HUD/DOT AWARD $2 MILLION TO WASHINGTON COUNTY TO CREATE MORE "SUSTAINABLE, LIVABLE" COMMUNITY
Unprecedented joint funding to foster integrated approach to housing, jobs and transportation

PORTLAND - An unprecedented $68 million Federal funding collaboration between the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have selected Washington County, Oregon as one of 62 local and regional partnerships across the country to receive a Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant.

The award announcement was made at a downtown Portland press conference attended by HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, DOT Deputy Secretary John D. Porcari, Congressman David Wu and Washington County Chair Tom Brian
and Commissioners Andy Duyck and Dick Schouten.

Washington County will use its $2 million competitively-awarded Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant to
advance its Aloha-Reedville Study Livable Community Plan which will develop the County’s capacity for analysis and planning and produce cooperative agreements between communities regarding land use and economic development
of corridors and town centers in the unincorporated parts of the County between Hillsboro and Beaverton.

The Sustainable Communities Challenge Grant program was established this year to promote a new a new generation of sustainable and livable communities that, connect housing, employment and economic development with transportation and other infrastructure improvements.

HUD is awarding $40 million in new Sustainable Community Challenge Grants to help support local planning designed
to integrate affordable housing, good jobs and public transportation. Meanwhile, DOT is awarding nearly $28 million
in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) II Planning Grants to implement localized
plans that ultimately lead to projects that integrate transportation, housing and economic development.

Washington County expects to use its $2 million grant for the Aloha-Reedville Study Livable Community Plan which is intended to develop the County’s capacity for analysis and planning and produce cooperative agreements between communities. The project will include local strategic plans for corridor and town center economic development, land use and streetscape improvements, a bicycle and pedestrian plan, and a housing equity and opportunity strategy in the unincorporated area of the County between Hillsboro and Beaverton. It will investigate causes and develop strategies to reverse economic and physical decline. The area is served by light rail transit and home to many low-income and minority residents and a significant portion of the County’s subsidized housing stock. The County
expects that the principal benefits of the project will be the development of “location-efficient” communities and expanded transportation options for residents. .

HUD’s Sustainable Communities Challenge Grants will foster reform and reduce barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital and sustainable communities. These funds will be used by communities, large and small, to
address local challenges to integrating transportation and housing. When these activities are done in conjunction
with transportation projects, they can greatly increase the efficiency and access of local transportation while encouraging mixed-use or transit-oriented development. Such efforts may include amending or updating local master plans, zoning codes, and building codes to support private sector investment in mixed-use development, affordable housing and the re-use of older buildings. Other local efforts may include retrofitting main streets to provide safer routes for children and seniors, or preserving affordable housing and local businesses near new transit stations.

TIGER II Planning Grants will prepare or design surface transportation projects that would be eligible for funding
under the TIGER II Discretionary Grant program. These projects include highways, bridges, transit, railways, ports
or bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

Rather than require applicants to navigate two separate grant application procedures that might be on different timelines and with different requirements, HUD and DOT joined their two new discretionary planning program to
create one point of entry to federal resources for local, innovative sustainable community planning projects.

The Community Challenge grants compliment the 45 Sustainable Communities Regional Grants announced last week
by HUD. The Challenge Grants help to support local communities seeking to integrate housing, transportation, and environmental strategies that will enhance local economic development, provide greater housing and transportation choices, and develop long-range visions for how they want their community to grow.

The new HUD-DOT program also builds on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an innovative new interagency collaboration, launched by President Obama in June 2009, between the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Guided by six Livability Principles, the Partnership is designed to remove the traditional federal government silos that exist between departments and strategically target the agencies’ transportation, land use, environmental, housing and community development resources to provide communities the resources they need to build more livable, sustainable communities.

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HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.