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CITIZEN PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS INFORMATION <br />A. What is a Public Hearing? <br />A public hearing is a meeting of a governmental body during which the public is invited to the council or <br />board of county commissioners, who will primarily listen and receive public input. The comments <br />received go into the public record. A public hearing may be held as part of a regularly scheduled public <br />meeting, but do not assume a regular council or board meeting automatically meets the public hearing <br />requirement. <br />B. Meeting the Needs of Non-English Speaking Residents <br />The federal citizen participation regulations state that "public hearings shall be conducted in a manner to <br />meet the needs of non-English speaking residents where a significant number of non-English speaking <br />residents can reasonably be expected to participate." The applicant jurisdiction must review local <br />demographic data and consider the potential impacts of the proposed project to determine the <br />appropriate outreach steps and accommodations to meet the needs of non-English speaking residents. <br />If the result is over 10% for any single language, then additional outreach and additional <br />accommodations are necessary as described in the Citizen Participation Documentation form and <br />sample Public Hearing Notice to encourage participation from non-English speaking residents. <br />Of the 17 counties proposed to receive a 2017 CDBG Public Services Grant, only the following counties <br />show over 10% of the population speaks English "less than very well". This information is based on <br />Table Number DP02 "Selected Social Characteristics in the US 2011-2015 American Community Survey <br />5 -Year Estimates", "Language Spoken at Home" section. Data on the number and percent of non- <br />English speaking residents in a jurisdiction can be found on the US Census website at <br />htttt ://factfinder2.census. ov <br />County Language Percentage <br />Grant County Spanish 17.1% <br />Yakima County Spanish 16.0% <br />C. Public Hearing Notice <br />When must the advance notice be made? A legal notice is generally published at least two weeks before <br />the hearing date. The notice must meet the local public hearing notice requirements. <br />Where must the notice be made? — The hearing must be well advertised, generally in the official local <br />paper. If it meets the local notice requirements, the hearing notice can be on an official on-line source. <br />In addition, public notice can be made using community bulletin boards, local newsletters, billing <br />statements, newspaper articles or door -or -door distribution. Residents within those areas in which CDBG <br />funds are proposed to be used, especially the low- and moderate -income persons, should be <br />encouraged to attend or provide comment. <br />What roust the notice say? — A sample notice is provided on page 48. <br />D. Public Hearing Logistics <br />What must the CDBG hearin cover? — The purpose of the hearing is to obtain citizens' views and <br />respond to proposals and questions. The hearing must cover community development and housing <br />needs as well as the availability of CDBG funds. This purpose is supported by distributing the required <br />CDBG handouts. Distributing additional materials describing the proposed project(s) is advisable. <br />Spanish versions of the handouts are available on page 55-57. <br />46 <br />