City of Peabody and North Shore HOME Consortium Community Meetings for the One-Year Annual Action Plan – Program Year 2021

NOTICE OF COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

The City of Peabody and the North Shore HOME Consortium, an organization comprised of thirty cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley and the North Shore, will convene two Community Meetings in preparation for the creation of the One-Year Annual Action Plan for the Program Year 2021, beginning on July 1st, 2021. The City of Peabody and the Consortium are seeking comments from interested parties concerning: The use of HOME funds for the development of affordable housing in the North Shore HOME Consortium region in the coming year; and the use of CDBG funds in the City of Peabody in the coming year. The Consortium’s member communities include: Amesbury, Andover, Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Georgetown, Hamilton, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Newburyport, North Andover, North Reading, Peabody, Rockport, Rowley, Salem, Salisbury, Swampscott, Topsfield, Wenham, West Newbury and Wilmington. These meetings are being held to obtain information from the public on how needs have changed in the region from the prior years and to evaluate how well the City and the Consortium are carrying out the goals set out in last year’s action plan. After the conclusion of the community meetings, a draft of the Annual Action Plan will be created and made available for public comment. At that time two public hearings will be held to obtain feedback on the document. The public comments received will then be incorporated into the final draft of the Annual Action Plan, which will then be submitted to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Pursuant to Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A § 18, and the Governor’s March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. Individuals may participate remotely in the meetings via a remote participation platform called Zoom. Two virtual Community Meetings will be conducted for the purpose of receiving comments on local housing needs and community development needs on the dates listed below. Members of the public and/or parties with a right and/or requirement to attend this meeting may access the remote participation through any one of the following ways:

Wednesday, February 10th, 2021 at 10:00 A.M.

• Enter this link into your web browser to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87408178333?pwd=WXlBU1JmblpwdituZkRHcFhNYUN5UT09
• Enter this link into your web browser to open the Zoom website: https://zoom.us/join. Enter the meeting/webinar ID# 874 0817 8333 as directed on the webpage and click “Join”. Follow the onscreen instructions to join the meeting.
• Passcode: 365879
• Participants can dial a toll-free number + 1 646 558 8656 US to join the meeting. When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID# 874 0817 8333 and follow the instructions to join the meeting.

Thursday, February 11th, 2021 at 5:00 P.M.

• Enter this link into your web browser to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87644272934?pwd=Sy9aMCt2SlZ0RnVkUmlUZnpkR25xQT09
• Enter this link into your web browser to open the Zoom website: https://zoom.us/join. Enter the meeting/webinar ID# 876 4427 2934 as directed on the webpage and click “Join”. Follow the onscreen instructions to join the meeting.
• Passcode: 213783
• Participants can dial a toll-free number + 1 646 558 8656 US to join the meeting. When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID# 876 4427 2934 and follow the instructions to join the meeting.

Citizens, all interested parties, representatives from the City of Peabody and from the Consortium’s member communities, and nonprofit providers are urged to participate in these hearings. Written comments are also encouraged, and may be addressed, on or before April 16th, 2021 to:

The Department of Community
Development and Planning
City Hall, 24 Lowell Street
Peabody, Massachusetts 01960
e-mail addresses:
lisa.greene@peabody-ma.gov or stacey.bernson@peabody-ma.gov