PEABODY — The City of Peabody and The North Shore HOME Consortium (Consortium), an organization of 30 cities and towns in the Merrimack Valley and the North Shore, are seeking public comment on a Draft Action Plan for the 2022 fiscal year.
Specifically, the city and the Consortium are seeking feedback on these documents from interested parties regarding the use of Consortium funds for the development of affordable housing in the Consortium region in the coming year and the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to assist low and moderate-income persons in Peabody in 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 these funds include: creating affordable rental housing, rehabilitating existing housing, creating affordable owner housing units, providing tenant-based rental assistance to targeted populations.
The proposed CDBG activities include social service activities, infrastructure, rehabilitating existing housing stock, safety improvements, and economic development activities.
An electronic copy of the Consortium’s and City’s 2022 action plan will be available July 1 at www.peabody-ma.gov.
The plan will be forwarded to each member community and can be accessed at their respective community development/planning departments. The public comment period begins Friday, July 1, and ends Sunday, July 31.
Three public hearings will be held during the comment period. The hearings will be held: Tuesday, July 12 at 11 a.m. at the Gloucester Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Ave., Gloucester; Wednesday, July 13 at 1 p.m. at the Haverhill Public Library, Milhendler Room, 99 Main St., Haverhill; Thursday, July 14 at 5:30 p.m. at Peabody City Hall, lower-level conference room, 24 Lowell St.
The third meeting may be attended in-person or via remote participation. Members of the public and interested parties may access the remote participation by entering the following link into your web browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84760989389?pwd=ApWAAcOzqF_R_33JTETz0bTlLQb1dq.Enter the meeting ID# 847 6098 9389 as directed on the webpage and click “Join.” Follow the onscreen instructions to join the meeting.
The meeting passcode is 169462.
Alternatively, participants can dial a toll-free number (1- 646-558-8656) to join the meeting. When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID# 847 6098 9389 and follow the instructions. Citizens, all interested parties, representatives from the City of Peabody and 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 July 31 to: the Department of Community Development and Planning at City Hall, 24 Lowell St. Peabody, or by e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected].
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
