Loveland council unanimously approves annual CDBG plan after debate over broader housing policy

The Loveland City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve Resolution R-35-2026, adopting the city’s 2026-27 Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan. The action clears the way for Loveland to submit its HUD-required annual application for federal CDBG money, which staff said is necessary for the city to receive the funding on time.

The annual plan covers the program year running from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, and describes how Loveland expects to use $368,417 in CDBG funds. The plan allocates 65% to brick-and-mortar projects, 15% to public services and 20% to administration, and it also includes prior-year funds or program income for eligible projects.

The item was pulled from the consent agenda by Council Member Kalina Middleton, who said her concern was less about the grant itself than about how the annual plan connects to the city’s broader housing strategy under the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan. Middleton said the council needs “more substance” going forward after reviewing references in the larger plan to city support beyond CDBG dollars, including general fund contributions and development fee waivers.

Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Samson objected that the discussion was drifting away from the narrower question before council. Samson said the annual action plan and the five-year consolidated plan are separate matters, and Mayor Patrick McFall agreed, saying Tuesday’s vote concerned only the 2026-27 annual plan, not the broader policy framework already adopted by a previous council.

A staff member responded that the consolidated plan language Middleton cited referred to the city highlighting its broader affordable-housing efforts, including fee waivers and other support, not to a new request for council to commit general fund dollars through the annual action plan. The staff member said the annual plan is meant to tell HUD specifically how the city will spend money during the coming program year.

Middleton later proposed an amendment aimed at clarifying that approval of the plan would not authorize construction of a large-scale homeless shelter. That amendment failed 1-8, with Council Member Zeke Cortez casting the lone yes vote. Council then returned to the original resolution and approved it 9-0.

Two residents who spoke during public comment urged approval. Megan Eliezer, a Ward 2 resident, said the item involved grant money the city needed to apply for in order to continue providing services. Cindy Van Slambroek of Loveland asked staff to explain whether the matter had already been brought forward previously.

City documents describe the annual action plan as the official application for CDBG funding and warn that if council denied or took no action, Loveland would not receive the federal grant. The plan includes funding decisions council previously approved in June and is the second year of implementation of the city’s 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan.