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Community Development Advisory Board

Community Development Advisory Board

Thu, April 9, 2026

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Meeting summaryAI-generated

Community Development Advisory Board — April 9, 2026


This was a regular meeting of the Community Development Advisory Board (CDAB), held in the Mayor's Boardroom. Nine of eleven members were present (Ben Spicer and Saachi Chugh were absent; Amy Navarro attended online). One member of the public attended.


Approval of Minutes


Minutes from the March meeting were approved by general consensus without discussion.


Public Comment


Denise Catalano introduced herself and expressed interest in joining the Board.


HUD Annual Action Plan


Staff presented an overview of Bellingham's HUD Annual Action Plan, the related Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), and how both documents connect to the city's broader Consolidated Plan goals. Housing & Services Program Manager Samya Lutz walked through the funding available and the specific activities tied to each project in the Housing & Services Program. Staff also described adjustments made to the Action Plan budget and summarized other funding applications the city has received.


A public comment period for the HUD Annual Action Plan had been open for written comments through April 8, 2026. No public comments were received.


A planned presentation was postponed to the June 2026 meeting.


Applications Review — Homeless Prevention (HOME-ARP Funds)


Development Specialist Kathleen Morton presented an overview of applications received in response to the city's Request for Proposals (RFP) for Homeless Prevention projects funded through HOME-ARP. Staff outlined several options for the board to consider when making funding recommendations for the 2026–2027 cycle.


After discussion, the board voted to recommend Option B, with the additional request that City Council members have access to the CDAB meeting notes and recording so they can review the full context of the board's deliberations. The minutes do not detail what distinguishes Option B from the other options, but characterize the board discussion as robust.


Vote: Approved by CDAB vote (specific tally not recorded in the minutes).


Staff Updates


Staff highlighted upcoming events for Fair Housing Month and encouraged community members to attend. No further detail was recorded.


Announcements / "What's the Buzz"


Board members shared information about local volunteer and nonprofit events, including April Brews Day, a Salish poetry pub crawl, and Wander to Wander.


Future Agenda Items


The board noted that a future agenda item will include updates on the Day Shelter.


Key Takeaways


No public comments were received during the formal HUD Annual Action Plan comment period, which closed April 8, 2026.
The CDAB voted to recommend Option B for HOME-ARP Homeless Prevention funding for the 2026–2027 cycle, and asked that Council have access to meeting records to understand the full deliberation.
A previously scheduled presentation was postponed to June 2026.
A community member, Denise Catalano, expressed interest in joining the CDAB — a potential future board appointment to watch.
The Day Shelter will be a topic on a future CDAB agenda.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

What happened at this meeting

Approval of minutes from previous meeting

March minutes were approved by general consensus.

HUD Action Plan

Staff members Samya Lutz and Kathleen Morton presented on the HUD Annual Action Plan, including an overview of HUD requirements, Consolidated Plan Goals, funding availability, and budget adjustments. No public comments were received during the comment period that closed April 8, 2026. Kathleen Morton also presented applications received for RFP's for Homeless Prevention (HOME-ARP funds) projects, and the CDAB voted to recommend option B with a request that Council members have access to meeting notes/recordings to demonstrate robust discussion.

Staff Updates

Staff shared information about upcoming Fair Housing Month events and community attendance opportunities.

Announcements / "What's the Buzz"

CDAB members shared information on various volunteer and non-profit events including April Brews Day, Salish poetry pub crawl, and Wander to Wander.

Future Agenda Items Next Scheduled Community Development Advisory Board Meeting

Future agenda items identified include updates on Day Shelter.

Agenda items (6)

Procedural (3)
1ProceduralRoll Call & Introductions
Council members introduce themselves and mark attendance at the start of the meeting.
2ProceduralApproval of minutes from previous meeting
The council votes to formally approve the written record of what happened at the previous meeting.

What happened

March minutes were approved by general consensus.
5ProceduralAnnouncements / "What's the Buzz"
Council members and staff share announcements, news, and notable happenings in the community.

What happened

CDAB members shared information on various volunteer and non-profit events including April Brews Day, Salish poetry pub crawl, and Wander to Wander.
General Business
3General BusinessHUD Action Plan
The city will discuss and likely approve its HUD Action Plan, which outlines how federal housing and community development funds will be used.

What happened

Staff members Samya Lutz and Kathleen Morton presented on the HUD Annual Action Plan, including an overview of HUD requirements, Consolidated Plan Goals, funding availability, and budget adjustments. No public comments were received during the comment period that closed April 8, 2026. Kathleen Morton also presented applications received for RFP's for Homeless Prevention (HOME-ARP funds) projects, and the CDAB voted to recommend option B with a request that Council members have access to meeting notes/recordings to demonstrate robust discussion.
4General BusinessStaff Updates
City staff provide updates on current projects, initiatives, and departmental activities.

What happened

Staff shared information about upcoming Fair Housing Month events and community attendance opportunities.
6General BusinessFuture Agenda Items Next Scheduled Community Development Advisory Board Meeting
The group identifies topics to be discussed at the Community Development Advisory Board's next scheduled meeting.

What happened

Future agenda items identified include updates on Day Shelter.

Verbatim transcript available

10 transcript segments indexed

Community Development Advisory Board Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Thursday 6:00 PM April 9, 2026 Mayor’s Boardroom https://meetings.cob.org Call to Order The Community Development Advisory Board meeting was called to order by the Chair at 6:00 PM.
Video link available upon request. - Members: ☒ Shannon Laws (CDAB Chair) ☒ Katherine Freimund ☒ Andrew Calkins ☒ Lola Thompson ☐ Ben Spicer ☒ Matt Unger ☒ Bernice Portervint ☒ Matthew Main ☒ Jasmine Fast ☐ Saachi Chugh ☒ Amy Navarro (online) Staff/ Other Panelists: Attendees: 1 members of the public Samya Lutz, PCDD Kathleen Morton, PCDD Approval of minutes from previous meeting March minutes were approved by general consensus.
Public Comment Period During this time, citizens may take up to three (3) minutes to address the members about any topic not on the agenda. Denise Catalano introduced self and expressed interest in being a member of the Board.
Agenda Items Presentation Presentation postponed until next meeting, June 2026. Information/Discussion Public Hearing –Comment period for HUD Annual Action Plan was open for written comments through April 8, 2026.
No comments were received. HUD Annual Action Plan – City of Bellingham Staff, Samya Lutz provided an overview of the activities associated with HUD requirements related to the Action Plan & CAPER as well as how the Consolidated Plan Goals relate to this work.
Samya provided an overview of Funding availability and the activities associated with each project within the Housing & Services Program. City staff provides an overview of adjustments made to the Action Plan budget, as well as other funding applications received.
Applications Review – City of Bellingham staff, Kathleen, provided an overview of the applications received for RFP’s for Homeless Prevention (HOME-ARP funds) projects. City staff provided a few options for CDAB to consider and make recommendations for 2026-2027 funding cycle.
CDAB vote to provide recommendation for option B but for Council members to have access to meeting notes/meeting recording to show robust discussion within CDAB for additional context. Other Business 1.
Staff Updates – staff shared information about upcoming events for Fair Housing Month and how members of community can attend. 2. Announcements / "What's the Buzz" – CDAB members shared information on various volunteer & non-profit events such as April Brews Day, Salish poetry pub crawl and Wander to Wander.
3. Future Agenda Items – Updates on Day Shelter Minutes prepared by: ____________________________________________ Kathleen Morton, Development Specialist II with input from Samya Lutz, Housing & Services Program Manager Minutes edited by both staff and Community Development Advisory Board members.