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To Enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and our Partner Collar Counties to Participate in a Competitive Grant Application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
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WHEREAS, the County of Kane (“County”) in it its desire to promote and enhance the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of Kane County; and
WHEREAS, the County is aware of numerous presentations, studies, reports, and articles including information as to the effects and impacts of the high cost of housing, land development and challenges thereto on the citizens, workforce, labor market and employers in Kane County, including those presented at the Kane County Workforce Housing Summit in August of 2022; and
WHEREAS, the County is aware that the County and indeed the Northeastern Illinois region faces growing challenges developing a diverse housing stock and maintaining affordability thereto. The disconnect between the housing that people want and what is available undermines the regional economy. The County realizes that not just the Kane County, but our region struggles to build enough good, affordable, and accessible housing with access to employment and services. To overcome these challenges communities in the region, need to plan for future housing needs but planning alone is not enough. Through zoning, entitlement processes, building codes and inspections, local government choices shape the types of housing that can be built and preserved; and
WHEREAS, the County finds that to develop meaningful and sustainable programs for affordable and workforce housing it necessary and desirable to enter into collaborative agreements with our regional partners to develop housing programs and seek resources that will provide meaningful and sustainable affordable housing solutions and opportunities to families in Kane County who seek to live and raise families in proximity to where they work, attend school and have family ties in Kane County; and
WHEREAS, the County finds that a valuable collaborative partner to assist in the development of programs and resources in the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and our collar county partners. Specifically, CMAP’s grant application on a joint funding opportunity from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under the authority of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328, approved December 29, 2022) (Appropriations Act), which has appropriated $85 million for competitive grant funding for the identification and removal of barriers to affordable housing production and preservation; and
WHEREAS, the County finds that the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program (PRO Housing) grant application, if awarded, will enable Kane County to work with CMAP and our collar county partners to align our planned work with the Grounded Solutions Network’s, “FOREVERYONEHOME” program with the regional approach and support local and regional involvement in the implementation of our housing readiness goals and its mission to cultivate communities - equitable, inclusive, and rich in opportunity - by advancing affordable housing solutions that last for generations; and
WHEREAS, the Memorandum of Understanding, (“MOU”) attached hereto as Exhibit A establishes the roles and responsibilities of Kane County, CMAP and our collar county partners regarding each agency’s participation in the Program.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Kane County Board hereby agrees to and accepts the terms of the attached MOU between with CMAP and the County of Kane, as set forth in Exhibit A and authorizes the County Board Chairman to sign the MOU and the attached letter committing a leverage amount of $500,000 if the grant is awarded.
Passed by the Kane County Board on October 10, 2023
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John A. Cunningham, MBA, J.D. Corinne M. Pierog MA, MBA
Clerk, County Board Chairman, County Board
Kane County, Illinois Kane County, Illinois
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