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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 82-29 ORDINANCE NO. fg_,72 ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2 IN THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO CHANGE THE SIZE AND THE TERMS OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE; ADOPTING A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN INCLUDING REVISIONS AND AN UPDATE OF THE CITIZENS PARTICIPATION PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ' BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM; REPEALING ORDINANCE 79-3 AND OTHER ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND PROVIDING FOR REPEAL. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF BEAUMONT: Section 1. That Chapter 2, Section 2-87 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Beaumont be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows : Section 2-87: There is hereby established a Community Develop- ment Advisory Committee to be composed of twenty (20) members who are resident citizens of the City. The members of the Community Development Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the City Council for two (2) year terms. The City Council shall name one (1 ) of the members as chairman and one (1 ) as vice-chairman. The City Council shall appoint one ( 1 ) of its number to serve as an ex officio member of the committee without vote. Vacancies shall be filled by the City Council for the unexpired term. Members of the Committee shall serve without compensation. Section 2. Ordinance 79-3, passed January 16, 1979, is hereby repealed. Section 3. The City of Beaumont hereby adopts the Community Development Plan including revisions and updates of the Citizens Participation Plan for the Community Development Block Grant Program as shown as the attached Exhibit "A" and made a part hereof for all purposes. Section 4. That if any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or the application of same to a particular set of persons or circumstances, should for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this ordinance, and to such end the various portions and provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 5. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of the conflict only. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the day of Z,', `�.L 19 Mayor - 2 - - ` , . COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM OF BEAUM0NT, TEXAS Purpose of the Community Development Plan (C. D. Plan) . The major purpose of the CVm0UDftv Development plan presented here is to provide citizens and Cftv officials alike with knowledge of the process in which citizens may become involved in pl8DDfDg, implementation, and 833e3S0eDt Of the Community Development Block Grant program. The provisions of the plan apply t0 all ongoing CDBG activities at the time of p]dD adoption DS well as all future CDBG activities . The plan will remain in effect until all activities are completed or d new plan is adopted. Nothing in the Community Development Plan should be construed as restricting the authority Of the City in development or eX8CUtiOD Of the CDBG program nor its responsibility t0 do 30. Standards of Participation The following standards will apply t0 the 8edU00Ot CU00UDitv Development Plan. l, All d5p2CtS of citizen participation will be CDDdUCt8d in an open manner, with access for all interested persons. 2' There will be involvement Of low-and moderate fnC00e persons , members of minority groups , residents Of areas where 8 significant a0OUDt of activity is proposed or ongoing, the elderly, the handi- capped, the business C00NUDitv, and civic groups who are concerned " about the program. 3. The City will make reasonable efforts t0 ensure that citizens Or citizen organizations are continually fDV0lVed throughout all stages of the CDBG program. 4. Citizens will be provided adequate and timely information, to enable them t0 be meaningfully involved in important decisions . - at various stages of the CDBG program' 5. All citizens , especially low and moderate income persons and residents of blighted neighborhoods, will be encouraged to submit their views and proposals concerning the CDBG program. 6. The City will provide for, in this Community Development Plan, d process for citizen participation at the communitywide level EXHIBIT "A" 2 and at the neighborhood level in areas where significant CDBG activity is proposed or ongoing. Scope of Participation - Citizens will be involved in all stages of the CDBG program. Citizens will specifically participate in the following areas: 1. Proposed Statement - planning activities including Final Statement of Community Development Objectives, Projected Use of Funds, and any related amendments or changes to the above. 2. Program implementation - at a minimum, citizens will participate in an advisory role to Council and City staff in policy decisions regarding program implementation. Self-help activities and program operations conducted by neighborhood organizations will be encouraged as well . 3. Assessment of performance —Citizens and citizen organizations will be given an opportunity to assess and submit comments on all aspects of the City's CDBG performance including the perfor- mance of the City's grantees and contractors. They also will be requested to assess whether objectives of the program have been achieved through the activities and projects carried out. Comments from citizens and the City's responses to them must be included in the city's annual CDBG Performance Report. Process of Participation The process of participation and the participants involved are described as follows: 1. Communitywide Participants a. Community Development Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) The communitywide citizen participation process will be structured around the existing Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) . Currently, the CAC has 20 members, appointed to 2 year terms. The Mayor and members of Council each appoint 2 persons per year. To ensure that there is "substantial " representation of low and moderate income citizens and members of minority groups on the committee, the Mayor and Council will consider income and minority status when choosing subsequent members . The elderly, the handi- capped, the business community, and civic groups who are concerned about the program are also groups that will be considered when choosing members 3 of the CAC. There may be a representative/liaison from any neighborhood association. Representatives will be selected by their associations and only serve as repre- sentatives to the CAC (representative/liaison for the neighborhood will not be allowed to vote) . The Planning Director or his/her designee will serve as non-voting secretary of the CAC, recording and preparing minutes of all meetings. Minutes of a previous meeting will be available at the next meeting for approval by the Citizens Advisory Committee. The City Council will select a chairman and vice-chairman, The Executive Committee wit-1 meet with the CDBG staff prior to formal hearings to help disseminate information to other CAC members. The CAC may delegate decision making authority to the Executive Committee if it so desires. If necessary, subcommittees or task forces may be established by the CAC to study specific issues or plans to advise the CAC. The sub- committees' chairman and members (4 to 6) will be appointed by the CAC chairman. Duties and responsibilities of the CAC will be as follows: 1. To act as an advisory board to the City Council and the City Manager. 2. To recommend objectives to the city for the Community Development Block Grant Program. 3. To assist the City Council and City Manager's staff in planning for a continuing program of Community Development. 4. To meet as required by the chairman of the committee or the secretary with regular public meetings to be held not less than once every calendar quarter and additional meetings will be left to the discretion of the Chairman of the CAC. 5. To keep the City Council and the City Manager's staff informed of current trends and to recommend changes and improvements to the local CDBG Program. 6. To consider proposals and recommendations made by neighborhood associations in regard to programs for their neighborhoods before making final recommendations for- the community as a whole. 7. To study the needs of eligible areas of the City and make recom- mendations to the City Council for its physical development. 4 b. City Council The City Council is the final decision-making authority for the Community Development Program. The City Council is advised by the CAC, and the City Manager concerning the CDBG program. All Council meetings are open public hearings. c. Loan Advisory Board The Loan Advisory Board is an entity peculiar to the Rehabilitation Loan Program. It has 5 members who are appointed by the City Council for 2 year terms . This board will be responsible for making determination on all rehabilitation loans . Loan Advisory Board meetings will be held as the case load dictates. Due to the confidential nature of the information disclosed at these meetings , the board meetings will not be open to the public, however, weekly, quarterly, and annual status reports will be available to the public. Status reports will be submitted to the CAC members . d. Residents of the Community All citizens in Beaumont may be a part of the citizen participation process. Any interested persons may come to any public hearing and may submit views and proposals for consideration by the City Council , the CAC and the City Manager and his staff. 2. Neighborhood Level Participants a. Neighborhood Associations The primary neighborhood level participant in the neighborhood will be neighborhood associations. CDBG staff will meet with the representative committees of the individual associations. These meetings will offer the committee members a chance to discuss specific neighborhood problems , comment on how effective the CDBG program is and offer suggestions as to how the program might be improved or how the neighborhoods' priorities have changed. The CDBG staff will keep each committee informed on the status of the program and discuss any problems the staff has encountered in program implementation. Responsibilities of the neighborhood associations will be: 1. To act as an advisory board to the Citizens Advisory Committee. 2. To recommend objectives to the city for the CDBG program in their neighborhood. 5 3. To meet as required by the chairman of the association with meetings held as he or she deems necessary. 4. To keep the Citizen's Advisory Committee, City Council and the City Manager's staff informed of current trends and to recommend changes and improvements which will update the neighborhood plan. b. Neighborhood Residents Residents of neighborhood strategy areas may also become involved in the CDBG program outside the confines of structured meetings through self-help projects for their neighborhoods that do not necessarily require CDBG funds but supplement formal CDBG activities in the area. Self-help projects will be encouraged by the City and the CAC. Residents of neighborhoods that are not strategy areas may become involved in citizen participation through public hearings , organization of neighborhood associations to represent them, and self-help projects for their neighborhood. As is true for any citizen in Beaumont, any individual resident of any neighborhood may submit views or proposals concerning the CDBG program to the City for consideration. The Beaumont CDBG program year runs from July 13 to the next July 12. Briefly, the major participants will interact as follows: The CAC will continue to function as the community's advisory body to Council and City staff concerning CDBG matters . The CAC will consider neighborhood associations ' , and citizens '. recommendations and proposals when advising City Council and staff. The CAC and all citizens will rely on CDBG staff to provide accurate and timely or "adequate information" throughout the CDBG program. Neighborhood associations and all City residents may make recommendations, complaints, and statements at appropriate times to CDBG staff, the CAC, and to City Council concerning the CDBG program. The public hearing and citizen participation process timetable will be established each year by the City Council . All public hearings will be advertised in the non-legal section of the Beaumont Enterprise-Journal 10 days- prior to the hearing. Neighborhood associations will be responsible for scheduling additional meetings throughout the program year as they see fit. Special meetings of the CAC and the neighborhood committees and/or associations will be held throughout the year as situations warrant. � tea.aq 6 Procedure for Submission of Views and Proposals by Citizens All citizens in Beaumont may submit to the City, views and proposals concerning the CDBG program. Views and proposals may be submitted: - 1. Directly to the city during the planning period (January - March) at public hearings on the CDBG Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds. 2. To recognized neighborhood association committees and the Citizen Advisory Committee. 3. At neighborhood and other meetings if scheduled by the city prior to formal public hearings. 4. At formal public hearings. These views and proposals will be reviewed and considered by the City and reasonable effort made to provide responses within fifteen (15) working days. Written responses will be provided for written proposals and will state the reasons for action taken on the proposal by the City. Whenever possible, responses will be provided prior to the final hearing on the CDBG Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds. The deadline for submission of views and proposals in regard to planning for the next fiscal year and performance during the previous year is May 4. Views and proposals concerning day to day program implementation will be accepted anytime within the first week of May. Submission of views and proposals will be encouraged through publicity about meetings and through public service announcements concerning the CDBG program. All information distributed about the CDBG program will include a byline requesting submission of views and proposals by citizens. The information will be made available to low and moderate income persons, minorities, and residents of blighted areas through neighborhood associations, special notices, radio and television publicity. Citizen views or propo- sals pertinent to performance will be included in the annual Performance Report. Complaints Procedure Citizens who have complaints about the CDBG program should register their complaint directly to the City CDBG staff either during working 7 hours or at neighborhood meetings and public hearings. Complaints should be in written form if at all possible. The city will make every reasonable effort to provide written responses to all complaints within fifteen (15) working days . If a citizen does not feel that his or her complaint has been answered adequately or a satisfactory solution found, he or she should come before the CAC and present their case. Individual activities or programs under the CDBG program may require a separate and more specific complaint procedure that will replace the process described here. This is particularly true of the rehabilitation loan program where a complaint procedure is outlined in the Rehabilitation Loan Program Handbook. If other activities require a special complaint procedure, it will be described in a handbook made available to citizens. Otherwise, the procedure described above should be followed. Consideration of Objections to Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds Submitted to HUD Anyone wishing to object to approval of the Beaumont CDBG Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds by HUD may do so through the HUD Area Office in Dallas (Address: Mr. Ferias E. Ferguson, Acting Director - Community Planning and Development Division - Department of Housing and Urban Development Area Office - P. 0. Box 1005 - Dallas , Texas 75207) . HUD will only consider objections made on the following grounds : 1. The City's description of needs and objectives is plainly inconsistent with available facts and data. 2. The activities to be undertaken are plainly inappropriate to meet the needs and objectives identified by the City. 3. The Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds does not comply with the requirements of the CDBG Program or other applicable law. 4. The Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds proposes activities which are otherwise ineligible under the CDBG program regulations. Such objections should include which requirements were not met and the data and facts which the objectors rely on. HUD will consider objections submitted at any time, but objections should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of the notice stating B Beaumont has submitted its CDBG Final Statement of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds. Technical Assistance to be Available City staff will also provide information and advice or referrals to groups of low and moderate income persons and groups of residents of blighted neighborhoods who request assistance in developing proposals and statements of views if possible. Neighborhood organizations will be responsible for maintaining their own schedule of meetings and activities . City staff will refer neighborhood groups to appropriate public or private entities if the group is interested in assistance in organizing an association or carrying out CDBG activities. Description of Adequate Information Citizens in Beaumont will be provided with full access to CDBG program information and "special efforts" will be made to inform low and moderate income persons and residents of blighted neighborhoods . These "special efforts" will consist of placing notices wherer these persons will see them, informing neighborhood associations in these particular areas, and putting publicity in local newspapers and on local television and radio. Specific information to be made available to citizens is outlined in the following paragraphs. As soon as CDBG staff begins planning for the upcoming funding year, citizens will be provided with the following information: 1. The amount of CDBG funds available for all activities. 2. Eligible activities that may be undertaken and what has been done with past funds . 3. Processes for preparing CDBG Statement of Objectives & Projected Use of Funds and schedule of meetings. 4. The role of citizens as described in the CD Plan. 5. Summary of any other requirements. The CDBG staff will always keep on file, at their main office, copies of the -following key documents for citizens to review: 1. All mailing and promotional materials pertaining to CDBG. 2. Records of hearings pertaining to CDBG. 3. Prior applications, letters of approval , grant agreements, prior Community Development Citizen Participation Plan, performance reports, evaluation reports, other HUD required reports , (i .e. Environmental Review 9 Record) and proposed and final statement for the current year. 4. Copies of regulations and issuances governing the program. 5. Documents regarding other program requirements, such as contracting procedures, environmental policies, fair housing and other equal opportunity requirements and relocation provisions. 6. Status reports of all activities. 7. Other pertinent information. When the CDBG Final Statement is submitted to HUD, the City will publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation (Beaumont Enterprise- Journal ) stating that the Final Statement of Objectives and Projected Use has been submitted and is available to interested parties upon request and also describing the requirements on citizen objections to the Final Statement. The CDBG staff will make copies of the Community Development Plan, the Proposed and Final Statement, and the Annual Performance Report available at location convenient for persons affected by the program and accessible to the handicapped. Probable locations will include but not be limited to field offices established in or near neighborhood strategy areas, the home of a member (secretary) of the representative committee of each of the neighborhood associations, any community center established with CDBG funds including the multi-purpose senior center, the public library or any other location that is convenient to persons affected by the CDBG program. Public Hearin Requirements Public Hearings will be held throughout the various stages of the CDBG program under various formats. For example, any item that requires City Council approval (including the CDBG Statement and Budget) will be discussed at a "public hearing" or open city council meeting. The CAC will meet in open public session. Neighborhood association meetings will be open to anyone and CDBG staff meetings with neighborhood associa- tion committee members, will also be open to the public. For public hearings held by the City concerning the CDBG, the program must meet the following guidelines : 10 1. The City will hold one official public hearing by the City Council prior to submission of the CDBG Proposed Statement of Community Development Objective and Projected Use of Funds. a. To obtain views and proposals of citizens at the initial stage of development on Community Development and housing needs and priorities and to obtain comments on the City's CDBG performance. b. To obtain views of citizens on the proposed statement prior to submission of the Final Statement to HUD 2. The City CDBG staff will hold with the City Council an additional public hearing 30 to 60 days prior to the start of planning for the next program year to review program progress and performance (performance hearings) . 3. Notice for public hearings will be published 10 days prior to each public hearing in the non-legal , easily readable section of the (Beaumont Enterprise and Journal ) . Notice must indicate the date, time, place, procedures of hearing and topics to be considered. Reasonable effort will be made to provide notices to newspapers and periodicals serving low-moderate income neighborhoods. The City will also use public service radio and television announcements to widely publicize the hearings. Procedure for Contingency and Local Option Activities If the City sets aside funds in its application for contingencies and/or local option activities or identifies activities in the statement that could replace any activities disapproved by HUD, citizens will be involved in selection of such activities. Recommendations will be requested from the neighborhood associations in the areas where the activity is planned and also from the CAC. These recommendations will be considered by the City before selecting an activity. Program Amendments If any amendment to the CDBG program is proposed (except for disaster activities) citizens will participate in the decision. For amendments that require prior HUD approval (listed under § 570.312 of March 1, 1978 Federal Register) formal public hearings will be held. This plan is subject to amendment at any time by the City Council .