Clearwater NAHAB Meeting - May 12, 2026
Clearwater Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board Meeting - May 12, 2026
The Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board (NAHAB) met on May 12, 2026, at 9:00 AM in the City of Clearwater Main Library Council Chambers. The board approved the previous meeting minutes, recommended CDBG funding allocations for Program Year 2026/27, and recommended a development proposal for CRA-owned parcels at Washington/MLK to the CRA Board of Trustees.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the March 17, 2026 meeting minutes unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke on items not on the agenda or on agenda items.
Discussion Items
- CDBG Funding Allocations (Item 4.1): Dania Perez presented the Annual Action Plan budget for Program Year 2026/27. The budget includes allocations for administration, public services (subject to 15% cap), economic development (Prospera and Upward Care for technical assistance), affordable housing development programs, housing assistance (including CHODO set-aside and HOME funds for security deposits), facade improvement program (for low-moderate income areas), and slum and blight (CRA area, North Greenwood). The board approved the staff recommended funding allocations.
- CRA Parcels Redevelopment (Item 4.2): Dylan Mayu presented five proposals received for the redevelopment of seven CRA-owned parcels at Washington/MLK. A technical review committee scored proposals based on community/economic benefit, price, project diversity, regulatory compliance, presentation completeness, and financial completeness. The highest scoring proposal was Washington Commons by Archway Partners, which includes 178 mixed-income units (up to 80% AMI) in two phases, 3,000 sq ft of neighborhood retail, and a partnership with the Clearwater Housing Authority. Other proposals included a mixed-use district with hotel and commercial spaces (Clearwater MLK Civic District Holdings), an affordable housing project (DW Development Group), a workforce housing project (New Star Development), and a market-rate project (Vel Air). Board member Linda Byers expressed initial concern about insufficient information but voted after clarification that the recommendation was based on the committee's scoring. Board member Charissa Doughty recused herself due to her affiliation with the Clearwater Housing Authority. The board voted to recommend Archway Partners to the CRA Board of Trustees for negotiation.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: March 17, 2026 minutes (unanimous).
- Approved: CDBG funding allocations for Program Year 2026/27 (unanimous).
- Approved: Recommendation to CRA Board of Trustees to authorize negotiations with Archway Partners for the Washington Commons project (motion carried; one abstention from Charissa Doughty).
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for June 9, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
That was only 11 months ago. Okay. Now I'm here in clear water, though. Good morning. Today's meeting of the neighborhood and affordable housing advisory board is called to order on May 12th, 2026. Welcome everyone. Agendas of today's meeting are on the wall at the entrance to the chambers. Please remember to turn off your cell phones. To ensure a complete record of the board's actions, we ask that each individual wishing to speak, clearly state your name and spell your last name for the clerk. I'm Robin Field, the board chair, and I will ask the board members to introduce themselves and identify the fields that each represent. I will start to my left. Linda Byers says City Resident. Charissa Doughty Affordable Housing. Kelly Bethsburn, Hope Villages of America. And again, I'm Robin Feel, and I am a lender in the affordable housing space. Our first order of business is to approve the board's minutes of March 17th, 2026. May I have a motion to approve item 2.1. Move approval. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Minutes are approved. Is there anyone here to speak on items not on today's agenda? If so, please step to the podium and state your name and spell your last name for the record. You will have three minutes to speak on a subject that is not on today's agenda. Seeing no one come forward, do we have any e-comments? We will move on to the next item. Item 4.1 is to approve the staff recommendation funding allocations for the use of CDBG funding for the program year 2026-27. Dania Perez will present this item. Good morning. Good morning. Dania Perez, P E R E Z. And let me post up. There we go. Okay. So we're going to go over the annual action plan budget. So the annual action plan budget, which is which is also called the AAP, is our yearly roadmap to budget. It's a yearly roadmap and budget that helps ensure we stay on track with the five-year consolidated plan, which is developed based on identified community needs. Okay. Do you guys need a minute to look at it or good? Sorry, just on this side. Um for each funding source, a percentage is allowed allowable for administration cost. These funds are applied towards staff salaries for duties such as monitoring compliance and project management. And then at the bottom you have the the total the totals for each funding source. Since the organizations had already did their presentations, but if anyone has any questions, please go ahead and feel free to ask. And then at the bottom is the subtotal of the total amount that we're estimated amount that we'll be spending, which also includes our soft cost. Unfortunately, for um CDPG public service services, not every applicant was approved due to the 15% cap. So this means that only 15% of the entitlement allocation can be used for eligible public services activities, which I believe everybody is aware of.
openpublica.com