9978-09 Appropriating $2,463,435 from Community Development (Fund 212), defraying expenses of CED

Home Browse Search

St. Joseph County Housing Consortium (income verification, acquisition procedures, relocation, etc.) during those meetings. In furtherance of their neighborhood revitalization efforts, subgrantees find it necessary to acquire vacant lots and/or buildings beyond repair which need to be demolished. In either case, the agencies are then in a position of owning a concentration of vacant lots in their neighborhood. While this concentration of property can provide crucial blocks of raw land upon which new development can occur, it can also present challenges to monitoring as staff must ensure all applicable requirements are met into the future. For this reason, monitoring staff will work closely with subgrantees to keep up-to-date maps and other records on the status of such property. The St. Joseph Housing Consortium annually arranges with the St. Joseph County Building Department to inspect HOME funded multi-family rental in compliance with HOME program requirements. The City of South Bend's Division of Community Development monitors overall progress of CDBG expenditures to ensure compliance with timeliness of expenditures monthly. Priority Needs Analysis and Strategies (91.215 (a)) 1. Describe the basis for assigning the priority given to each category of priority needs. 2. Identify any obstacles to meeting underserved needs. Needs are determined based on input from residents and neighborhood organizations, information from local nonprofit organizations, analysis of housing and other community data, and review of local studies and adopted plans. The priority to address a need is determined using the following criteria: • The significance of the need • The eligibility of the area where the need is found The capacity for the community to effectively address the need • The degree of stabilization (including positive market impact) that could be achieved • The ability to leverage other funding, especially non-public dollars • The visual impact on the neighborhood, if a physical project • The positive impact on homeownership, if a housing project • The improvement in the occupant's quality of life, if a housing project Activities that are best able to address these criteria receive a high priority. Other activities that are also address these criteria, but cannot be undertaken with current funding or at the current time, are given a medium priority. Activities that also address these criteria, but to more modest extents or that are cost prohibitive or impractical at the current time, receive a low priority. Lack of adequate funding, from public, private, and nonprofit sources, can be an obstacle to meeting underserved needs. Additionally, providers and their contractors may not have the capacity necessary to address fully the needs. Nonprofit organizations struggle with administrative costs, contractors willing to work on individual, smaller housing rehabilitation jobs are limited, and the local skilled rehabilitation contractors are limited and desired by all entities. 2010-2014 Housing and Community Development Plan 24