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City of Vancouver staff brief CAB on AHF, CHIP and rental registration coordinator hire
Summary
City housing staff updated the board on a 30-day public comment period for 2026 awards, active CHIP and housing trust fund applications (deadlines end of September), a change in HUD staff, and the hiring of Eric Estrada to coordinate the city’s rental registration and inspection policy work aiming for codification this year.
Samantha Whitley, representing the City of Vancouver housing team, briefed the Community Action Advisory Board on several housing programs and administrative changes, including a new HUD representative and upcoming application cycles for state and local funding.
Whitley said the city will hold a full 30-day public comment period before council review of 2026 fund awards and has scheduled a workshop next month to review timelines and administrative-plan changes to increase flexibility in awards. She said the city is prioritizing adjustments to microenterprise child-care assistance for the 2027 program year.
On infrastructure funding, Whitley said the state Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) is open and the city regularly secures two to three awards a year for system-development charge and infrastructure needs, with application deadlines at the end of September. Housing trust fund applications also close in September and timely local awards help applicants demonstrate local commitment for state competition.
Whitley told the board the city has hired Eric Estrada, formerly with the city’s permits department, to coordinate the rental registration program and develop inspection policies. "We hired Eric Estrada, and he was with the city's permits department," she said. Whitley said the city plans to use private inspectors trained to the city's standards and hopes to start proactive habitability inspections in spring 2027, with council codification of inspection policies targeted by the end of the year.
The presentation concluded with an offer to distribute the slide deck and a reminder that the presentation and meeting recording will be posted on the county website.
