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 Hearing

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 period from July 1st, 2022 through June 30th, 2023. 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 Consortium member communities include the following: 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, September 13th, 2023 and will end on Thursday, September 28th, 2023. 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 public hearing will be held on Thursday, September 14th, 2023 at 6:00 pm, to provide the public with an opportunity to offer comment via in-person and remote participation. Remote participation is allowed in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Acts if 2023 signed into law by Governor Healey on March 29, 2023, suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, Section 18. Members of the public have the right to attend this meeting at Peabody City Hall / Lower Level Conference Room, or via a remote participation platform called Zoom, which may be accessed any one of the following ways:

• Enter this link into your web browser to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81429271253?pwd=Z25jazVPYUJKNlo1TEVSSTd4YXRvQT09
• Enter this link into your web browser to open the Zoom website: https://zoom.us/join. Enter the meeting/webinar ID# 814 2927 1253 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# 814 2927 1253 and follow the instructions to join the meeting.

Written comments are also encouraged, and may be addressed, on or before September 28th, 2023 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