1 Create a ZoomGrants™ account (below) or log in to your existing account (above) 2 Select a Program to apply for, then click the Apply button to get started 3 Answer the questions and/or fill in the fields in each tab 4 If necessary, upload any requested documents 5 Submit your application and wait for a decision 6 If you are selected to receive funding, you might be required to submit invoices or reports through your application
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Summary
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Application Title
Amount Requested Please provide the TOTAL amount you are requesting from CHIP (both waived system development charges/general facilities charges/fees and utility construction costs)
Applicant Information
First Name
Last Name
Telephone
Email
Address 1
Address 2
City
State/Province
ZIP+4/Postal Code
Country
Organization Information
(changes to this data will be reflected on all other applications for this organization)
Create an Organization
Your Pre-Application must be submitted AND approved before continuing.
Pre-Application
(answers are saved automatically when you move to another field)
Please complete the following questions to determine if your project is eligible for the Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program funding.
1. Is the applicant a local government or public utility?
2. Is this project creating new affordable housing units?
3. Will at least 25% of the housing units in the housing project serve and benefit low-income households? Low income is defined as at or below 80% of area median income.
4. Will the affordable housing units serve the original target income level for at least 25 years?
5. Will the project be able to begin construction within 24 months of the grant award, or has it already begun? The grant award date is the date of the award letter; award letters will be sent in January 2027.
6. Is your request for one of the items that can be funded under this grant? A list of eligible expenses can be found in the Program Guidelines.
7. If funding for utility extensions or improvements is requested, are eligible expenses expected to be incurred by:
8. Does the jurisdiction have a mechanism to waive system development fees for affordable housing? If the jurisdiction does not have a fee waiver mechanism in place, they may apply conditionally and adopt a fee waiver ordinance before contracting. Please respond regardless of whether this particular application is for utility improvements only.
9. Choose the housing type that best describes your project? Not all housing types are eligible for CHIP. Please refer to CHIP Handbook.
10. If project is located in a fully planning jurisdiction, is this project located within the urban growth area? https://www.commerce.wa.gov/growth-management/
This Pre-Application section must be submitted and Approved by the Administrator (not ZoomGrants) before you can fill out the rest of the application. Click the Submit Pre-Application button at the top or bottom of this tab to submit this section to be reviewed.
Your Pre-Application must be submitted AND approved before continuing.
Application Questions
(answers are saved automatically when you move to another field)
General Information
1. Key contact from the city, county, or public utility district Application contact (name, title, email, phone number). Please enter information on one line, separated by commas.
2. Please enter the total amount requested from CHIP Should be the sum of the figures in questions #31 and #37
3. Will the city, county or public utility district be providing this funding to the affordable housing developer as a grant or deferred loan? Is this a 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit project? Does the project need funding from a taxable bond source? This question is for Commerce budget and accounting purposes. Contact CHIPgrants@commerce.wa.gov for additional information.
4. Statewide Vendor (SWV) Number for city, county, or utility district To execute a contract, recipients must establish a SWV through the WA State Office of Financial Management (OFM). Registration forms at OFM’s website at: https://ofm.wa.gov/itsystems/statewide-vendorpayee-services or 360-407-8180.
5. Washington State Unified Business Identifier (UBI) Number for city, county, or utility district A UBI # is required for a contract to be issued. If you don’t have one at this time, list zeros in this field.
6. Tax ID Number for city, county, or utility district Please provide the applicant organization's Tax ID number.
Information about the Affordable Housing Project
7. Project site location: Site address, City, State, Zip
8. What County is this project located in? County associated with site address.
9. Project parcel number(s) Parcel numbers associated with site address.
10. Does the developer have site control of the project through either ownership or a long-term lease? Reminder: Please attach site control documentation under Documents tab.
11. Please describe the project. Include the size of the parcel, the zoning, and the square footage of the development. If the project includes non-housing uses, please provide information about those (for example, retail or commercial space) and any amenities.
12. Please describe the need for this type of housing in the community. Such as from a projected housing needs assessment by household type as included in your comprehensive plan, or similar analysis showing the type and distribution of housing in the community, and the types of housing most needed in the community. Please attach a copy of this analysis in the documents section. Reference page numbers and/or section headers in the document that specifically support this response
13. Describe the distance from the project to the nearest transit (bus, light rail, commuter rail, etc.), indicate the type of transit service, and describe the frequency of the service during peak hours (7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m.). Is the housing in walking distance to community or services? Are there bike paths, ride share programs or other modes of available transportation options?
14. Please describe how this project may serve over-burdened communities or overcome past racial disparities in housing. Support materials for racially disparate impacts, exclusion and displacement https://www.commerce.wa.gov/growth-management/housing-planning/housing-guidance/. Support materials for over-burdened communities at https://gis.ecology.wa.gov/portal/home/item.html?id=454c5efc20334dc4909405310b2dbfcb
15. Describe any additional public benefit of this project involving environmental improvements such as solar, net-zero or LEED building, preserving the tree canopy, habitat protection, incorporation of Low Impact Development, etc.
16. Are there any aspects about this project that potentially creates a disparate community impact to the low-income households in the community? If so, are there any measures planned to mitigate the impact? Possible factors could include being adjacent to a freeway, waste processing facility, or other sources of direct air pollution, a greater risk of flood exposure, lack of greenspaces, lack of adequate sidewalks or walksheds.
17. What is the size of this housing project?
18. Housing unit information Provide the total number of housing units, both affordable and market rate, created by this housing project. Questions 18, 19 ask for a breakout of affordable and market rate units. Note if a mgr's unit will be included in affordable or market rate
19. Please provide the number of units that will be affordable to low-income households at each percentage of area median income (AMI) level.
(Example: 5 = number of Studio units available to households earning up to 30% AMI) “Affordable housing” means payment of monthly housing costs, including utilities other than telephone, are no more than thirty percent of the family's income. “Low-income households” means a single person, family or unrelated persons living together
20. Please provide the number of market rate units.
21. How long will the affordable units in the project be affordable? Please provide the length of time the project will be affordable to target markets, as listed in Question 19.
22. How will affordability be monitored over the long-term? If the affordable housing component will not be monitored for affordability by an organization such as the Housing Trust Fund, the operator will need to provide information about their record keeping and auditing system. In addition to monitoring, the developer will also need to execute a covenant and deed of trust noting affordability of designated units for a minimum of 25 years.
23. Developer associated with the project Include: organization name, main point of contact and title, email, and phone number. If a non-profit or another partner is involved in the project, please include their contact information and their role in the project.
24. Who will own the site and the project? Include: organization name, main point of contact and title, email, and phone number. Please enter information on one line, separated by commas.
25. Who will operate and manage the project? Include: organization name, main point of contact and title, email, and phone number. Please enter information on one line, separated by commas.
Project Infrastructure Readiness
26. Build Schedule Risk Factors: a) Is there any public debate about the proposed project that could cause delays? b) Are there any other risk factors that would affect the timeline or impediments to completing the project according to schedule? For example, opposition by neighborhood businesses and residents, entitlement or permitting issues, environmental concerns, supply or labor constraints. If so, to what degree could these factors slow or stop your project’s progress?
27. Please describe the scope of work that the requested CHIP funding will pay for. Please only include expenses eligible for CHIP funding (i.e. water, sewer and stormwater related expenses). If awarded, this will be used to complete the scope of work for your CHIP contract. See CHIP Handbook for more eligible expenses: https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com/s/7wkrwui7tdhn6ujhj6azzm3ov4lcltgd
28. Tell us about the status of the following activities. For each activity, indicate the status of completion or expected completion date. Enter month/year (text or numbers, limited to 10 characters each cell).
29. When are eligible CHIP expenses expected to be incurred and invoiced if funding is awarded?
30. If this application includes costs for a utility extension or improvement, is it included in the jurisdiction's comprehensive plan? Please list the goals and policies from the jurisdiction’s comp plan that supports this project.
Utility Improvement Questions
31. Please enter the total amount requested for the water, sewer and stormwater utility construction work. This table will automatically calculate the total amount requested for the water, sewer and stormwater utility construction work. If you are not requesting utility improvements, please write NA.
32. UTILITY IMPROVEMENT APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Include the following information about the WATER: (a) name of water service provider, (b) describe the connection that is needed, (c) cost of the connection, and (d) has the provider indicated they have the capacity for your project?
33. UTILITY IMPROVEMENT APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Include the following information about the SEWER: (a) name of sewer service provider, (b) describe the connection that is needed, (c) cost of the connection, and (d) has the provider indicated they have capacity for your project?
34. UTILITY IMPROVEMENT APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Include the following information about the STORMWATER: (a) name of stormwater service provider, (b) describe the improvement that is needed and why, (c) cost of the improvement, (d) How will the stormwater for your project be collected and treated?
35. UTILITY CONNECTION APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Please describe if the water, sewer, and stormwater improvements seeking funding will help only this project, or do the improvements facilitate the development of other new housing or benefit other properties?
36. UTILITY CONNECTION APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Is your project subject to a local improvement district or late-comer fees? Is there an agreement between the local jurisdiction and the developer to collect late-comer fees? Please describe. If no other properties will connect to the utility improvements of this project, please note.
Fee Waiver Questions
37. Please enter the amount the jurisdiction will be waiving for system development charges for water, sewer and stormwater. Only enter the amount that will be waived for the affordable housing units. This table will automatically calculate the total amount requested for reimbursement of waived system development fees. If you are not requesting waived system development charges, please write NA
38. WAIVED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGE APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Describe the system development charges and the jurisdiction’s process for waiving these fees. Indicate when these fees were waived by the city or when they plan to be waived based on the current project schedule. If the jurisdiction has not yet adopted a program for waiving system development charges, describe the timeline for completing this work and if there are any projected obstacles to adopting such a program and how the applicant will address those obstacles.
39. WAIVED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CHARGE APPLICANTS (Others write NA): Please describe how the system development charge fee structure takes into account the size of the housing unit, ie, so that small housing units are proportionally charged less.
This program may only reimburse for the system development charges, which are fees charged at the time of development to allow connection to a regional water, sewer, or stormwater system
Your Pre-Application must be submitted AND approved before continuing.
Budget
(answers are saved automatically when you move to another field)
Complete the Budget Table and Budget Narrative, listing the funding sources and amounts for the project.
Budget Table: Funding sources could include cash on hand/reserves, loans, federal/state grants, donations, etc. If grant or loan applications are pending, include that information in the "Applied for Funding" column, and note in the narrative when the applicant will have certainty of that funding. Funding available to the applicant at this time should go in the "Committed or In-hand" column.
Budget Narrative: This section should include the total funding needed for the project (including utilities and system development charges) and any gaps that remain. If any funds are not committed or gaps remain, upload a document outlining a plan and timeline for obtaining remaining funds.
Funding Sources for Project. PLEASE LIST SOURCES OF COMMITTED AND POTENTIAL FUNDING.
For this table, include all funding needed for the entire housing project, not just the utilities. Please separate out public funds and private funds, both by what has been applied for and what is committed or in-hand. Enter amounts in one column only- Applied for funding OR committed/ in-hand.
Item Description
Public funds applied for
Public funds committed or in-hand
Private funds applied for
Private funds committed or in-hand
Total USD$ 0.00
Total USD$ 0.00
Total USD$ 0.00
Total USD$ 0.00
Budget Narrative (Discuss the items and amounts you entered above.)
This section should include the total funding needed for the project (including utilities and system development charges) and any gaps that remain. If any funds are not committed or gaps remain, upload a document outlining a plan and timeline for obtaining remaining funds. Provide additional information or details on the budget table here.
Your Pre-Application must be submitted AND approved before continuing.
System Development Charge Calculations
(answers are saved automatically when you move to another field)
Your Pre-Application must be submitted AND approved before continuing.
Map of the housing project location and existing utilities (water, sewer, stormwater) in the surrounding area, with street labels. Map should include the address and parcel number of the project and show within the UGA if applicable.
Required
Documentation of project funding for the project for all individual sources of funding over $10,000. Include award letters, bank statements, loan documents, etc. (Prior to contract execution, records must be provided to show full project funding.)
Required
-none-
Proof of site control (e.g., an executed property title, lease agreement, or purchase/sale agreement)
Required
-none-
For requests for system development charges or fees, provide documentation of charges/fees waived by the city, or letter from the city with how much and when these fees will be waived, if applicable. (REQUIRED for waived system development charges.)
-none-
For construction of utility improvements: (All documents REQUIRED for utility improvement projects) + Schematic of planned utility construction + Project schedule, including projected start of construction
-none-
Construction estimates or bids to support your utility construction budget numbers. Though optional, documenting the costs by showing estimates or bids will support your application.
-none-
Acknowledgment from the city or county that will be permitting the project, including documents showing status of zoning and permitting of the site. This is an optional part of the application.
-none-
Letters of support from local non-profits or other project proponents.
-none-
Housing needs assessment
-none-
Transit map, walkshed map, proximity to public services.
-none-
* ZoomGrants™ is not responsible for the content of uploaded documents.
Follow-up Questions
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If you are ready to have your answers reviewed,
add an entry to the Activity Log and request a Grant maker action.
Report
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