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1 OGDEN CITY CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN A Guide for Citizen Involvement in Housing and Community Development Programs Prepared by: OGDEN CITY CORPORATION COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIVISION MARCH 2011 ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 Citizen Participation Plan The City of Ogden’s Citizen Participation Plan ensures continuity of citizen involvement in the planning, development, implementation and assessment of programs funded through the Community Development Division. The purpose of the Citizen Participation Plan is to encourage citizen input, particularly for the City’s low-to-moderate income persons. Community and Economic Development Department programs and services benefit Ogden’s low-to-moderate individuals and neighborhoods. The Citizen Participation Plan (CPP) describes the process the City uses to collect public input and to involve the public in the process of developing and implementing the Consolidated and Annual Action Plans, and Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Reports. This Citizen Participation Plan was developed in accordance with Sections 91.100 and 91.105 of HUD’s Consolidated Plan regulations. Encouragement of Citizen Participation Public outreach will include publishing ads at the city’s website www.ogdencity.com, in the Standard Examiner, and in the At Your Service newsletter, (which goes to all Ogden City utilities consumers), During the ConPlan process the city will take appropriate actions to include minorities and non-English speaking persons. The city will maintain a webpage to encourage citizen participation. The intent of this webpage is to provide an easy way for residents to obtain Consolidated Plan information and to participate. These items will be posted on the webpage: 5 Year Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) and Amendments Annual Action Plan (AAP) and Amendments Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) plan Every five years for the Consolidated Plan, every year for the Annual Action Plan, and when applicable for Amendments to these documents a draft of the document will be posted to the website during the 30-day public comment period. After the document has been approved by the City Council the adopted version will be posted to the webpage. In addition, during the development of the Citizen Participation Plan, a draft will be posted to the website for public review and comments. This website will provide citizens an option to view each Plan in its entirety and click to open an email that sends their comment directly to the Community Development Division regarding the document they have viewed. Outreach The citizen participation process is designed to encourage all citizens, including persons of low income, persons of color, non-English speaking residents, and those with mobility, visual, hearing impairments or other disabilities to participate in determining housing and community development needs within their communities. Special encouragement is extended toward very low- and low-income persons, particularly those in blighted areas and in public housing or other assisted housing. During the planning and development of the Five Year Consolidated Plan, the city will consult with the Ogden Housing Authority (OHA). To encourage citizen participation from residents who are predominantly low and moderate income, the city will post ConPlan announcements (public hearings and 30 day public comments periods) at OHA apartment complexes. These announcements will be posted in common areas (such as a community or laundry room) as deemed appropriate by the OHA staff. The Community Development Division will collaborate with the city’s Planning Division and with the city’s Community Police. The Planning Division consults with neighboring communities for planning and transportation issues and it establishes citizen steering committees for each neighborhood of the city to facilitate city planning efforts. The Community Police division works to be a catalyst in creating Neighborhood Watch groups in the city. The Community Development Division will contact active citizen steering committee groups and/or neighborhood watch groups as a means to outreach to residents who ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 live in or near the NRSA and to low to moderate income residents who live in or near areas where CDBG funds will be used. Development of the Consolidated Plan Steps the city will take during the development of the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plans. 1. ConPlan and AAP to be submitted to HUD (no later than May 15th). 2. Provide citizens a 30-day public comment period, prior to adopting the ConPlan and AAP (April). 3.a Mail announcement to stakeholders, OHA and public meeting participants about the availability of the draft. 4. Publish a summary of each document open for public comment in the local newspaper, the Standard Examiner. The summary will include the following information: The amount of assistance the jurisdiction expects to receive The range of activities that may be undertaken Estimated amounts in the plan that will benefit low and moderate income households Plans to minimize displacement of persons and to assist any person displaced When and how consolidated plan information will be made available How the proposed consolidated plan with be published and offered for examination 5. During the 30-day public comment period, Plans will be displayed at Ogden City’s Community Development office, Business Development office, Business Information Center, City Recorder’s offices and city website at: www.ogdencity.com 6. Conduct two public hearings per year. At least one of those public hearing will be held during the development process (January). The purpose of a public hearings is to obtain citizen views, to respond to proposals and questions, to review housing and community development needs, to review development of proposed activities and/or review of program performance. A Public Hearing is held by the Ogden City Council after the 30-day Public Comment Period to adopt the ConPlan and/or AAP (April). During this hearing, time is set aside for the public to comment on the proposed document prior to its adoption. City Council Public Hearings are held at the Ogden City Municipal Building where accessibility for the disabled and Spanish translation services will be made available. 48-hour notice is required for auxiliary communication aids and services. Schedule public meetings in times and locations that are convenient for ConPlan beneficiaries. Two weeks prior to the public hearing, an ad will be published notifying stakeholders of the Public Hearing. 7. Provide technical assistance to groups representative of low- and moderate-income persons that request such assistance. 8. Review and consider all public comments received during the 30-day comment period and at public hearings. 9. Prepare a summary of the citizen comments received in writing or verbally at ConPlan public hearings in preparing the final consolidated plan, including a summary of views not accepted and the reason thereof, shall be attached in the final ConPlan. 10.Consideration of every citizen complaint related to the ConPlan and associated documents received and provide responses to complaints within 15 days of receiving the written complaint. Amendments to the Plan At times the Consolidated Plan may be substantially amended to reflect changes in program activities. The following criteria constitutes an amendment to the Plan: Cancellation of an activity category; A new activity category not previously described in the Consolidated Plan is added; A change in purpose, scope, location or intended beneficiaries of an activity category; or A substantial change in the allocation or distribution of funds is defined as when the dollar amount of that change is equal to or greater than 20% of the city’s current fiscal year federal budget by ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 source (e.g. CDBG is undergoing a substantial change when 20% or more of that year’s CDBG allocation plus CDBG program income is affected). Prior to amending the Consolidated Plan, citizens will be given reasonable notice of, and opportunity to comment on such proposed changes and the re-use of funds. The process to substantially amend the plan includes a public hearing as described above and a thirty day (30) public comment period to receive citizen comments on the proposed amendment prior to implementation. Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) The CAPER is a summary of ConPlan accomplishments for the fiscal year. Steps for the CAPER include: A draft of the CAPER will be made available for public review for at least 15 days (September). Notice of availability for public review will be advertised at the city website and in the Standard Examiner. Copies of the CAPER will be displayed at the Ogden City Recorder’s office, the Ogden City Community Development offices, the Ogden City Business Development offices, the Business Information Center and the Ogden City website, www.ogdencity.com. The CAPER is submitted to the Ogden City Council as an information item at the end of the 15-day Public Comment Period. A summary of citizen comments will be attached to the CAPER. Submit CAPER to HUD by September 28 each year. Access to Information and Records The City of Ogden’s Consolidated Plan and related documents are available for public review on the City’s web site, www.ogdencity.com, Information and records open to the public can be requested by mail or phone. Residents can call [PHONE REDACTED] or mail requests to Ogden City Community Development Division, 2549 Washington Boulevard, Suite 120, Ogden, UT 84401. Confidential materials may not be reviewed by the public. Those materials include citizen’s personal identity information.