Community Development

The mission of the Community Development Division of the Planning + Development Department is to provide quality affordable housing programs, community, and economic development programs and services, and homelessness prevention programs throughout Hamilton County, following the federal rules and regulations and as directed by the Board of County Commissioners. We are guided by our Annual Action Plan and 5-Year Consolidated Plan.

2025-29 Consolidated Plan

Hamilton County is currently developing the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan to assess the needs and develop goals for the next five years regarding our HUD entitlement grant programs (Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and Emergency Solutions Grant). This process requires the County to receive community input from residents and stakeholders in the community.

Hamilton County is seeking resident feedback via a survey about community needs. The survey can be accessed digitally through the link: 2025-29 Consolidated Plan Survey. Residents may also fill out a and return a paper copy of the survey or view the survey questions prior to responding online. A downloadable PDF copy of the survey can be found here: Consolidated Plan Survey Paper Copy.

We welcome and look forward to your input!

2025-2029 Hamilton County Consolidated Plan Information Summary

P.R.O. Housing Grant Application

Communities nationwide are suffering from a lack of affordable housing, and housing production is not meeting the increasing demand for accessible and available units in many urban and rural areas, particularly areas of high opportunity. Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) supports communities who are actively taking steps to remove barriers to affordable housing, such as:

-Barriers caused by outdated zoning, land use policies, or regulations;
-Inefficient procedures;
-Gaps in available resources for development;
-Deteriorating or inadequate infrastructure;
-Lack of neighborhood amenities; or
-Challenges to preserving existing housing stock such as increasing threats from natural hazards, redevelopment pressures, or expiration of affordability requirements.

Hamilton County is submitting an application for these funds to HUD. As part of this process, the County is requesting public comments and hosting a public hearing on the plan and application. The public hearing will be held on Thursday October 3, 2024 at 1:00pm in at the Todd Portune Center for County Government, 138 E. Court Street, Room 603, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Comments can be emailed to Alex Sherlock at [email protected].

The application is available for download here:

Hamilton County PRO Housing Fund Application.pdf

Hamilton County 2023 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER)

The 2023 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) covering programs and services provided by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) will be available for public review as of September 3, 2024. Contact Hamilton County Community Development at 138 E. Court St, Rm 1002, Cincinnati, OH 45202, or [email protected]. The CAPER will also be available at https://tinyurl.com/2023CAPER. Any citizen comments received on or before September 20, 2024, will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The division administers the following federal grants for Hamilton County: 

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT - CDBG

The CDBG program funds projects and programs in participating communities of Hamilton County that benefit low to moderate-income areas and residents, eliminate slum and blight, or address an urgent need. Projects include emergency homeowner repair services; redevelopment or new construction of public facilities; rehabilitation of public infrastructure such as streets and sidewalks; economic development activities; and other public services such as emergency food services. From the CDBG Program funds, the county operates three competitive processes:

• The Community and Economic Development Assistance Program (CEDAP) program is awarded annually to our jurisdictions with their response to our request for proposals (RFP).

• Countywide Nonprofit Services are awarded once annually to nonprofits working to serve people in our Jurisdiction. These are awarded on the merits of the project as outlined in their response to our RFP. 

• The Mini Planning Grant is awarded annually to jurisdictions that we serve in response to a competitive RFP. 

HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM - HOME

The HOME Program provides funding for affordable housing development in Participating Jurisdictions. Eligible activities include acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction of housings. As part of HOME, the county operates a process for HOME Affordable Housing via an RFP. The County also has a Housing Action Plan program through which participating jurisdictions can apply and work with the County’s consultants, Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC) and the Community Building Institute (CBI).

EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT- ESG

The ESG Program is administered by the Continuum of Care, currently operated by Strategies to End Homelessness. Funds provide emergency shelter and homelessness prevention activities. In total, approximately 4,500 individuals and families receive emergency shelter services annually. About 1,400 individuals and families receive Rapid Rehousing assistance, and 800 individuals or families were assisted with Shelter Diversion programs.  

Newsletter and Email Updates

Sign up to receive the Community Development Division's quarterly newsletter and program announcements! Follow the link below to sign up for our mailing list as well as those for other programs and departments throughout Hamilton County.

Hamilton County Email Updates

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE