Texas Resilient Communities Program

The Texas Resilient Communities Program (RCP) began in 2022 and provides funding and technical assistance to cities, counties, councils, and federally-recognized Tribes in eligible zip codes to create, adopt, and implement better building codes and flood ordinances. The program was created when the General Land Office (GLO) received a Community Development Block Grant for Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Eligible communities (that have the appropriate legal authority) can apply for up to $300,000 towards updating, adopting, and enforcing building codes, zoning ordinances, and land use or comprehensive plans. The program will remain open until June 1, 2028, or until funds are depleted.

RCP grant guidelines stipulate that recipients must:

  • Develop or update building codes according to the International Code Council’s 2012 International Residential Code,
  • Create flood damage prevention ordinances that require a freeboard of 2 feet above the local base flood elevation,
  • Use land use or comprehensive plans to develop zoning ordinances, 
  • Incorporate hazard mitigation into land use and comprehensive plans, and
  • Conduct public service activities such as those outlined in the FEMA Community Rating System (CRS).

At least half of the RCP budget is allocated towards HUD’s “Most Impacted and Distressed Areas”, or HUD MID areas. The MID designations as of April 2021 are the standard for RCP applications, following flooding in 2015, 2016, and 2018, as well as Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The most impacted areas are primarily in Southeast Texas. At least $5 million of RCP funds are also allocated to public services primarily aimed at low-and-moderate-income (LMI) people, i.e., at least 51% of the people served by the activity are considered LMI. GLO is also responsible for performing an “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing” (AFFH) review of each RCP application to ensure that the project is aligned with HUD’s directive to facilitate fair housing. 

GLO has developed two companion programs/resources to the Resilient Communities Program. First, the Local Hazard Mitigation Plans Program (LHMPP), provides financial assistance to develop or update local Hazard Mitigation Plans. LHMPP is also funded by CDBG-MIT from HUD, and has the same eligibility criteria as RCP. Funds can also be used to cover the cost share component of hazard mitigation planning activities associated with federal programs. Second, GLO provides the “Texas Resilience Evaluation and Assessment Tool”, or TREAT, to aid RCP applicants. Community applicants can use the TREAT assessment process to learn the best categories in RCP to apply to, and brainstorm about the same themes they will need to explain in their grant application. GLO has RCP staff that provide technical assistance for potential applicants to RCP, LHMPP, and TREAT users.

Publication Date: June 2022

Related Organizations:

  • Texas General Land Office

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  • Funding program

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