Snohomish County’s Human Services Department announced they are accepting comments on the draft 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and the 2020 Annual Action Plan proposed five-year priorities, goals, and strategies to guide investment of federal funds for affordable housing and community development projects. Comments will be accepted through Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

The Snohomish County Consortia are partnerships between Snohomish County and the cities and towns in the county for the receipt of federal funds under the: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG); HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME); and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs.

The Draft 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan provides a framework to guide the investment of these funds to address local priority housing and community development needs that primarily benefit low- and moderate-income persons and areas of the county. Snohomish County collaborated on the plan with the City of Everett and the City of Marysville, with each city receiving and administering CDBG funds for their own cities, while also participating in the HOME Consortium.

The Draft 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan includes: an executive summary; a summary of the consultation and citizen participation process conducted during development of the plan; a needs assessment; a market analysis; and a strategic plan which identifies priority needs in the community and sets five-year goals for the investment of CDBG, HOME and ESG funds to help meet these needs. The plan covers the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025.

The draft 2020 Annual Action Plan includes the Consortia’s CDBG, HOME, and ESG spending plan for the 2020 program year which runs from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. It includes descriptions and funding awards for specific activities that will help achieve the five-year goals and actions anticipated to be undertaken under the additional strategies.

Funding recommendations for projects were made by a Technical Advisory Committee and Policy Advisory Board that provided input on use of these funds. Projects selected for funding are sponsored by cities, towns, nonprofits, and public agencies.

The draft plans are available for review and comment through July 8, 2020. A virtual public hearing will be held on June 25, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. to provide information on the draft plans and proposed activities, to obtain resident views, and to respond to questions.

To read an online copy of the plan and to obtain directions on attending the virtual (Zoom) meeting, please go to: https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/5645/Consolidated-Plan-for-2020-2024