Lakewood advisory board launches HUD consolidated-plan outreach, outlines eligible uses for CDBG and HOME funds

Jeff, the city division manager, told the Lakewood Advisory Board that staff have opened the HUD Consolidated Plan process and will run public outreach through December. He said the process includes a needs assessment, market analysis and a five-year strategic framework that informs annual action plans. "We're at the start of this consolidated plan process," Jeff said.

Martha, the program coordinator, described targeted outreach to neighborhood groups, boards and commissions, providers, business and property owners, and an online survey to gather community input. Staff said meetings will include council members, advisory boards, planning commissions and service providers.

Staff reviewed the types of activities the city can fund under CDBG and HOME rules: rehabilitation and rental rehabilitation, affordable housing development, infrastructure such as streets and sidewalks, community facilities and economic development projects that create jobs, plus a limited share for public services. Jeff noted the program budget is modest and cannot address all local needs: "the city gets about half a million to $600,000 in CDBG; we get about $300,000 in HOME," he said.

Board members asked how the planning timeline and funding priorities will be presented to council. Staff said they will return a recommended five-year framework and annual action plan that shows how funds map to identified local needs, and that any deviations from a transparent scoring process will be explained in the staff report.

Next steps: staff will continue outreach, run an online survey and collect written input through December, incorporate that feedback into the draft consolidated plan and present recommendations to council-level decision-makers later in the process.