6026821 Housing and Community Development, Department of - Notice of Public Hearing and Community Engagement Events - National Housing Trust Fund Allocation Plan - May 26, 2016

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS

 

 Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 6:30 pm

 

National Housing Trust Fund Allocation Plan

 

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is charged with developing a National Housing Trust Fund Allocation Plan (“Plan”), which will be incorporated into the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan submission on August 16, 2016. At the May 26, 2016 hearing, DHCD requests public input on the following required plan components: priority housing needs, project-based rental assistance, eligibility requirements for sub-grantees, geographic targeting, funds leveraging, and the duration of the affordability period.

 

The National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is a new federal entitlement resource provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Funds are distributed to states and the District of Columbia to produce, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate housing affordable to extremely low-income (ELI) households earning less than 30 percent of the area median income.

 

Funds are distributed to states by formula, including the District of Columbia, which then may distribute the money according to a state plan to state designated entities or sub-grantees for further distribution within a state, or directly to qualified recipients, such as nonprofit and for-profit organizations. The District anticipates receiving $3 million in HTF monies.

 

States can use the HTF money for several different types of assistance, including grants, equity investments, loans, advances, interest subsidies, deferred payment loans and other assistance approved by HUD. Eligible project costs include hard development costs, certain soft costs like architectural and engineering fees, acquisition costs, refinancing costs, relocation costs and certain operating costs. No more than one-third of the entire District’s HTF allocation may be spent on operating costs and no more than 10 percent may be spent on administrative and planning activities. Additionally, no more than 10 percent may be used for sustainable homeownership activities, including down payment or closing cost assistance and homeowner counseling.

 

The Thursday May 26, 2016 hearing will be held at the DC Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Resource Center, 1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, at 6:30 pm. Residents who would like to present oral testimony at the public hearing are encouraged to register in advance either by email at [e-mail] or by calling [phone]. Please provide your name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any.

 

If you wish to provide written comment for the record, please do so by mail or email by close of business Thursday, June 9, 2016. Written statements should be mailed to: Polly Donaldson, Director, DHCD, Attention: National Housing Trust Fund Allocation Plan Comments, 1800 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20020. Emailed comments should be submitted to [e-mail] with a subject line, “National Housing Trust Fund Allocation Plan Comments.”

 

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) relay service is available by calling [phone]. A sign language interpreter will be provided upon request by calling [phone] five days prior to the event date. Residents who require language interpretation should specify which language (Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese-Mandarin/Cantonese, Amharic, or French). Interpretation services will be provided to pre-registered persons only. Deadline for requesting services of an interpreter is five days prior to the event date. Bilingual staff will provide services on an availability basis to walk-ins without registration.