Harrisburg council approves HUD funding measures, school-zone ordinance and Front Street grant application

Harrisburg City Council on the evening of the legislative session voted to adopt four ordinances and several resolutions that allocate federal housing funds and advance local transportation and safety projects.

The council approved Bill 8 (Community Development Block Grant appropriations), Bill 9 (Emergency Solutions Grant appropriations), Bill 10 (HOME Investment Partnerships appropriations) and Bill 11 (traffic-control map amendment to establish a school zone on North 3rd Street). Council also passed Resolutions 55, 56, 57 and 58 and authorized a grant application (Resolution 60) to seek up to $2,000,000 for multimodal safety enhancements along the Front Street corridor.

Why it matters: the HUD-funded appropriations (CDBG, ESG and HOME) direct federal dollars for housing rehabilitation, homelessness outreach/rapid rehousing and affordable-housing development in Harrisburg. The transportation items include a school safety zone and funding requests for accessible pedestrian signals and corridor improvements that city officials say will improve pedestrian safety.

What council voted: the clerk read each measure into the record before votes. Bill 8 passed (6–0). Bill 9 passed (7–0). Bill 10 passed (6–0) with Councilman Lawson recusing himself; the transcript records Lawson saying he must recuse on that vote. Bill 11 passed (7–0). Resolutions 55–58 passed where recorded. Council then voted to authorize submission of a multimodal grant application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for up to $2 million to fund safety enhancements on Front Street; council members said the July 31 grant deadline required prompt action.

Council and staff comments: Councilwoman Davis and Director Gloria Martin Roberts explained program restrictions and application status for HUD funds, noting Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) money is restricted to homeless services. Director Martin Roberts said HUD had indicated verbally it did not view a named staff conflict as disqualifying but the law bureau must file a written waiver. Engineer Joel Siders described the Front Street proposal — relocating crosswalks, pedestrian-activated flashing beacons with directional LED luminaires and a roundabout at Front & Division — and said PennDOT has been involved and supportive.

Votes at a glance (final recorded outcomes): • Bill 8 of 2026 (CDBG appropriations): passed (recorded as 6–0). • Bill 9 of 2026 (ESG appropriations): passed (7–0). • Bill 10 of 2026 (HOME appropriations): passed (6–0); Councilman Lawson recused. • Bill 11 of 2026 (traffic-control / school zone): passed (7–0). • Resolution 55 of 2026 (budget reallocation): passed (recorded vote recorded as passing). • Resolution 56 of 2026 (lot consolidation/land development for 100 N. 13th St.): passed (7–0). • Resolution 57 of 2026 (PennDOT pedestrian-signal grant ratification, $48,000): passed (7–0). • Resolution 58 of 2026 (disposition of surplus city property): passed (7–0). • Resolution 60 of 2026 (authorize application for up to $2M multimodal grant for Front Street): council approved application authorization; councilors cited the July 31 deadline.

Implementation notes: staff told council the HOME fund application process is developer-driven and that HUD waiver paperwork is pending for one subrecipient with a staff-family connection; Director Martin Roberts said if the waiver is denied the funding would be reallocated to another subrecipient.

What’s next: the council adopted the measures during the session and will proceed with any required filings and follow-up steps, including HUD waiver correspondence and the multimodal grant application for Front Street.

Sources and provenance: council readings and recorded roll-call votes as read by City Clerk Jared Truesdale and the committee reports presented during the session. City staff who spoke about program details included Director Gloria Martin Roberts and Engineer Joel Siders.