Adams County is likely soon to see over $1.3 million in annual grant funding for affordable housing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is seeking public input on how best to use the money.

The county is creating a consolidated plan for 2025 through 2029 that will lay out how county officials will use grant money to address the needs of county residents, especially low-income residents in need of affordable housing, according to the county’s website.

The plan along with a regional fair housing analysis are key factors in Adams County’s efforts to bring in annual grant funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

A meeting for community members to give feedback is planned for Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center, 11151 Colorado Blvd., in Thornton. 

There is also an online survey available on the county website.

Adams County expects to get about $1.3 million from the Community Development Block Grant and an additional $1.1 from the Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) through HUD.

The Community Development Block Grant puts money toward housing needs, public facilities and infrastructure improvements and public services.

The HOME program is a partnership program between government, nonprofits and private organizations that supports affordable housing through efforts like construction, rehabilitation and down payment assistance. 

Projects the money goes to are required to benefit low to moderate income households, prevent or eliminate slums or blight or address emergency needs that pose threats to health and welfare, according to the survey. 

Types of projects could include new affordable housing developments, energy efficiency improvements, down payment assistance and senior or transitional housing, among many other things. The survey asks residents what would best benefit them through a series of questions.

Maiker Housing Partners, the public housing authority for the county, says on its website that the Denver Regional Council of Governments has projected Adams to be the fastest growing county in Colorado over the next 20 years in both population and employment. 

In the county of over 500,000 people, according to the most recent census data, 35% of households do not earn enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent, Maiker Housing Partners’ website says.

Adams County’s last consolidated plan was built in 2020 to cover through 2024. The community survey that helped build the plan had over 1,700 participants.

The housing needs assessment in the 2020-2024 plan showed that cost burden and severe cost burden were the most common housing issues, with over 20,000 households in the county considered “severely cost burdened.”

Adams County’s most recent Point in Time homeless count showed 970 homeless people in the county.