NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR DRAFT FIVE-YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN 2020-2025, ANNUAL ACTION PLAN 2020-21, AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN

The City of Peabody, in cooperation with the North Shore HOME Consortium, an organization comprised of thirty cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley and the North Shore, is holding meetings and seeking public comment on the draft Five-year Consolidated Plan for Program years 2020-2025, Annual Action Plan for Program Year 2020-21 and the Citizen Participation Plan before submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The purpose of this meeting is 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 2.) The use of CDBG funds to assist low and moderate-income persons in the City of Peabody over the next five years and specific projects for 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 & Removing Physical Barriers for People who are Disabled; Creating Affordable Homeownership Housing Units; Providing Tenant-based Rental Assistance to Target Populations; Assisting Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). Proposed CDBG projects in Peabody for the next five years include Social Service, Infrastructure and Safety Improvements, the Creation of Affordable Units, Economic Development and Urgent Need Activities. CDBG projects for the coming year include the funding of Social Service Activities, Economic Development and Infrastructure Improvements.

An electronic copy of the Consortium’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan, Annual Action plan, and Citizen Participation Plan will be available on August 10, 2020 at www.peabody-ma.gov. . The public comment period will begin on August 10th and will end on September 10th, 2020. During this time, three 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 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 in the meeting via a remote participation platform called Zoom. Members of the public who wish to attend this meeting may access the remote participation 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 .

Three hearing times are available for you to choose from:

Aug 10, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time. To Join meeting enter the link below into your web browser:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82529929996?pwd=OGM4RzlyRGMxQ09DOFE4TUlJVmpjdz09

Meeting ID: 825 2992 9996 Passcode: 881587 Or Dial in: 1-646-558-8656

Aug 10, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time. To Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86827981649?pwd=NFJZZ05CeksvUTFEN0hrV2xLZmw4dz09

Meeting ID: 868 2798 1649 Passcode: 361852 Or Dial in: 1-646-558-8656

Aug 13, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time. To Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87342265138?pwd=WEYrdkRmckx6UWlKc1htYnhjdlV2dz09

Meeting ID: 873 4226 5138 Passcode: 800069 Or Dial in: 1-646-558-8656

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 September 10, 2020, to: The Department of Community Development, City Hall, 24 Lowell Street, Peabody, Massachusetts 01960 or via e-mail to: lisa.greene@peabody-ma.gov or stacey.bernson@peabody-ma.gov