Sponsor: Community & Economic Development
Title
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Substantial Amendments to Previous Years’ Annual Action Plans to Obligate HOME Funding for Affordable Homeownership Projects.
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Recommendation
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1. Approve the amended 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Community Development Block Grant- HOME Investment Partnerships Act Annual Action Plans/Proposed Uses of Funds.
2. Approve the obligation of HOME Investment Partnerships Act funds for recommended projects and funding amounts for construction and preservation of affordable owner-occupied housing in the amount of $879,000.
3. Authorize the County Manager to enter into necessary loan or other agreements in a manner consistent with local and federal regulations and requirements in a form approved by the County Attorney’s Office.
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Background and Rationale
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Ramsey County receives HOME Investment Partnerships Act (HOME) funding as a subrecipient-member of the Dakota County HOME Consortium. The Dakota County HOME Consortium members are Dakota County, Anoka County, Ramsey County, Washington County and the City of Woodbury. The members team up to save on administrative costs and burden associated with the management of the grant. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides this annual grant to the Consortium to advance affordable housing and homeownership opportunities. Per the Ramsey County portion of the Dakota County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)- HOME Annual Action Plans and Consolidated Plans, HOME funds are designated for owner-occupied and homeownership activities. The funds are limited for use in suburban Ramsey County, as the City of Saint Paul is a direct recipient of HOME funds from HUD.
Substantial amendments to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 CDBG-HOME Annual Action Plans are required when HOME funds are obligated to new, specific affordable housing activities. Currently the funds are generally obligated to homeownership and owner-occupied housing eligible uses. The competitive 2026 Housing Development Solicitation was released on April 13, 2026, and responses were due on May 26, 2026. Staff then reviewed and scored applications that were eligible for HOME funds. Two projects selected from the 2026 Housing Development Solicitation are recommended for awards of unallocated HOME funds for owner-occupied and homeownership eligible uses. One additional project that was awarded 2025 Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) levy from the 2025 Housing Development Solicitation is recommended to receive HOME funds instead of HRA levy as it is eligible for available funds. HRA funds will be reallocated to another eligible project at a later date. This request aligns with Ramsey County’s strategic priority “Intergenerational Wealth and Economic Justice” as homeownership is a wealth generation opportunity.
All new activities or adjustments to activities that are larger than $100,000 trigger a HUD substantial amendment process. This requires public notice, a 30-day public comment period, a public meeting and approval by the HRA Board. The following activities will use HOME funds from the FY2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 Annual Action Plans/Proposed Use of Funds.
Summary of Proposed Uses of HOME Funds
Duluth Street Twinhomes, Habitat for Humanity, Maplewood $199,000
Homeowner Initiated Program, Rondo Community Land Trust, Suburban Countywide $360,000
Scattered Site Program, Habitat for Humanity, Suburban Countywide $320,000
Total Uses: $879,000
HOME Sources of Funds
FY2022 Unallocated HOME Funds $27,841
FY2023 Unallocated HOME Funds $216,260.59
FY2024 Unallocated HOME Funds $565,088.80
FY2025 Unallocated HOME Funds $69,809.61
Total Sources: $879,000
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
X Well-being X Prosperity X Opportunity X Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Ramsey County experiences large racial disparities in homeownership. According to Ramsey County’s 2022 Community Indicators, approximately 69% of non-Hispanic White households own a home, 47% of Asian households, 41% of Hispanic/Latino households, 38% of American Indian households and 20% of Black/African American households. The gap between White households and Black/African American households is 49 percentage points and is a main contributor to the racial wealth gap. In addition, renters, who are more likely to be racially/ethnically diverse, are also more likely to be cost-burdened by their housing costs.
Affordable homeownership projects, like the developments recommended for HOME awards, are vital to help undo these disparities. CED tracks participants by race and ethnicity, as required by HUD, and aims to increase the diversity of homeowners. Additional investments in the housing supply of owner-occupied units are needed to further reduce these disparities.
Community Participation Level and Impact
CED implemented a robust community engagement process in the creation of the Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion (ECI) Plan, where homeownership and wealth generation are listed as a key strategy. This included engagement with residents, businesses, community organizations, other governmental agencies, elected officials, and local municipalities. Community was informed about the competitive 2026 solicitation, one step towards the implementation of the community driven ECI Plan. Additional engagement with housing organizations that directly serve residents facing housing instability and homelessness occurred during the planning stage of the Deeply Affordable Housing Initiative. A community meeting was also hosted at Maplewood Community Library to provide information on the 2026 Housing Development Solicitation.
All new activities or adjustments to HOME activities that are larger than $100,000 trigger a HUD substantial amendment process. This requires public notice, a 30-day public comment period, a public meeting and approval by the HRA Board. The public meeting occurred on August 6, 2026 at the Roseville Library.
X Inform __ Consult __ Involve __ Collaborate __ Empower
Fiscal Impact
The three recommended projects will use unallocated HOME Funds. FY2022 and FY2023 HOME funds are available as there were not enough eligible projects at that time to allocate to housing development projects. FY2024 and FY2025 were purposefully left unallocated for projects that applied to the 2026 Housing Development Solicitation. Changes to federal regulations made HOME funds harder to obligate to multifamily projects and Ramsey County pivoted future uses of HOME funds towards owner-occupied and homeownership projects.
Last Previous Action
On May 6, 2025 the Housing and Redevelopment Authority approved the submittal of the 2025-2029 HOME-CDBG Consolidated Plan in which the plan directs HOME funds to be used for owner-occupied and homeownership related projects (Resolution H2025-009).
Attachments
1. Narrative Project Descriptions