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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-01-2003-7cORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 1, 2003 Action Agenda Item No. - SUBJECT• Orange County Housing Rehabilitation Program DEPARTMENT: Housing/Comm. Development PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) Yes ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara L. Fikes, ext 2490 Resolution Application Summary TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To receive citizen comments concerning the proposed FY 2004 Housing Rehabilitation Program Application and approve a resolution authorizing the submission of the formal application document on or about October 24, 2003 and authorize the Chair to sign the application document on behalf of the Board. BACKGROUND: The County was recently notified by the N.C. Department of Commerce - Division of Community Assistance of the award of $400,000 in Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation funds under the FY 2004 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. These grant funds are no longer competitive, and each interested county in North Carolina is scheduled to receive an allocation every three years to provide housing rehabilitation funds for the County and the municipalities within the County. Orange County received $400,000 in housing rehabilitation funds in 2001 and is designated to receive funds in 2004. These grant funds must be used to repair substandard housing occupied by low-income families in the Towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough as well as the unincorporated areas of Orange County. In order to receive the funds a formal application must be submitted to the State. A public hearing was held on September 2, 2003 to receive citizen comments regarding the use of these grant funds prior to the development of the application document. No comments from the public were received at that time. However, interest was expressed in addressing substandard housing that lack indoor plumbing in the County's rehabilitation program. After the hearing, County officials discussed this program with Carrboro and Hillsborough members of the Orange County HOME Review Committee. That committee agreed that this program would continue to be an extension of the current HOME funded Housing Rehabilitation Program; thus, the same waiting list and program eligibility guidelines would be used for both nroarams. Further. the Division of Community Assistance requires each community to establish a Selection Committee for this grant. The existing Orange County HOME Review Committee will continue to serve in this capacity. Further, in response to the question raised concerning indoor plumbing, a review of the existing waiting list indicates that there are no units that lack complete indoor plumbing, but that there are instances of plumbing deficiencies. As suggested, the incidence of incomplete plumbing in the County will be referred to the Affordable Housing Advisory Board for further study during a planning retreat scheduled for later this year. The County Housing and Community Development Department administers the Orange County Single Family Housing Rehabilitation Program. The goal of the program is to repair substandard owner-occupied and rental housing units owned and occupied by low-income families. The program is designed as a deferred loan program with five, ten, and fifteen year terms depending upon the amount of the loan. Homeowners with incomes at or below 50% of area median income are eligible for this program and the houses must have minimum housing code deficiencies in order to qualify for assistance. Further, the units must be located in the Towns of Carrboro, Hillsborough, and unincorporated Orange County. In accordance with the Division of Community Assistance requirements, a second public hearing must be held to receive citizen comments before submission of the application. Comments received at this hearing will be incorporated into the application prior to submission on or before October 24, 2003. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Applications for these funds represent an additional $400,000 available for affordable housing initiatives in the County. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board: 1) Receive citizen comments as additional information; 2) Approve the resolution authorizing the submission of the formal application document on or about October 24, 2003; and 3) Authorize the Chair to sign the application document on behalf of the Board. 3 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN APPLICATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS WHEREAS, the County was notified by the N.C. Department of Commerce - Division of Community Assistance of the award of $400,000 in Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation funds under the FY 2004 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program; and WHEREAS, an application for funding must be sent to the Division of Community Assistance on or before October 24, 2003 in order to receive the funds; and WHEREAS, grant funds must be used to repair substandard housing in the Towns of Carrboro, Hillsborough, and unincorporated Orange County; and WHEREAS, these towns have expressed an interest in participating in this program with the County; and WHEREAS, there is agreement that this program will operate as an extension of the current HOME funded Orange County Housing Rehabilitation Program utilizing its waiting lists and program eligibility guidelines; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Orange County Board of Commissioners, that an application for FY 2004 Scattered Site Housing Program grant funds under the North Carolina Small Cities Community Development Block Grant funds is hereby authorized. The funds requested will be used to repair approximately fifteen (15) substandard dwelling units in the Towns of Carrboro, Hillsborough, and unincorporated Orange County. The amount of the request will be $400,000. The application will be submitted on or about October 24, 2003. FURTHER, the Orange County Board of Commissioners authorizes the Chair of the Board to sign the application document on the County's behalf. This the 1st day of October 2003. 4 Application SummaN FY2004 Orange County Housing Rehabilitation Program Background Orange County has received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) award in the amount of $400,000 from the N.C. Department of Commerce -Division of Community Assistance. These grant funds must be to used to repair substandard housing occupied by low-income families in the Towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough as well as the unincorporated areas of Orange County. Approximately 10% of the award can be used for program administration, thus, effectively $360,000 will be available for housing repair. The Program Selection committee formed in January 2001 for the FY 2001 Scattered Site Grant will continue to serve in that capacity. Members of the Committee are as follows: Margaret Brown, Orange County Commissioner Tara L. Fikes, Housing/CD Director Mark Dorosin, Carrboro Alderman James Harris, Carrboro Economic and CD Director Kenneth Chavious, Hillsborough Town Commissioner Margaret Hauth, Hillsborough Planning Director This Committee discussed the policies and procedures that should govern this program and agreed that the policies and unit selection process will closely mirror those utilized in the current HOME funded Housing Rehabilitation Program. Program Policies Eligibility Criteria 1. The applicant must be the Owner of the residential property located in Orange County but outside the corporate limits of the Town of Chapel Hill. 2. The applicant must have total household income at or below 50% of the HUD published area median income. 3. The property must not have received assistance for housing rehabilitation during the previous 15 years. 4. The property must need repairs to meet the Minimum Housing Code. 5. The applicant shall have evidence of title to the property to be rehabilitated. 6. The applicant shall have paid all due property taxes. 5 Participant/Household Selection Program participants will be selected from the existing Housing Rehabilitation Program waiting list according to date and time of waiting list placement. There are approximately 45 families on the waiting list at this time. In selecting participants, priority will be given to owners that lack indoor plumbing or have plumbing deficiencies, or are elderly or disabled. The Selection Committee will prioritize the potential applicants and County staff will determine eligibility based on the above stated criteria. No extensive program marketing is anticipated at this time since the number of families on the waiting list at the present time far exceeds available resources. Terms of Assistance All CDBG financial assistance will be in the form of a deferred loan that is proportionally forgiven over the applicable term of recapture. CDBG Assistance $15,000 and less $15,000 and $25,000 $25,000 and above Recapture Period 5 years 10 years 15 years All deferred loans will be secured with a note and deed of trust recorded in the Orange County Register of Deeds. Target Number of Substandard Units This program will target the repair of an estimated 15 substandard dwelling units at an average cost of $24,000 per unit. No clearance or relocation activities will be necessary. Budget Housing Rehabilitation $360,000 Program Administration $ 40,000 Program Schedule Begin program implementation March 1, 2004 Complete program by December 31, 2006