photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on Jan. 31, 2023.

The second draft of the City of Lawrence’s plan for how to use $1.64 million in federal funds for homelessness and affordable housing is now available for public comment.

As the Journal-World reported, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced back in April 2021 that it would allocate almost $5 billion to communities across the country for the creation of affordable housing and services for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Lawrence received $1.64 million of that funding, distributed through HUD’s HOME Investment Partnership American Rescue Plan Program, and has been working since then to determine how the money should be used.

City leaders had their first chance to review a draft of that plan in March; based on a market analysis and input from local social service agencies and the public, the plan calls for focusing on creating more affordable rental housing.

That recommendation hasn’t changed since March, the city said in a release Monday, nor has the breakdown of how the city plans to use the funding; nearly $1.4 million is budgeted for the development of affordable rental housing, and the remaining roughly $240,000 is slated to cover administrative and planning costs.

But the revised plan does include one change: It now omits single females as a demographic group given preference for the estimated 19 to 38 units of housing expected to be completed using HOME-ARP funds.

That’s because, according to the city’s release, including that group was viewed as a potential violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. That law protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, seeking housing assistance or engaging in other housing-related activities based on a number of categories including race, sex — gender identity and sexual orientation included — and disability.

The second draft retains its recommended preferences for households with children and for chronically homeless individuals and families; the city’s release notes that those two demographics “align with the unmet needs and gaps in services identified in the community.” Familial status is also a protected category under the Fair Housing Act, shielding families with one or more individuals who are younger than 18 years old from a landlord, property owner or real estate agent refusing to sell them a home or charging higher rent because they have children.

From here, members of the public have until Wednesday, Sept. 13, to comment on the revised draft plan, which they can do by emailing housinginitiatives@lawrenceks.org or by mailing the City of Lawrence, Housing Initiatives Division, P.O. Box 708. There will also be an opportunity to share comments at the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board meeting on Monday, Sept. 11, when the board will hear a presentation about the plan.

The revised draft plan and any public comments received between now and Sept. 13 will be presented to the Lawrence City Commission for final approval at its Sept. 19 meeting.