The CDBG program is a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs. Beginning in 1974, the CDBG program is one of the longest continuously run programs through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The CDBG entitlement program allocates annual grants to larger cities and urban counties to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons.
HUD determines the amount of each grant by using a formula comprised of several measures of community need, including the extent of poverty, population, housing overcrowding, age of housing, and population growth lag in relationship to other metropolitan areas.
Over a 1, 2, or 3-year period, as selected by the grantee, not less than 70 percent of CDBG funds must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons. In addition, each activity must meet one of the following national objectives for the program: benefit low- and moderate-income persons, prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or address community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community for which other funding is not available.
The following are the CDBG activities/organizations that the City of Elyria funded for Program Year 2011:
- Administration and Planning
- Fair Housing
- Housing Rehabilitation – Emergency Repair & Full Rehabilitaion
- Target Area Code Enforcement through the Building Department
- Demolition of Condemned Properties
- Boarding Abandoned Properties
- Public Facilities and Improvements
- Removal of Architectural Barriers
- Storefront Renovation Program
- Downtown Streetscape
- Youth Recreational Activities through the Parks and Recreation Department
- Senior Citizen Activities through the Parks and Recreation Department
The 2010-2014 Consolitated Plan for the City of Elyria, Ohio, outlines the City’s proposed course of action over the next five years to address housing and community development needs. The five-year strategy has been developed to achieve the following statutory goals, primarily for moderate, low and extremely low-income residents.
