Town of Summerville Planning Area - BCD Council of Governments

Community Development Block Grant EntitlementAs a principal city in the Charleston‐North Charleston‐Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area,Summerville is entitled to annual grants for housing and development programs through the USDepartment of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CBDG)program for areas within the Town limits. CBDG entitlement funds can be utilized by communities for avariety of purposes, including but not limited to the following:Acquisition of real property;Relocation and demolition;Rehabilitation of residential and non‐residential structures;Construction of public facilities and improvements, such as water and sewer facilities, streets,neighborhood centers, and the conversion of school buildings for eligible purposes;Public services, within certain limits;Activities relating to energy conservation and renewable energy resources; andProvision of assistance to profit‐motivated businesses to carry out economic development andjob creation/retention activities.Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Developmenthttp://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/entitlement/According to HUD, a community “must develop and submit to HUD its Consolidated Plan, (which is ajurisdiction's comprehensive planning document and application for funding under the followingCommunity Planning and Development formula grant programs: CDBG, HOME Investment Partnerships,Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG). In itsConsolidated Plan, the jurisdiction must identify its goals for these programs as well as for housingprograms. The goals will serve as the criteria against which HUD will evaluate a jurisdiction's Plan and itsperformance under the Plan.” More information about the CBDG entitlement program can be found athttp://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/entitlement/.ForeclosuresIn recent years, one of the key concerns for communities related to their existing housing is theincreasing rate of foreclosures due to residents being unable to pay for the existing mortgage on theirhomes. Summerville is no exception to this trend and is more susceptible to this for a variety of reasons.These include the significant jump in the town’s unemployment rate in recent years and the largenumber of residents who purchased homes during the most recent housing boom. During this boom(between 2002 and 2007), the use of formerly esoteric financing mechanisms such as adjustable ratemortgages and interest only mortgages became a standard means of financing homes for manypotential homeowners in the US. For a community, foreclosures have a high cost to a municipality(between $19,000 and $34,000 per home, based on a number of studies) and approximately $75,000overall.Housing Element Page 18