Ratify the submission of the application to HUD for the PRO Housing Grant.

HUD will provide PRO Housing grants to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Grantees may use awards to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation. Eligible applicants are local and state governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities.

HUD has six goals for this competition:
• Fairly and effectively award the PRO Housing grant funding
• Elevate and enable promising practices dedicated to identifying and removing barriers to affordable housing production and preservation, while preventing displacement
• Institutionalize state and local analysis and implementation of effective, equitable, and resilient approaches to affordable housing production and preservation
• Provide technical assistance to help communities better fulfill the Consolidated Plan’s requirement of identifying barriers to affordable housing and implementing solutions to address those barriers
• Affirmatively further fair housing by addressing and removing barriers that perpetuate segregation, barriers that inhibit access to well-resourced areas of opportunity for protected class groups and vulnerable populations, and barriers that concentrate affordable housing in under-resourced areas.

Applicable Goals and Objectives from HUD’s Strategic Plan

1. Strategic Goal 1: Support Underserved Communities
Fortify support for underserved communities and support equitable community development for all people.
2. 1A: Advance Housing Justice
Fortify support for vulnerable populations, underserved communities, and Fair Housing enforcement.
3. 1B: Reduce Homelessness
Strengthen Federal, State, Tribal, and community implementation of the Housing First approach to reducing the prevalence of homelessness, with the ultimate goal of ending homelessness.
4. 1C: Invest in the Success of Communities
Promote equitable community development that generates wealth-building for underserved communities, particularly for communities of color.
5. Strategic Goal 2: Ensure Access to and Increase the Production of Affordable Housing
Ensure housing demand is matched by adequate production of new homes and equitable access to housing opportunities for all people.
6. 2A: Increase the Supply of Housing
Enhance HUD's programs that increase the production and supply of housing across the country.
7. Strategic Goal 3: Promote Homeownership
Promote Homeownership opportunities, equitable access to credit for purchase and improvements, and wealth-building in underserved communities.
8. 3A: Advance Sustainable Homeownership
Advance the deployment of tools and capital that put sustainable homeownership within reach.
9. Strategic Goal 4: Advance Sustainable Communities
Advance sustainable communities by strengthening climate resilience and energy efficiency, promoting environmental justice, and recognizing housing's role as essential to health.
10. 4A: Guide Investment in Climate Resilience
Invest in climate resilience, energy efficiency, and renewable energy across HUD programs.
11. 4B: Strengthen Environmental Justice
Reduce exposure to health risks, environmental hazards, and substandard housing, especially for low-income households and communities of color.

Applicable goals from the City of Texas City's 2023 Action Plan

1. Improve Presentation of Low- to Mod-Areas
2. Improve Condition of Housing Stock
3. Provide Housing Assistance
4. Administration/Planning

It is the recommendation of the Director of Community Development & Grants Administration that the Commission ratify the submission of this application on behalf the City of Texas City to further the City's mission to provide decent and affordable housing to low and moderate-income citizens.