HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10100 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10100
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council January 30, 2018
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*a SUBJECT: POSTPONEMENT OF REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT FOR
rrn ASSESSMENT OF FAIR HOUSING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)
On December 5, 2017, the City Council approved the City's goals for the Assessment of Fair
Housing (AFH) to be submitted to HUD (M&C G-19180). The AFH was a new HUD planning
requirement and a condition for receipt of federal grant funds under the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Solutions
Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunity for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs. The City's
AFH was due for submission to HUD on Thursday, January 4, 2018. However, on that date HUD
published a notice in the Federal Register postponing for up to five years the requirement that
local governments submit an AFH.
HUD stated that it postponed AFH submissions based on its assessment that local jurisdictions
need additional training on the AFH requirements for development of measurable fair housing
goals, since 35% of the 49 AFH plans submitted to HUD to date were not approved. Also, HUD
proposes to improve the software required to be used by local jurisdictions to submit the AFH.
The January 4 Federal Register notice requires local jurisdictions to comply with HUD's previous
fair housing planning requirement, the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. The
Analysis of Impediments is a Fair Housing plan that must be completed every five years in
conjunction with the City's Consolidated Plan. This plan must lay out the City's goals for
affirmatively furthering fair housing, but HUD guidance does not require that it be submitted for
HUD review or approval. It is also not subject to a 30-day public comment period. As the City's
most recent Analysis of Impediments was prepared in 2013, one must be prepared this year.
The development throughout 2017 of the City's proposed AFH included extensive public
meetings, an online survey to which over 1,200 Fort Worth residents responded, and ongoing
collaboration with Fort Worth Housing Solutions, Tarrant County and Arlington. The goals for the
draft AFH were presented to the City's Community Development Council as well as to the City's
Task Force on Race and Culture. This extensive citizen input and the resulting goals approved
by Council will continue to be appropriate for use in HUD-funded programs.
Staff recommends that the AFH draft document be appropriately edited to meet HUD
requirements for an Analysis of Impediments, and used for that purpose. This new Analysis of
Impediments would be subject to review by the Community Development Council, consistent with
their advisory role regarding CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPWA funds in conjunction with the
Consolidated Plan process.
If you have any questions, please contact Aubrey Thagard, Neighborhood Services Director, at
817-392-8187.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS