NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT
on an Amendment to the
Draft Annual Action Plan for Program Year 2020
In its draft Program Year 2020 (PY2020) Annual Action Plan (AAP), the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) identified eligible HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program activities in the County of Maui for eligible activities. The County of Maui intended to use the required fifteen percent set-aside for Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) activities for the Kaiaulu O Halelea 64 project in Kihei. A Notice of Public Comment, soliciting comments on the draft AAP, was published in early April and posted to HHFDC’s website.
Since then, the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented economic disruptions. The State of Hawaii is experiencing an unemployment rate of more than 37%. Severe decreases in income due to reductions of work hours, lay-offs, or business closures, have led to the inability of households to pay for rent and other essential needs. As such, the County of Maui proposes to re-program $450,000 in HOME funds to fund a temporary Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program to assist lower-income households in the County of Maui experiencing significant income loss due to COVID-19 to pay their rent.
To effectuate the re-programming of funds and to make HOME TBRA funds available, HHFDC will implement HOME program waivers authorized by HUD to eliminate the CHDO set aside requirement, expedite and re-program HOME funds. In addition, HHFDC will allow a pre-award to the County of Maui of up to 25% of the PY2020 allocation for the temporary TBRA program; a pre-award will allow the County of Maui to incur costs prior to the grant award.
Pursuant to 24 CFR Part 91, HHFDC gives notice of proposed amendments to its PY2020 AAP, to include the County of Maui’s HOME TBRA program and to re-program PY2020 HOME funds to fund the TBRA program. Due to the urgent need to quickly disburse funds in the community to assist Hawaii’s residents, HHFDC is implementing a waiver to the normal 30-day public comment period in favor of a five-day public comment period.
The draft amendment is available for public review on HHFDC’s website at http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/hhfdc. Due to health and safety concerns caused by COVID-19, state and county housing agencies, where draft amendments would normally be available for public viewing, are taking precautionary measures by closing their offices to the public. Interested persons are encouraged to view the draft amendment electronically on HHFDC’s website (http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/hhfdc). You may also call Lisa Wond at (808) 587-3182 to be mailed a copy of the draft substantial amendment.
Interested persons are invited to state their views on the draft amendment in writing to HHFDC via email at hhfdc.consolidatedplan@hawaii.gov no later than May 6, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. All comments received by the deadline will be considered in preparing the final amendment.
Persons with special needs (e.g., needing a copy of the proposed substantial amendment in large print or taped) must immediately contact HHFDC’s Human Resources Office at 587-0501, or by written request via email to hhfdchr@hawaii.gov. Prompt requests help to ensure the availability of appropriate accommodations. Persons on the neighbor islands may call the following toll-free numbers:
From Kauai, 274-3141, ext. 70501 From Hawaii, 974-4000, ext. 70501
From Maui, 984-2400, ext. 70501 From Molokai & Lanai, 1-800-468-4644, ext. 70501
HHFDC does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, including gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, familial status, ancestry, age, marital status, or HIV infection.
Denise Iseri-Matsubara, Interim Executive Director
(SA1278219 5/1/20)
