City of Peabody and The North Shore HOME Consortium Draft Action Plan for Federal Fiscal Year 2021

Notice of Public Hearings and Public Comment Period for
Draft Annual Action Plan

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, are seeking public comment on its Draft Action Plan for Federal Fiscal Year 2021. The City of Peabody and the Consortium are hoping to receive feedback on these documents from interested parties regarding 1.) The use of HOME funds for the development of affordable housing in the North Shore HOME Consortium region in the coming year; and 2.) The use of CDBG funds to assist low and moderate-income persons in the City of Peabody in the coming year. The Consortium’s 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.

The activities proposed with HOME funds include: Creating Affordable Rental Housing; Rehabilitating Existing Housing Stock; Creating Affordable Homeownership Housing Units; Providing Tenant-based Rental Assistance to Target Populations. The proposed CDBG activities include: Social Service Activities, Infrastructure and Safety Improvements, and Economic Development Activities.

An electronic copy of the Consortium’s and City’s 2021 Action plan will be available on April 26, 2021 at www.peabody-ma.gov. The Consortium’s Plan will be forwarded to each member community, and can be accessed at their Community Development/Planning Departments. The document will also be available at many of the regions’ anti-poverty, housing, and elder service organizations. The public comment period will begin on Monday, April 26th and will end on Monday, May 26th, 2021. During this time, two online Public Hearings will be held to invite comment on the draft document, in accordance with 24 CFR 91.105(c)(2) of the federal regulations relative to citizen participation for Community Planning and Development Programs and applicable waivers made available to those requirements through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 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, meetings will be conducted via remote participation. 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 in the meeting via a remote participation platform called Zoom. Members of the public who wish to attend may access through any one of the following ways:

• Participants can enter in the Zoom Webinar link below under the selected date into their web browser to participate online
• Participants can enter this link into your web browser to open the Zoom website: https://zoom.us/join, and then enter the selected meeting ID from below as directed on the webpage and click “Join”. Follow the on-screen instructions to join the meeting.
• Participants can dial a toll-free number 1-646-558-8656 to join the meeting. When prompted, enter meeting ID from the selected meeting below and follow the instructions to join.

The two Meeting times are as follows:

• Thursday, May 6, 2021, 5:00 PM. To Join meeting enter the link below into your web browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86362013692?pwd=SmVUcitqTnYrMFdCOHJQVTM5V3dYdz09
  Meeting ID: 863 6201 3692 Passcode: 084468; Or use these to dial in by phone: 646-558-8656; And
• Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 10:00 AM. To Join meeting enter the link below into your web browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88371046389?pwd=dW11WHFmVWlmcVZLem9yTUJ1N2FjQT09
  Meeting ID: 883 7104 6389 Passcode: 876882 Or use these to dial in by phone: 646-558-8656

Real-time responses and accommodations for persons with disabilities and/or with limited English proficiency will be made available upon request to the greatest extent possible. Citizens, all interested parties, representatives 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 May 27, 2021, to the Department of Community Development, City Hall, 24 Lowell Street, Peabody, Massachusetts 01960; or by e-mail to: lisa.greene@peabody-ma.gov or stacey.bernson@peabody-ma.gov.