York County Housing and Community Development Plan
Housing is a basic human need, but no single type can serve the needs of today’s diverse households. All York County residents –whether renters, homeowners, those with no fixed address, senior citizens, school-aged children, or disabled adults – should have access to an affordable, comfortable, and safe place to live.
When appealing and affordable housing options exist, the County is a better place to live and work for everyone.
It is useful to visualize the diverse range of housing needs in the County by ordering those needs according to the ability of the existing market-rate housing market to meet them.
For example, a two (2)-income household with two (2) children and two (2) personal vehicles will typically have little trouble locating and purchasing a home of suitable size and layout in the desired location, as the need is well-matched to the available housing supply. A senior who can no longer drive may have more difficulty in locating a (1)-story home accessible to transit. A single parent living paycheck to paycheck may find it more difficult.
York County’s Housing and Community Development Plan, which serves as the County’s Consolidated Plan, is a comprehensive five (5) YEAR PLAN (2020-2024) that identifies the needs of low- and moderate-income persons, as well as establishes objectives and outcomes for the County, and presents a strategy to address those needs and objectives. Within the Plan, long-term housing and community development goals and objectives, which focus on developing viable communities throughout the County, are established. The Plan also identifies an array of programs, agencies, and financial resources that are available to assist in meeting the established goals.
The County must supplement the Consolidated Plan with an Annual Action Plan. The purpose of the Annual Action Plan is to prioritize goals for the ensuing year to address the objectives and outcomes outlined in the Consolidated Plan. The Annual Action Plan sets forth the specific projects and activities that will be undertaken each year to progress toward meeting identified needs, goals, and objectives.
Each year, upon Congressional approval, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocates housing and community development funds to York County through three (3) entitlement grant programs. These entitlement programs include the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the HOME Investment Partnership Act (HOME) Program, and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program. The funds are administered by the York County Planning Commission, Housing, Community Development, and Programs Management and Compliance Divisions, under the direction of the County Commissioners.
The 2020 Annual Action Plan will cover the period July1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, to address identified housing and community development needs and goals. For Program Year 2020, the County of York will receive $2,231,356 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $103,000.00 in CDBG Program Income and Revolving Loan Funds, $846,832 in HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) funds, and $185,759 in Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds. In addition, the County estimates that it will receive $250,000 in Affordable Housing Trust Funds (AHTF), for a total of $3,616,947. The proposed use of funds is summarized below, and it is expected that 90% of the activities will benefit low/mod income persons.