Lexington, Ky. (Sept. 26, 2024) – The Lexington Fayette Urban County Government's (LFUCG) Department of Housing Advocacy and Community Development intends to apply for federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through its Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) funding opportunity.
HUD has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) under the authority of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024, which appropriates $100 million for competitive grant funding for the identification and removal of barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Congress has directed HUD to undertake a competition using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) statutory and regulatory framework. Under this NOFO, HUD will provide PRO Housing grants to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Grantees may use awards to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation. Eligible applicants are local and state governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities.
HUD has six goals for this competition:
- Fairly and effectively award the PRO Housing grant funding; Elevate and enable promising practices dedicated to identifying and removing barriers to affordable housing production and preservation, while preventing displacement including through rewarding jurisdictions that have enacted laws and regulations that will lead to more affordable housing production and preservation.
- Institutionalize state and local analysis and implementation of effective, equitable, and resilient approaches to affordable housing production and preservation.
- Provide technical assistance to help communities better fulfill the Consolidated Plan’s requirement of identifying barriers to affordable housing and implementing solutions to address those barriers.
- Affirmatively further fair housing by addressing and removing barriers that perpetuate segregation, inhibit access to well-resourced areas of opportunity for protected class groups and vulnerable populations, and concentrate affordable housing in under-resourced areas; and
- Facilitate collaboration and harness innovative approaches from jurisdictions, researchers, advocates, and stakeholders.
Notice of Application Publication
As of Sept. 26, 2024, LFUCG's application for the PRO Housing grant will be available for review by members of the public and other interested parties. You can view the PRO Housing application online or copies of the application will also be available for public review without an appointment in the office of the Commissioner of Housing Advocacy & Community Development on the 12th floor of the Government Center at 200 East Main St., Lexington, KY, between the hours of 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or at other reasonable times by appointment. A reasonable number of free copies may be obtained upon request. To request an appointment, request copies of the application, or request information in languages other than English or in accessible formats for persons with disabilities, contact Polly Ruddick at pruddick2@lexingtonky.gov or (859) 280-8223 (TTY 425-2563).
Notice of Public Comment Acceptance
Resident comments will be accepted for a period of 15 days, from Sept. 26, 2024, through 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. Address comments to the attention of Polly Ruddick, Affordable Housing Manager, Office of the Commissioner of Housing Advocacy & Community Development, LFUCG, 200 East Main St., Lexington, KY 40507. You may also submit your comments via email to pruddick2@lexingtonky.gov. Sending comments via email is encouraged, when possible, to ensure submissions are received by Oct. 13.
Notice of Public Hearing
LFUCG will hold a public hearing on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, at 9 a.m. in the Office of the Commissioner of Housing Advocacy & Community Development (Conference Room 1239) on the 12th floor of the Government Center at 200 East Main St., Lexington, KY. The purpose of the public hearing is to solicit public comments on LFUCG's PRO Housing grant application to be submitted to HUD.
If you have questions about this public hearing or to request information about this public hearing in languages other than English or in accessible formats for persons with disabilities, contact Polly Ruddick at pruddick2@lexingtonky.gov or (859) 280-8223 (TTY 425-2563).
