Agenda - 12-13-2022; 8-a - Minutes

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6 1 2 Beverly Payne, Tribal Council member of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation 3 Tribe, thanked the Board for the proclamation and thanked them for their service to Orange 4 County. She said she knows how hard they all work and appreciates everything they do. 5 6 5. Public Hearings 7 a. Public Hearing on Orange County's HOME-ARP Allocation Plan 8 The Board held a public hearing on Orange County's HOME-ARP Allocation Plan. 9 10 BACKGROUND: The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $5 billion nationwide to 11 provide housing, services, and shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness and other 12 vulnerable populations. The funds were allocated by formula to jurisdictions through the U.S. 13 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) 14 Program. This funding is called "HOME-ARP". In September 2021, HUD awarded the Orange 15 County HOME Consortium (which consists of the County—the "lead entity" for the Consortium — 16 and the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough) $1,371,401 in HOME-ARP funds. 17 18 Led by the Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative (a group made up of one elected 19 official from each jurisdiction that comprises the Consortium), the Orange County HOME 20 Consortium must develop an Allocation Plan to identify priority housing and service needs in the 21 community that may be supported with HOME-ARP funds and to describe the process that will 22 be used to distribute HOME-ARP funds. The Consortium's $1.3 million in HOME-ARP may not 23 be used for eligible housing projects or activities until an Allocation Plan is approved by HUD. It 24 is not expected that any funds will be committed or disbursed in the near future, since the 25 Consortium is just now starting the planning process. The Allocation Plan will determine how the 26 HOME-ARP funds will be awarded to projects or activities and lay out, broadly, which types of 27 eligible uses the Consortium plans to prioritize. 28 29 Once the Allocation Plan is created, staff will follow the process outlined in the Plan. For example, 30 if (based on the community engagement and needs assessment process), the Collaborative 31 decides to distribute HOME-ARP funds through a competitive application process and to prioritize 32 development of affordable housing, staff would then issue a funding application for affordable 33 housing development projects. 34 35 As part of the development of the Plan, Orange County must consult with stakeholders that work 36 with the "Qualifying Populations" listed above. County and Town staff are actively engaging 37 stakeholders by presenting at meetings, soliciting feedback through a survey, and incorporating 38 feedback from the Towns' community engagement processes around ARPA funding. 39 40 As the lead entity of the Consortium, the County must hold a public hearing to obtain residents' 41 comments and feedback on how the HOME-ARP funds should be awarded. Members of the 42 public may submit comments at the public hearing and during the public comment period (October 43 22 — November 7, 2022) to Shaina Crump, Community Development Specialist, by email 44 (scrump(cDorangecountync.gov), by mail (PO Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278)or by telephone 45 (919-886-3574). 46 47 The County held a public hearing last Fall, and since then staff have drafted the HOME-ARP 48 Allocation Plan based on the feedback received during the first public hearing and public comment 49 period, on the other community engagement and stakeholder consultation efforts (including a 50 survey and presentations at community meetings), and from the ARPA public participation 51 processes being conducted by the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill.