Town holds public hearing for HUD CDBG annual action plan; $50,000 expected allocation to be drafted

The Town of Paradise held a duly noticed public hearing to gather community input on the annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation and priorities. Colette Curtis explained that as an entitlement community the town receives an annual allocation from HUD based primarily on population; because Paradise’s population remains reduced after the 2018 Camp Fire, the allocation has fallen to roughly $50,000 per year and HUD uses the federal (2020) census for eligibility.

Curtis outlined eligible uses for CDBG funds (housing programs, certain infrastructure, economic‑development façade grants, and subrecipient public‑service grants) and noted the town typically allocates about 15% of the annual award to subrecipients (501(c)(3) organizations). She said the town will use public comments from this hearing to draft the annual action plan, return the draft to the council in March for additional public comment and council approval, and then submit the plan to HUD for final approval.

Council and the public asked clarifying questions: HUD ties allocations to the 2020 federal census, while the California Department of Finance provides an annual population update used for state calculations. Curtis said program rules prohibit using the Department of Finance number for HUD allocations. There were no public commenters on the item during the hearing.

Next steps: staff will draft the 2026–27 action plan reflecting council and public input, present the draft for further comment in March, and submit the final plan to HUD for approval.