Community Development Block Grants

Montclair Township participates in the Essex County Consortium and annually receives approximately $300,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These funds are largely used for capital projects within eligible areas of the Township. Some of the funds are made available to non-profit organizations whose services and projects benefit primarily persons of low and moderate income such as substance abuse counseling and youth programs.

Application

Applications for funding in the 2025 CDBG program year will be available on the Essex County Neighborly portal on or about November 1, 2024. Interested applicants should register on the portal using the following link: Neighborly Portal. 

Applications must be submitted on the Neighborly Portal by 5:00 pm on Thursday, November 21.  All applications must identify Janice Talley from the Montclair Township Department of Planning and Community Development (jtalley@montclairnjusa.org) as a user to ensure that the Township is notified when applications are submitted.  Staff will review the application and if complete, will schedule if for presentation at a public hearing before the Township Council in early December.  The Council will evaluate each application and adopt a resolution prioritizing the applications which will be submitted to Essex County for inclusion in the annual Action Plan that is submitted to HUD.

Public Hearings

The Township hosts two public hearings to discuss the CDBG program.  Both hearings will be open to the public and the public is encouraged to attend.  The first public hearing was held on Monday, October 28th at 7:00 pm in the 2nd Floor Conference Room in the Montclair Township municipal building located at 205 Claremont Avenue. The CDBG grant program, timeframe and potential projects and programs were discussed at the meeting and both potential applicants and the public attended.  The meeting was available in-person or remotely. 

The presentation from the October 28 meeting is available here(PDF, 1MB).

A second public hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 3 at 6:30pm in the Council Chamber in the Municipal Building, 205 Claremont Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey, to solicit public comment on CDBG applications.  Applicants requesting $10,000 or more in funding must present their request at the public hearing. Those interested in addressing the Council as to how and where the grant money should be allocated are encouraged to attend. For additional information, call the Montclair Planning Department at (973) 509-4954.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of programs and projects are eligible for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds?

CDBG funds can be used for a wide range of activities such as acquisition of real property, demolition, infrastructure and public facility improvements, economic development, and social services. The primary eligibility requirement for any such activity to be funded is that the project or program principally benefits low and moderate-income persons in designated census tracts. HUD defines low and moderate income as a household that is at or below 80% of the median income for the area. These income guidelines are adjusted annually.

What determines if a project is eligible for CDBG funding?

Every project must (a) be eligible within program regulations and (b) meet one of the national objectives. In addition, the project should address one of the Priority Needs that are established in the 5-Year Consolidated Plan. 70% of all funding must satisfy the Provide a Benefit to Low and Moderate-Income Persons national objective. A project benefits low-mod persons if at least 51% of the persons or households that benefit from the project have an annual income that is at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).  Different types of projects have specific requirements and may have funding limits. These are discussed in detail below.

Public Facilities/Infrastructure Projects

Parks, sidewalks, community centers are all examples of eligible public facility projects. Eligibility requirements for park and sidewalk projects include:

  • Low/Mod Service Area. The area to be served by the project (where people live who will use the facility) must have an overall low/mod population of at least 51%. Residential Area. The service area must be primarily residential in nature.
  • Public Facilities are generally defined to be either publicly owned or owned by a non-profit and operated to be open to the public during normal operating hours.
  • Reasonable Fees. If fees are charged for the use of the facility, they must be reasonable and not have the effect of preventing low/mod individuals from using the facility.
  • Low/Mod Clientele. 51% or more of the people using the facility must be low/mod
  • (documentation required)
  • Program Income. Net profits from use of the facility are considered program income and must be reported and possibly returned to the Township’s HUD CDBG account.
Public Services

CDBG funds can be used to fund services provided by non-profit organizations for programs that benefit low/mod individuals. 

  • Not Supplanting Other Funds.  HUD will not allow CDBG funds to be substituted for funds that were previously paid by the Township or the State for that same program. For example, if CDBG funds are awarded to a project, any funds awarded to the same program should not be lower than the Township’s funding during the previous year.
  • New program/Quantifiable Increase. The non-profit must show that funding is requested for either a new service (such as a new program the non-profit was adding) or for a quantifiable increase in the level of service (such as they are adding a new councilor because of the increase in the number of clients and are asking for more money to cover that salary)
  • Funding Cap. HUD limits the funding of public service category projects to 15% of the annual allocation.
  • Beneficiaries. 51% or more of the beneficiaries must be from a low/mod household.

Clearance Activities

This category can be used to fund the demolition of unsafe structures. Because substandard structures have a negative effect on surrounding properties, the National Objective usually used for these programs is the Prevention/Elimination of Slum or Blight on a spot basis. Vacant/unoccupied structures will be demolished. Rehabilitation of buildings under this national objective is permitted, but only to the extent necessary to eliminate specific conditions detrimental to public health and safety.

What activities generally cannot be funded using CDBG funds?

  • Assistance for buildings or portions of buildings used for the general conduct of government. 
  • General local government operating and maintenance expenses. Partisan political purposes, including voting registration.
  • Equipment purchases (exceptions apply to fire protection equipment). New housing construction.

How is a person/household/family’s annual income determined and documented?

  • Direct benefit. Usually, to determine whether an individual or a family can be considered L/M, we calculate the projected income for the person/family and compare that amount to the current income maximums based on family size.
  • Presumed Clientele. Income documentation is not required if the service/project is provided exclusively for a clientele that fits one of the “presumed” categories; i.e., abused children, elderly persons, battered spouses, homeless persons, adults who are severely disabled persons (as defined by Census), illiterate adults, persons living with AIDS, and migrant farm workers. HUD presumes that at least 51% of the people who fall into one of these categories are low/mod.
  • Nature and Location. Documenting the income of each beneficiary may not be necessary if there is adequate documentation describing how the nature and the location of the activity establishes that it will be used predominantly by low/mod persons. For example, a program that is only provided to the residents of public housing would fit this category since only persons who qualify as low/mod are eligible to live in public housing.
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