The Office of Housing, Homelessness and Community Development (OHHCD)
Strengthening Community Today, Our Commitment to Tomorrow…
Announcements:
Free Landlord-Tenant and Fair Housing Law Seminars
Free seminars on Landlord-Tenant and Fair Housing Laws will be held on November 9th in Everett and November 10th in Mountlake Terrace. For more information, please open the Seminar Flyer (59 kb).
- Public Meetings on Housing and Community Development Needs
Snohomish County is co-hosting public meetings on November 2, 3, 4, and 9 to receive comments from interested persons and agencies related to the affordable housing and community development (public services, public facilities, infrastructure, economic development) needs of low- and moderate-income persons in Snohomish County. The meetings will assist the County in developing the 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan. For additional information, please open the Housing and Community Development Needs notice in the appropriate language, in PDF:
- Proposed 2010 Award
Snohomish County announces the proposed award for 2010 Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) capital funds to the Washington Home of Your Own project The Willows at Melvin Place. Project comments will be accepted until 5 pm on Thursday, November 12, 2009. For additional information, please go to the AHTF Public Notice webpage.
- Applications Now Available:
Snohomish County announces the availability of funding for housing operations and maintenance projects and community development projects. Applications are due by 5 pm, Monday, November 9, 2009. Additional information, and links to the application, for each of the following are available by clicking the link at the end of the description:
- 2010 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Facility and Infrastructure (PF&I) Projects, primarily benefitting low- and moderate-income persons and areas. Go to the GDBG-PF&I application web page.
- 2010/2011 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Services (PS) Projects, primarily benefitting low- and moderate-income persons. Go to the CDBG-PS application web page.
- 2010/2011 Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Projects for homeless and homeless prevention activities. Go to the ESG application web page.
- 2010-2012 Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) Emergency Shelter and Rental Housing Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Projects to provide operating and maintenance costs for emergency shelters and low-income rental housing. Go to the AHTF-O&M application web page.
An Overview of What We Do...
The Office of Housing, Homelessness, and Community Development (OHHCD) operates within the Human Services Department of Snohomish County and is responsible for administering, monitoring and supporting the following federal, state and local funds which total approximately $25 million annually:
Federal
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Community Development Block Grant - Recovery Act (CDBG-R)
Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG)
HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME)
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP)
Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)
Supportive Housing Program (SHP)
State
Emergency Shelter Assistance Program (ESAP)
Homeless Grant Assistance Program (HGAP)
Transitional Housing Operating and Rent (THOR)
Local
Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF)
Ending Homelessness Program (EHP)
In partnership with the community's Homeless Policy Task Force (HPTF) and Continuum of Care, OHHCD led the development, in 2006, of the County's Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, Everyone at Home NOW, and now manages the implementation of the plan. OHHCD also manages the County's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the community Point in Time (PIT) Homeless Count conducted each January. View one of the PIT Reports to see how many people in Snohomish County are affected by homelessness:
In 2006, OHHCD convened a stakeholder workgroup with representatives from the public housing authorities, non-profit housing developers, public and private funders, lenders and social service providers to create the Affordable Housing Production Plan (AHPP). The AHPP contains targets for the production and preservation of affordable housing units between 2007-2017.
Application Overview
The Office of Housing, Homelessness and Community Development (OHHCD) has annual applications available for federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Facilities and Infrastructure (PF & I) projects each fall. The federal CDBG Public Services (PS) and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) applications are available every two years, during the fall. Agencies who have received local Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) Operating and Maintenance Funds (O & M) for 2009 will only need to submit an annual renewal application each year in the fall, for program years 2010-2012. New applications for AHTF O&M funds will be accepted annually for program years 2010-2012. The federal Supportive Housing Program (SHP) applications are available each spring/summer and are determined through a collaborative process with the Homeless Policy Task Force (HPTF). Emergency Shelter Assistance Program (ESAP) and Transitional Housing Operating and Rent (THOR) funds are also awarded through a community process with the HPTF in a biannual process, in accordance with the state's timeline. Local Ending Homelessness Program (EHP) fund applications are available each spring.
Revised Funding Schedule for Housing Projects
For the 2010 funding cycle, applications for the federal CDBG Housing, HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), and American Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) funds, as well as the local AHTF Capital funds, were available in March and due the end of April 2009. These housing capital applications were done separately to better align the County recommendations with the State Housing Trust Fund and the Washington State Housing Finance Commission low-income tax credit funding cycles. Applications for Homeownership Rehabilitation projects are available every two years. The 2010 Policy Advisory Board funding recommendations for housing projects will be submitted to the County Council in May 2010, along with the CDBG PF&I, CDBG PS, and AHTF O&M projects.
Application Availability
When funds are available, applications will be posted to the web page for the respective program(s), and the program name above will be an active link.
The 2005-2009 Snohomish County Housing and Community Development Consolidated Plan (Consolidated Plan) identifies specific strategies and objectives to guide the use of CDBG, HOME and ESG funds over a five-year period in order to meet the local affordable housing and community development needs of the Snohomish County Urban County Consortium (Consortium).
Annual Action Plan
The County, as the lead agency of the Consortium, updates the Consolidated Plan each year with an Annual Action Plan (Action Plan). The Action Plan sets forth a spending plan for CDBG, HOME and ESG funds expected to be received in the upcoming program year and demonstrates how the funding decisions will help meet the five-year strategies and objectives in the Consolidated Plan.
CAPER
At the end of each program year, the County, as the lead agency of the Consortium, prepares an end-of-year report called the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). This report assesses the County's annual progress toward meeting the five-year strategies and objectives in the Consolidated Plan.
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