Study Suggests Actions for Improving the Usefulness of the Consolidated Plan

Throughout the 1990s, HUD has required local jurisdictions to prepare Consolidated Plans as a condition for receiving federal housing funds. These planning requirements are intended to encourage communities to allocate federal housing resources-in conjunction with state and local funding-to address local needs and market conditions.

To assess the effectiveness of HUD's planning requirements, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research sponsored the recently released study, "Planning to Meet Local Housing Needs: The Role of HUD's Consolidated Planning Requirements in the 1990s."

The study explores how communities of different types have documented housing needs over the course of the 1990s; how their housing plans relate to local needs, priorities, and market conditions; and how these plans have shaped federally funded housing activities.

Researchers conducted site visits and collected secondary data from the central city and select other participating jurisdictions in the Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and San Francisco metropolitan areas. Cross-site analyses synthesized findings from the individual study sites.

The analysis of the Consolidated Plans and the planning process in these six metropolitan areas concluded that HUD's requirements are being responsibly implemented by both city and suburban jurisdictions. All studied jurisdictions met the minimum requirements established by HUD for the Consolidated Plan process, and many went beyond the minimum. However, the process presented challenges that limit the extent to which HUD's fundamental goals could be achieved.

The report recommends ways in which HUD could clarify the process and provide better support to jurisdictions to make the local Con Plans more meaningful and effective.

Specifically, the Con Plan process could be strengthened in four ways:

1. Address the problem of outdated census information.
   
2. Have the priorities and strategies in the Consolidated Plans reflect all federal, state and local resources, not just HOME and CDBG.
   
3. Require Public Housing Authorities to actively participate in the local planning process.
   
4. Design activity reports that align with the priorities and strategies.

According to the report, these recommendations do not necessarily require either statutory or regulatory changes. Instead they could be implemented through a combination of clear instructions and consistent guidance provided with ample notice.

The findings in this study will provide HUD with invaluable information as it works to make the Con Plan easier to prepare and more effective in guiding program implementation.