Dear Stakeholder:

Howard County is in the process of preparing its FFY 2020-2024 Five Year Consolidated Plan and FFY 2020 Annual Action Plan. These plans are requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the County to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) funds.

The County has selected the consulting firm Urban Design Ventures, LLC to assist in the preparation of these documents and we are in need of your assistance to identify the County’s housing and community development needs. Consultation with stakeholders like yourself is vital to the creation of these plans. We also hope to include Howard County residents eligible for CDBG funded services in these sessions. Please share this with any community residents and program participants who you think would be interested in participating.

Please consider attending the following roundtable meeting to participate:

Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 4:00 P.M. in the Thomas Meeting Room, Howard County Library East Columbia Branch, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD 21045

The meeting will be conducted by Jo Anne Schneider, Ph.D. Dr. Schneider is a Howard County based human services consultant.

Please RSVP via email at jon@urbandesignventures.com or phone at (412) 461-6916 by Wednesday, January 15, 2020. If you will not be able to attend this meeting, a future meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 4:00 P.M. in the Belmont Meeting Room, Howard County Library Elkridge Branch, 6540 Washington Boulevard, Elkridge, MD 21075.

In preparation for the meeting, I have included an Agency Survey that we are asking for you to complete and bring to the meeting or return it to us by fax or email if you are unable to attend. The survey provides insights on your organization’s role within the County and any unmet needs within the communities that you serve. Please email Jon G. Haglund at jon@urbandesignventures.com or fax the survey to his office at (412) 461-6920, so your feedback can be incorporated into the plan.

Additionally, the County has created a confidential Resident Survey that is available to residents of Howard County. If you are a resident, please take the time to complete the survey, as well as share the survey with your staff and clients. The survey is available at the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HowardCoCDBG

Thank you for your interest and assistance. Should you have any questions please contact Jon at jon@urbandesignventures.com or (412) 461-6916. Also, you can contact Elizabeth Meadows, Chief, Community Planning and Grants, Howard County Department of Housing and Community Development, at (410) 313-6324 or emeadows@howardcountymd.gov.

If you are interested in applying for CDBG, HOME or MIHU Fee-in-Lieu Program funds, please click the topic to download the appropriate application.  A Microsoft Word document can be provided by sending an email request to Nkechi M. Animashaun at nanimashaun@howardcountymd.gov.  Applications are due February 4, 2020.

Howard County is in the process of preparing its FFY 2020 Annual Action Plan(AAP). The County will host its second public hearing on January 09, 2020 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, to inform the preparation of this plan. The meeting will begin with an overview of each funding source; Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnership (HOME) Program and Moderate Income Housing Units (MIHU) Fee-in-lieu program funds, all of which the County will use to serve the low- and moderate income population of Howard County.

If you are interested in applying for any of the above funding sources, we urge you to attend. Following this meeting, the County will officially announce the Request for Proposals (RFP) and distribute applications.

Please feel free to share this invitation with other local non-profit service providers that work on affordable housing development and community development for low to moderate income populations in Howard County. 

We look forward to seeing you there. Should you have any questions, you may reach me at 410-313-6324 or via email at emeadows@howardcountymd.gov.

To register - click here

Howard County, MD receives annual allocations of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Program funding from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to be used for community development and affordable housing benefiting low-income residents of Howard County between 0-80% area median-income (AMI). 

In accordance with federal requirements for jurisdictions receiving funds from HUD for housing and community development programs, Howard County has prepared its FFY2019 Annual Action Plan, which is the final Year of its four-year Consolidated Plan for FFY2016-2019. The Approved FFY2019 Annual Action Plan can be viewed by clicking here.

The FFY2018 CAPER is a report mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for all communities that receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding. The CAPER reports the outcomes and accomplishments set forth in the County’s FFY18 Annual Action Plan. Click here to view the CAPER.

Howard County’s Department of Housing and Community Development staff have created a HOME Investment Partnership Program  Policy and Procedure Guide as mandated by the 2013  HOME Program Rule.  For any questions related to this guide, please click here to email the HOME Specialist.

The Consolidated Plan is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program that must be completed by the entitlement community every four (4) years.  The Howard County Four Year Consolidated Plan establishes the goals Howard County proposes for the next four (4) year period and outlines the specific initiatives the County will undertake to address these goals by encouraging the development of decent housing, promoting a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities.  The FFY16 Annual Action Plan is approved within the FFY16 Consolidated Plan.  The Annual Action Plan is also required by HUD and must be approved every year during the Approved Consolidated Plan time-frame.  The Annual Action Plan describes specific actions the County will take during the program year to implement the goals and objectives outlined in the Approved Consolidated Plan.