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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Housing Urban Development and Zoning Committee Meeting - January 28, 2026

Board of Aldermen Committees — Wednesday, January 28, 2026

BodySt Louis, Missouri

SessionBoard of Aldermen Committees

DateWednesday, January 28, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:29:25

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:05

Okay.

0:06

We will call today's housing urban development and zoning committee meeting to order.

0:11

Madam Clark, please call the role.

0:15

Call the woman swiper.

0:17

Present.

0:24

Vice Chair Sonia.

0:25

Here.

0:26

Present.

0:29

Present.

0:32

Present.

0:34

Chair Clark Cover.

0:35

Here.

0:39

We have six present.

0:40

We have core.

0:41

Okay with that.

0:42

I'll accept a motion to approve the minutes from Tuesday, January 20th, 2026.

0:48

Second.

0:49

Moved.

0:50

Second.

0:52

Thank you.

0:52

It was moved by Vice Chair Snyang and seconded by all the woman keys that we approve the minutes from January 20th, 2026.

0:59

Madam Clark, please call the role.

1:03

Call the woman swiper.

1:04

Hi.

1:07

Hi.

1:08

Vice Chair Sonya.

1:10

Okay.

1:11

Alderman Browning.

1:12

All right.

1:13

Alterman Aldridge.

1:16

All right.

1:18

Chair Clark Cover.

1:22

We have six items.

1:24

Okay.

1:25

We successfully approve the minutes from Tuesday, January 20th, 2026.

1:29

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for the flexibility today to make sure that we um were still accessible and accommodating not only our speakers, but most importantly, the staff that makes this happen, STO TV with being able to move not only our time, but also our platform to Zoom.

1:48

So thank you all for everyone who did everything they could to make sure this meeting is still happening.

1:53

And for the public that's watching, if you have streets or areas that are of concern that need to be addressed by our streets department, we've been instructed that if you let us know, we can send them directly to uh the mayor's winter weather command center um to try to get them on a list to be able to be addressed.

2:12

So please do not hesitate to call and reach out to your autoperson or to um the streets department to um add those areas to the list.

2:22

With that, I'll turn it over to Vice Chair Sany for committee uh discussions, community builders network presentation on community development corporations.

2:35

Thank you, madam chair, members of the committee.

2:38

Um again, I would just echo the chairwoman's comment about the staff's flexibility today.

2:43

I know the roads are still really icy and snowy out there, so I'm really glad we were able to pivot to this format.

2:49

Um, today I have invited the community builders network, which is a coalition of different community development corporations and adjacent organizations who do work.

3:00

I know many of us on this committee are familiar with the work that community development corporations do, and they do so many things it's really hard to name, but they do tons of programming to support communities, they do affordable housing development, they do property management.

3:14

Um they I mean they're involved in so many things.

3:17

And so today I've just invited them to come before us to speak to us about what they do and also a lot of the struggles and challenges that they're facing.

3:25

Um as we know, we have a federal administration that is doing a lot of cuts, and one of the things that they're really cutting are funding for these sorts of organizations, in addition to the fact that our relationship as a city is very different than what they have in other uh cities.

3:40

In other cities, there are uh the community, you know, uh community development corporations are kind of built as a part of their overall system of their housing system.

3:50

And so I've just invited them to come before us today to tell us about their work, talk to us about some of the challenges they're facing and give us an update on like their status and their conditions.

4:00

And so with that, madam chair, I would um just we would just need to swear in the speakers that I have today to give this presentation to us.

4:10

Okay, if all the speakers can uh turn your cameras on and raise your right hands, we'll do it all at once so we can keep going with the uh is everyone swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

4:24

Yes, all right, please proceed.

4:37

Good morning, Has Quinny.

4:39

Thank you again for this opportunity to come before you to speak and to think of all our safety as we uh you know come back from this what recent rec uh winter storm.

4:48

Um my name is Linda and I'm the executive director of the community builders network.

4:52

We're really excited to be here today to kind of share more about the work that CDCs have been doing on the ground in past decades as we look at stabilizing our neighborhoods.

5:02

Um we are all here because we all love St.

5:05

Louis.

5:05

Um we're here and we're committed to the hard working of rebuilding rebuilding back our city and neighborhoods, and we're excited to be able to share more about the history of CDCs and the needs in the coming years.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Community Development█████████████████████████████████████████████58%

Disaster Relief████████████16%

Affordable Housing███████████14%

Procedural█████6%

Public Engagement███4%

Community Engagement██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Housing Urban Development and Zoning Committee Meeting - January 28, 2026

The Housing Urban Development and Zoning (HUDZ) Committee met on January 28, 2026, in a virtual format due to icy road conditions. The committee heard a comprehensive presentation from the Community Builders Network (CBN), a coalition of Community Development Corporations (CDCs), detailing their work, impact, and challenges in St. Louis. The presentation highlighted CDCs' roles in affordable housing development, neighborhood revitalization, disaster response (specifically the May 16, 2025 tornado), and the urgent need for stable operating support. Committee members expressed strong support for CDCs and committed to exploring funding solutions.

Consent Calendar

No consent calendar items were considered.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments from individuals outside the presentation were received.

Discussion Items

Community Builders Network Presentation: Linda (Executive Director of CBN) introduced the coalition of over 70 organizations. Constance (North Newstead Association) defined CDCs as place-based nonprofits serving low-to-moderate income residents, with board representation from the community. She noted that CDCs cover about two-thirds of St. Louis (40+ neighborhoods, 12 of 14 wards). In 2023, CBN members supported 197 small businesses, maintained 104 vacant lots, and repaired 198 homes. CDCs leverage $1 of public funding into $12–$13 nationally.
Park Central Development (Abdul): Serves 15 neighborhoods, focusing on commercial corridor development, residential rehab, and anti-displacement. From 2020–2025, invested $2 million in anti-displacement assistance, provided over $200,000 in home repairs to 143 homes, assisted 450+ businesses, and had a $240 million economic impact in 2024. Noted a senior maintenance program (grass cutting, snow removal) lost funding, leaving over 100 seniors without service.
North Newstead Association (Constance): Celebrating 33 years, oversees 138 units of affordable housing across 23 neighborhoods. Provided details on home repair programs, senior weatherization training, and board leadership from residents. After the May 16 tornado, 100% of their portfolio was damaged with an estimated $4.5 million in damages; insurance payout likely ~$2.2 million. They spent over 300 staff overtime hours and $13,000 in reserves on immediate response, and mobilized nearly 200 volunteers for over 1,000 hours.
DeSales Community Development (Becky Reinhart): Celebrating 50 years, developed ~250 affordable housing units and manages property through Fox Grove Management. Highlighted a 78-unit mixed-use development in Carondelet (Third Ward) addressing vacant properties. Emphasized that rising construction costs and decreased investor appetite are slowing the pipeline; DeSales has ~500 units in pre-development at risk.
Northside Community Housing (Michael Burns): Developed/rehabbed over 300 homes, stabilized five blocks east of North Sarah. Reported 48 units damaged by tornado, 25 totally destroyed, and commercial space at Dick Gregory development damaged. Noted they received no assistance from FEMA, SBA, or SEMA. SBA denied a loan due to insufficient income (after an application process from August to January).
Disaster Response: All CDCs described pivoting programs for COVID-19 and tornado response. Park Central allocated $20,000 for meals, providing 20,000 meals (3,000 in first 48 hours) via Grace Meat + Three. The CBN network coordinated tarps, volunteers, and rehousing.
Funding Challenges: Prior to 2014, CDCs received CDBG operating dollars; now they rely on revenue-generating activities (development, property management). Increased costs and stagnant revenue threaten their ability to maintain affordable housing and respond to crises.
Committee Q&A: Alderman Browning asked about FEMA/SBA denial. Michael Burns explained FEMA is for individual homeowners, and SBA denied Northside due to insufficient income. Alderman Aldridge noted the value of CDC community roots. Vice Chair Sonier stressed the need to prioritize CDCs in the budget, noting that losing them would be devastating, especially in tornado-affected areas.
Alderman Boyd (via chat): Asked about specific asks. Linda and Constance responded that there is no immediate ask but urged the committee to consider the role CDCs can play in rebuilding and revitalization, given their community governance and unique capacity.

Key Outcomes

Committee members unanimously expressed gratitude and strong support for CDCs, recognizing their critical role in affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and disaster recovery.
Vice Chair Sonier and others committed to exploring innovative funding solutions, including restoring operating support akin to previous CDBG allocations.
The presentation will be recorded and shared widely to educate the public about CDCs.
Alderman Aldrich announced that the January 29, 2026 budget hearing (on Rams interest money) will also be virtual due to weather, with details on the Board of Aldermen website.
A motion to excuse Alderman Cohn for necessary absence was approved.
The meeting adjourned with thanks to staff for enabling the virtual format.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. We will call today's housing urban development and zoning committee meeting to order. Madam Clark, please call the role. Call the woman swiper. Present. Vice Chair Sonia. Here. Present. Present. Present. Chair Clark Cover. Here. We have six present. We have core. Okay with that. I'll accept a motion to approve the minutes from Tuesday, January 20th, 2026. Second. Moved. Second. Thank you. It was moved by Vice Chair Snyang and seconded by all the woman keys that we approve the minutes from January 20th, 2026. Madam Clark, please call the role. Call the woman swiper. Hi. Hi. Vice Chair Sonya. Okay. Alderman Browning. All right. Alterman Aldridge. All right. Chair Clark Cover. We have six items. Okay. We successfully approve the minutes from Tuesday, January 20th, 2026. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for the flexibility today to make sure that we um were still accessible and accommodating not only our speakers, but most importantly, the staff that makes this happen, STO TV with being able to move not only our time, but also our platform to Zoom. So thank you all for everyone who did everything they could to make sure this meeting is still happening. And for the public that's watching, if you have streets or areas that are of concern that need to be addressed by our streets department, we've been instructed that if you let us know, we can send them directly to uh the mayor's winter weather command center um to try to get them on a list to be able to be addressed. So please do not hesitate to call and reach out to your autoperson or to um the streets department to um add those areas to the list. With that, I'll turn it over to Vice Chair Sany for committee uh discussions, community builders network presentation on community development corporations. Thank you, madam chair, members of the committee. Um again, I would just echo the chairwoman's comment about the staff's flexibility today. I know the roads are still really icy and snowy out there, so I'm really glad we were able to pivot to this format. Um, today I have invited the community builders network, which is a coalition of different community development corporations and adjacent organizations who do work. I know many of us on this committee are familiar with the work that community development corporations do, and they do so many things it's really hard to name, but they do tons of programming to support communities, they do affordable housing development, they do property management. Um they I mean they're involved in so many things. And so today I've just invited them to come before us to speak to us about what they do and also a lot of the struggles and challenges that they're facing. Um as we know, we have a federal administration that is doing a lot of cuts, and one of the things that they're really cutting are funding for these sorts of organizations, in addition to the fact that our relationship as a city is very different than what they have in other uh cities. In other cities, there are uh the community, you know, uh community development corporations are kind of built as a part of their overall system of their housing system. And so I've just invited them to come before us today to tell us about their work, talk to us about some of the challenges they're facing and give us an update on like their status and their conditions.

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