Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development

The committee discussed its role and strategic direction, emphasizing the need for regular meetings to provide directional awareness. Key topics included the development of a strategic plan, a retrospective analysis of the program's ten-year impact, and the creation of marketing and messaging materials to highlight successes. The discussion also covered the importance of transparency, data-driven investment analysis, and focusing on industry clusters such as artificial intelligence and energy to enhance competitiveness.

The board discussed the Virginia AI landscape assessment, which examined the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, business operations, and the economy within the state. Key topics included the need for workforce training, the development of formal AI policies for small and mid-sized businesses, the strategic redesign of business processes, and leveraging existing technological infrastructure to mitigate potential AI-related disruptions while capitalizing on new opportunities.

The committee meeting focused on regional fund utilization, including an analysis of per capita and competitive fund balances, as well as the impact of a state-mandated reversion of unobligated funds. Key topics also included the capacity analysis for site planning grants, the implementation of a new transparent feedback loop process for application evaluations, and communication improvements between the committee and regional councils.

The meeting, conducted virtually, focused heavily on the Program Performance and Evaluation (PPE) committee's role in monitoring Go Virginia grant projects. Key discussion points included the life cycle of a Go Virginia grant, from board definition of outcomes to the final performance closeout report. Committee members analyzed the two-part closeout process, comprising fiscal closeout and performance closeout, emphasizing the narratives detailing project outcomes and lessons learned. A significant portion of the discussion centered on return on investment (ROI) evaluation, specifically how to measure fiscal return to the commonwealth using employment and wages data, and whether to rerun ROI calculations at project close versus relying on initial projections. The structure of reimbursement-based grants and handling residual fund balances were also addressed. The committee determined that reviewing performance closeout narratives is a critical function of the PPE committee moving forward.

The documents pertain to a Board of Housing and Community Development meeting and public hearing scheduled for May 8, 2023, following a memorandum dated April 28, 2023. The meeting agenda includes a public hearing concerning proposed regulations for the Statewide Fire Prevention Code, Uniform Statewide Building Code, Virginia Amusement Device Regulations, and Industrialized Building Safety Regulations. The Housing and Community Development Committee portion of the meeting includes action items on the Enterprise Zone Periodic Review and the Consolidated Plan/Annual Action Plan. Additional materials cover the Enterprise Zone Grant Program Regulations periodic review, which staff recommends retaining without change despite a commenter suggesting clarification on eligible job definitions. There is also extensive material regarding the 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan and 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan, detailing funding allocations for CDBG, HOME, ESG, HOPWA, and NHTF programs, and summarizing public input sessions. Finally, memorandums detail proposed editorial corrections for the 2021 final regulations across SFPC, USBC, and VPMC codes.