff to continue coordinating with Homes and the DLG, and to monitor the environmental and developer-agreement milestones needed to unlock construction.
The court recorded the following immediate actions: passage of the neighborhood revitalization resolution and adoption of the citizen participation plan to proceed with CDBG-DR applications and outreach.
What happens next: county staff said they will deliver the revitalization documents to the state and press for execution of developer agreements so the projects that already have environmental clearance can proceed to acquisition and construction.
