HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 92-228 RESOLUTION
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF BEAUMONT:
THAT the City Manager be, and he is hereby, authorized to adopt an amended "Community
Development Plan" for the City's Community Development Block Grant Program substantially
in the form of Exhibit "A" attached hereto and made a part hereof for all purposes. The
amended plan will respond to HUD's request for increased citizen participation opportunities
and accommodations for handicapped and non-English speaking persons at public meetings.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the oz�cldiy
of 4 1992.
- Mayor -
THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN
FOR THE
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
BEAUMONT, TEXAS
Prepared by
The Community Development Division
Administrative Services Department
City of Beaumont, Texas
August
1992
EXHIBIT "A"
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I. Community Development Program Purpose and Goals 1
II. Citizen Participation Process 2
III. Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) 3
IV. Program Amendments 4
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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN
This Community Development Plan will provide citizens and city officials with knowledge
of the process in which citizens may become involved in the planning, implementation
and assessment of the Community Development Block Grant program. Provisions of the
Plan apply to all ongoing CDBG activities at the time of Plan adoption as well as all future
CDBG activities. The Plan will remain in effect until all activities are completed or a new
plan is adopted. Nothing in the Community Development Plan should be construed as
restricting the authority of the City in development or execution of other CDBG plans,
programs or projects.
Major improvements needed in Beaumont's neighborhoods are public infrastructure
improvements and housing preservation and rehabilitation. Public facilities in need of
improvements are streets, water and sewer lines, storm drainage, and parks. Housing
needs include code enforcement, demolition and clearance of dilapidated structures and
housing rehabilitation to assist families who otherwise could not find funds to repair their
property.
There is a need to expand housing opportunities for low and moderate income
households. In addition to improving housing options for low and moderate income
households through rehabilitation, rent subsidies and construction of assisted housing,
there is also a need to expand housing opportunities through construction of new
affordable housing units.
The overall goal of the City's Community Development Block Grant Program is the
development of viable neighborhoods by providing decent housing, a suitable living
environment and expanding -economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and
moderate incomes. The following are major program objectives:
o Elimination of slums and deterioration and the prevention of
blighting influences in the community.
o Elimination of conditions which are detrimental to health,
safety and public welfare in the community.
o Conservation and expansion of the City's housing stock.
o Improvement of the quantity and quality of public
infrastructure and community services available for lower
income residents.
o Restoration and preservation of properties of special value to
the City for historic, architectural and aesthetic reasons.
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o Facilitate the highest and best utilization of land and other natural resources
in the community.
o Alleviation of physical and economic distress through the
stimulation of private investment.
Citizen Participation Process
Citizen participation in the annual Community Development Program, which begins on
July 13 and extends to July 12 of the following year, will meet the following requirements.
o Citizens will be provided adequate information concerning the
amount of funds available for proposed community
development activities; the range of activities that may be
undertaken; and other important requirements;
o City staff will hold at least three public meetings to obtain the
views of citizens on community development and housing
needs. Meetings will be held no later than 14 days prior to
the day City Council renders its decision on the proposed
Final Statement and Projected Use of Funds. All public
meetings will be advertised in the Beaumont Enterprise seven
days prior to the meeting.
o After the submission of the Final Statement of Objectives and
Projected Use of Funds and upon request, staff will hold
meetings with neighborhood organizations.
o City staff will publish community-wide its proposed Statement
of Objectives and Projected Use of Funds so as to afford
affected citizens an opportunity to examine the Statement's
contents and to provide comments on the City's community
development performance;
o City staff will provide for and encourage citizen's participation,
with particular emphasis on participation by persons of low
and moderate income who are residents of slum and blighted
areas and of areas in which funds are proposed to be used;
o Citizens will be provided reasonable and timely access to
local meetings, information and records relating to the
grantee's proposed use of funds and the actual use of funds;
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o Technical assistance will be provided to groups representative
of persons of low and moderate income that request such
assistance in developing proposals with the level an_d type of
assistance to be determined by the grantee;
o Public meetings will be held to obtain citizen's views and to
respond to proposals and questions at all stages of the
community development process, including development
needs, the review of proposed activities and review of
program performance. These views and proposals will be
reviewed by the City staff and reasonable effort will be 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.
When possible, responses will be provided prior to the final
hearing on the CDBG Statement of Objectives and Projected
Use of Funds. A deadline for submission of views and
proposals for the next fiscal year and performance during the
previous year is set every program year. Meetings shall be
held after adequate notice, at times and locations convenient
to potential or actual beneficiaries and with accommodation
for the handicapped;
o Staff will provide a timely written answer to written complaints
and grievances within 15 working days where practicable;
and,
o The needs of non-English speaking residents will be met in
the case of public meetings where a significant number of
non-English speaking residents can be reasonably expected
to participate.
Residents of various neighborhoods may also become involved in the CDBG program
outside the confines of structured meetings through self-help projects for the
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.
Community Development Advisory Committee
The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) will have 21 members
appointed by the City Council. The purpose of the Committee is to serve as an advisory
board to the City Council regarding the City's Community Development Block Grant
program. The specific duties and composition of the Committee are provided for in
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Article III - Sections 234 and 236 of the Beaumont City Code of Ordinances.
The City Council is the final decision-making authority for the Co_mmunity Development
Program. All Council meetings are open to public.
Citizens who have complaints about the CDBG program should register their complaint
directly to the City CDBG staff either during working 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 citizens do not feel that they complaint has been answered
adequately or a satisfactory solution found, they may come before the City Council and
present their case.
Individual activities or programs under the CDBG program may require a separate and
more specific complaint procedure than the process described here. This is particularly
true of the Housing Rehabilitation Program where a complaint procedure is outlined in the
Housing Rehabilitation 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.
Program Amendments
Prior to amending its final statement, the City shall provide citizens with reasonable notice
of and opportunity to comment on such proposed changes in its use of funds. This will
also provide reasonable notice whenever it decides not to carry out an activity described
in the final statement, carry out an activity not previously described, or substantially (25%
of entitlement) change the purpose. The City shall consider any such comments and, if
the City deems appropriate, modify the changes. The City shall make available to the
public, and shall submit to HUD, a description of any changes adopted. A letter
transmitting such description to HUD shall be signed by the official representative of the
City.
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SCHEDULE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT
1992 FINAL STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
The following statement is proposed for preparation of the 1992 CDBG Statement of
Objectives and projected use of funds:
Monday, March 23th . . . . . . . Present a status report on the 1991 CDBG Program
and 1992 Preliminary Statement to City Manager
Tuesday,. April 14th . . . . . . . . Present a status report on the 1991 CDBG Program
and 1992 Preliminary Statement to City Council in a
workshop
Wednesday, April 22nd . . . . . Present a status report on the 1991 CDBG Program
and 1992 Preliminary Statement to the Community
Development Advisory Committee
Thursday, April 23rd . . . . . . . Conduct a CDBG Public Hearing
Greater Little Zion Baptist Church
Tuesday, April 28th . . . . . . . . CDBG Statement Subcommittee reviews proposed Five
Year Plan Final Statement
Thursday, April 30th . . . . . . . CDBG Public Hearing
South Park Baptist Church
Monday, May 4th . . . . . . . . . CDAC Statement Subcommittee meeting.
Tuesday, May 12th . . . . . . . . CDAC reviews the CDBG Statement Subcommittee's
funding recommendation for 1992 CDBG Final
Statement. CDAC submits recommendations to
Council
Tuesday, May 19th . . . . . . . . Council Workshop on 1992 Final Statement of
Objectives and Projected Use of Funds
Tuesday, May 26th . . . . . . . . Council conducts public hearings and issues resolution
for the 1992 Final Statement of Objectives and
Projected Use of Funds
Saturday, May 30th
and Sunday, May 31 st . . . . . Publish 1992 Final Statement of Objectives and
Projected Use of Funds
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