What you need to know
On Aug. 12, Pearland City Council voted unanimously to approve an action plan for using funds awarded through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program to fund projects for low-income Pearland residents, with the bulk of the funds going to support home repairs.
The CDBG program provides annual grants to cities with a population of more than 50,000 to develop viable urban communities by addressing homelessness, affordable housing challenges, aging infrastructure and economic hardships for people earning low to moderate incomes, according to HUD’s website.
For fiscal year 2024-25, HUD awarded Pearland $456,770 in funds, which is less than the city received in each of the two previous years, according to a city staff presentation.
City staff recommended spending most of this year’s funds on housing repairs, Pearland Grant Manager Michael Rawlinson said.
The reason the city is allocating so much of the funds to housing repair is because the need for housing repairs in Pearland has grown since 2020, Rawlinson said.
Those in favor
Breah Knape, executive director of Actions Inc. of Brazoria County, said her organization, which provides services for homebound Brazoria County senior citizens, fully supported the city’s decision to prioritize home repairs for low-income residents in Pearland.
“We are also seeing a huge increase in people who may need a little bit of assistance with rental and housing, but primarily they are in a home they can afford; they just can’t afford the repairs to get it back to a livable condition,” Knape said.
What else?
Pearland, which has been a recipient of CDBG funds since 2006, will also be able to use the HUD funds for new qualifying neighborhoods this year, due to those areas becoming eligible, said Joel Hardy, Pearland grants and special projects administrator.
“In the past, our CDBG target area has been comprised of a consistent area, which involves the Old Townsite and neighborhoods northwest of the townsite, but that’s changed remarkably with this year’s census data analysis,” Hardy said.
What’s next?
Pearland will submit the approved action plan to HUD for approval by Aug. 16, Rawlinson said.
