The City of Peabody and the North Shore HOME Consortium are seeking public comment on their respective Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Reports (CAPERs)

Notice of Public Comment Period and Public Meeting

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 their respective Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Reports (CAPERs) for the 2020 Program Year. These written documents are intended to 1.) Report on the use of HOME funds for the development of affordable housing in this region over the past year, and 2.) Report on the use of CDBG funds in the City of Peabody over the past year, to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and to the general public. The City of Peabody and the Consortium will make these documents available to the general public and will encourage comments from all interested parties.

The member communities of the Consortium include: Amesbury, Andover, Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Georgetown, Gloucester, 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. A draft of Consortium’s CAPER will be forwarded to each member community at their respective City or Town Hall and will be forwarded to a number of nonprofit organizations. A copy of the CAPER will also be available online at the City of Peabody’s website at www.peabody-ma.gov on the Community Development page.

The public comment period will begin on Wednesday, January 27th, 2021 and will end on Thursday, February 28th, 2021. All interested parties, representatives from the Consortium’s member communities, and nonprofit providers whose clients are impacted by the need for affordable housing are urged to review these documents and to respond with comments.

A virtual public meeting will be held on Thursday, February 4th, 2021 at 5:00 pm, to provide the public with an opportunity to offer comment. 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 meeting via a remote participation platform called Zoom. 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:

• Enter this link into your web browser to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88672163684?pwd=a2R1d2k5U2IwZ01wWUxZZDNUWXBMZz09
• Enter this link into your web browser to open the Zoom website: https://zoom.us/join. Enter the meeting/webinar ID# 886 7216 3684 as directed on the webpage and click “Join”. Follow the onscreen instructions to join the meeting.
• Participants can dial a toll-free number + 1 646 558 8656 US to join the meeting. When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID# 886 7216 3684 and follow the instructions to join the meeting.

Written comments are also encouraged, and may be addressed, on or before February 28th, 2021 to:

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