PLACEMENT: Consent
TITLE:
title
APPROVAL OF REVISED LOCAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE PLAN (LHAP) FY 2023-2026
end
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
executive summary
The Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP) governs Martin County’s State Housing Initiative Partnership Program (SHIP) programming and expenditures. The revised 2023-2026 LHAP was prepared by staff and reviewed by Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC), which approved the technical revision to the LHAP on January 2, 2025.
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DEPARTMENT: Administration
PREPARED BY: Name: Philip Ratchford
Title: Human Services Grants Manager
REQUESTED BY: Michelle Miller, Human Services Director
PRESET:
PROCEDURES: None
BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL:
Martin County maintains authority to review and/or revise the Local Housing Assistance Plan (LHAP), with approval needed from Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) and the Martin County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The LHAP is a guide for administering the local State Housing Initiative Partnership Program (SHIP) funds. Following a technical revision, the plan is then presented to FHFC for tentative approval to ensure all information follows program guidelines. The plan is then presented to the BOCC for review and final approval, followed by re-submission to FHFC with the BOCC resolution. The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) reviewed and agreed with the revisions to the LHAP at their meeting on February 12, 2025.
To be eligible for SHIP funding for a state fiscal year, a county or eligible municipality shall submit and receive approval of its local housing assistance plan and amendments thereto as provided in Rule 67-37.006, F.A.C.
Staff completed a review of the LHAP and decided a technical revision that included two small programmatic changes would allow the SHIP program to continue to best serve Martin County residents. These revisions were made to Section 2, F. (Strategy Name: Demolition/Reconstruction) on page 12 of the LHAP and include: 1) “low” was included as an additional income category to be served under this strategy, so this strategy will now be able to serve extremely low, very low, and low income households pursuant to SHIP income guidelines and 2) SHIP assistance available for demolition/reconstruction projects was increased to a maximum award of $250,000, a $50,000 increase from the previous maximum award.
Final review and approval are now needed from the BOCC in order for a resolution documenting the finalization of the revised 2023-2026 LHAP to be submitted to FHFC. A technical revision to the LHAP does not require a public hearing.
ISSUES:
None
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW:
To the extent this item contains legal issues, it has been reviewed for legal sufficiency; although this is primarily a matter of Board policy.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECOMMENDATION
1. Move that the Board approve the recommended 2023-2026 LHAP.
2. Move that the Board authorize the Chair to sign the Resolution (LHAP Exhibit E).
3. Move that the Board authorize the Chair to sign the LHAP Certification (LHAP Exhibit D).
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Pull this item from the Consent Agenda and provide staff with an alternate direction.
FISCAL IMPACT:
RECOMMENDATION
None
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
None
DOCUMENT(S) REQUIRING ACTION:
☐Budget Transfer / Amendment ☐ Chair Letter ☐Contract / Agreement
☐Grant / Application ☐Notice ☐Ordinance ☒Resolution
☒Other: Certification (LHAP Exhibit D)
This document may be reproduced upon request in an alternative format by contacting the County ADA Coordinator (772) 320-3131, the County Administration Office (772) 288-5400, Florida Relay 711, or by completing our accessibility feedback form at www.martin.fl.us/accessibility-feedback <http://www.martin.fl.us/accessibility-feedback>.