[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59450-59508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26033]



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Part II





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Funding Availability for HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)--
Competitive Reallocation of Funds to Provide Permanent Housing for the 
Chronically Homeless; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 2003 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4860-N-01]


Funding Availability for HOME Investment Partnerships Program 
(HOME)--Competitive Reallocation of Funds to Provide Permanent Housing 
for the Chronically Homeless

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

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SUMMARY: This NOFA announces the availability of approximately $6.5 
million for the competitive reallocation of deobligated Community 
Housing Development Organization (CHDO) set-aside funds.

Program Overview

    Purpose of the Program. To expand the supply of standard, 
affordable, permanent housing for chronically homeless persons through 
the competitive reallocation of deobligated CHDO set-aside funds.
    Available Funds. Approximately $6.5 million.
    Eligible Applicants. You must currently be a participating 
jurisdiction (PJ) in the regular HOME Program and have received an 
annual HOME formula allocation each year since FY 2000. The projects 
funded through this NOFA must be carried out by eligible, currently 
certified CHDOs in your jurisdiction. Awarded funds are subject to the 
requirements of this NOFA and all other HOME requirements found at 24 
CFR part 92. Where there is a conflict between the HOME regulations and 
this NOFA, the more stringent or limiting requirements shall prevail.
    Application Deadline. November 25, 2003.
    Match. 25 percent of the awarded funds invested in projects.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If you are interested in applying for 
funding under this competitive reallocation of HOME funds, please 
review the contents of this NOFA carefully.

I. Application Due Date, Standard Forms, Further Information, and 
Technical Assistance

    Application Due Date. Applications for HOME competitive grants are 
due on or before November 25, 2003.
    Application Submission Procedures. New Security Procedures. HUD has 
implemented new security procedures that apply to application 
submission. Please read the following instructions carefully and 
completely. HUD will not accept hand-delivered applications. 
Applications may be mailed using the United States Postal Service 
(USPS) or may be shipped via the following delivery services: United 
Parcel Service (UPS), FedEx, DHL, or Falcon Carrier. No other delivery 
services are permitted into HUD Headquarters without an escort. You 
are, therefore, urged to use one of the four carriers listed above.
    Mailed Applications. Your application will be considered timely 
filed if your application is postmarked on or before 12 midnight on the 
application due date and received in HUD Headquarters on or within 
fifteen (15) days of the application due date. Applicants must obtain 
and save a receipt for the mailing showing the date when the 
application was submitted to the United States Postal Service (USPS). 
This receipt from USPS showing the date and time of the mailing will be 
your documentary evidence that your application was timely filed.
    Applications Sent by Overnight/Express Mail Delivery. If your 
application is sent by overnight delivery or express mail, your 
application will be timely filed if it is received before or on the 
application due date, or when you submit documentary evidence that your 
application was placed in transit with the overnight delivery/express 
service no later than the application due date. Due to new security 
measures, you are urged to use one of four carrier services that do 
business with HUD Headquarters regularly. These services are UPS, DHL, 
FedEx and Falcon Carrier. Timely delivery of your application to HUD by 
a carrier other than those listed cannot be guaranteed. Delivery by 
these carriers must be made during HUD's Headquarters business hours, 
between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM Eastern time, Monday through Friday. If 
these companies do not service your area, you should submit your 
application via the United States Postal Service.
    Address for Submitting Applications. Submit one original and two 
copies of the application to Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of Community Planning and Development, Processing 
and Control Unit, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 7251, Washington, DC 
20410, ATTN: HOME Program--Permanent Housing for the Chronically 
Homeless (HOME).
    For Application Forms. Only current participating jurisdictions in 
the HOME Program that have received an annual HOME formula allocation 
each year since FY 2000 are eligible to apply. There is no separate 
application kit. This notice contains all the information necessary for 
submission of your application. Copies of the standard forms are 
located at Appendix 2 of this NOFA, or you may request copies by 
calling the contact person in the Office of Affordable Housing Programs 
identified in the following paragraph. When requesting standard forms, 
you should refer to the HOME Program Competition and provide your name 
and address (including zip code) and telephone number (including area 
code). See Section VI for application submission requirements.
    Further Information and Technical Assistance. You may contact Cliff 
Taffet, Deputy Director, Office of Affordable Housing Programs, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 7168, 451 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-7000; telephone (202) 708-3226, ext. 
4589 (this is not a toll-free number). This number can be accessed via 
TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service Operator 
at 1-800-877-8339.
    Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. The information collection 
requirements in this NOFA have been approved by OMB under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and assigned OMB control 
number 2506-0175. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, an agency may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless the collection displays a valid 
control number.

II. Amount Allocated

    The amount available for this program is approximately $6.5 
million. Section 217(c) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 
Housing Act (NAHA) (42 U.S.C. 12704 et seq.) requires that funds that 
become available as a result of the deobligation by HUD of CHDO set-
aside funds previously allocated to HOME Program participating 
jurisdictions must be reallocated by competition. Approximately $6.5 
million has been recaptured since the program began in 1992. Any 
additional recaptured CHDO set-aside funds that become available within 
12 months of the announcement of awards may be used to fund 
applications submitted in response to this NOFA.

III. Program Description; Eligible Applicants; Eligible Projects; 
Ineligible Activities

    (A) Program Description. The purpose of the regular HOME program is 
to expand the supply of standard, affordable housing for low- and very 
low-income families by providing annual formula grants to states, units 
of general local government and consortia

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of units of general local governments that are participating 
jurisdictions (PJs). Each PJ must spend at least 15 percent of its 
grants on housing that is owned, developed or sponsored by nonprofit 
CHDOs. PJs use their HOME grants to fund housing programs that meet 
local needs and priorities and have a great deal of flexibility in 
designing their local HOME programs within the guidelines established 
by the HOME program statute and regulations. PJs may use HOME funds to 
help renters, new homebuyers or existing homeowners through 
rehabilitation of substandard housing, acquisition of standard housing 
(including downpayment assistance), or new construction of housing or 
tenant-based rental assistance. HOME works well with other HUD programs 
such as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Empowerment Zones/
Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) and HOPE VI to complement comprehensive 
neighborhood revitalization and economic revitalization strategies.
    In July 2001, Secretary Martinez declared a national goal to end 
chronic homelessness within a decade. As part of HUD's overall effort 
to reduce or eliminate chronic or episodic homelessness, grants awarded 
to PJs under this competition must be used to provide permanent housing 
to persons meeting the definition of chronically homeless. A 
chronically homeless person is defined as an unaccompanied homeless 
individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously 
homeless for a year or more OR has had at least four episodes of 
homelessness in the past three years. For the purposes of this NOFA, 
the term ``homeless'' means a person sleeping in a place not meant for 
human habitation (e.g., living on the streets or in an emergency 
shelter). The term ``disabling condition'' is defined as a diagnosable 
substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental 
disability or chronic physical illness or disability, including the co-
occurrence of two or more of these conditions. A disabling condition 
limits an individual's ability to work or perform one or more 
activities of daily living.
    (B) Eligible Applicants. For the purposes of this competition, 
eligible applicants are existing participating jurisdictions in the 
regular HOME Program that have received an annual HOME formula 
allocation each year since FY 2000. The projects funded through this 
NOFA must be carried out by nonprofit organizations that have been 
currently determined by the PJ to meet the definition of CHDO. CHDOs 
selected by a PJ to carry out these projects are expected to establish 
partnerships with other community-based organizations, including grass-
roots faith-based organizations, with experience in serving the 
chronically homeless, in order to ensure that appropriate supportive 
services are available to tenants on an ongoing basis. Information on 
such organizations active in your area may be obtained through local 
Continuum of Care networks. A list of contact persons for established 
continua of care that have submitted applications to HUD for homeless 
assistance funding under the McKinney-Vento Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et 
seq.) can be found in Appendix 3.
    (C) Eligible Projects. The only eligible projects under this NOFA 
are CHDO set-aside rental projects permitted under the regular HOME 
formula program, except that rental housing units produced using these 
funds must be permanent housing units with occupancy during the HOME 
affordability period limited to persons having met the definition of 
chronically homeless at the time they are selected as tenants. An 
eligible set-aside project is one where a CHDO owns, develops or 
sponsors the housing produced. Funds awarded in this competition are 
subject to all regular HOME Program regulations (24 CFR part 92), 
including the 24-month commitment deadline and five-year expenditure 
deadline. As permitted in the regular HOME Program, up to five percent 
of the total of a participating jurisdiction's regular HOME formula 
allocation plus funds awarded in this competition may be used to pay 
for CHDO operating costs necessary in carrying out projects funded 
through this NOFA (see 24 CFR 92.208). In order to ensure the ongoing 
viability of projects funded under this NOFA, long-term operating 
support may be needed from other sources such as the Shelter Plus Care 
Program through which rental assistance may be obtained. You should 
identify these potential sources of support and make provision now for 
obtaining them as part of your planning for the use of funds awarded 
under this NOFA, should you be selected. Existing continuum of care 
networks will be of assistance as well in this effort.
    (D) Ineligible Activities: See 24 CFR 92.214 of the regular HOME 
Program regulations. Except for the development and support of the 
acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of rental housing, 
activities that are otherwise eligible in the regular HOME Program 
(i.e., homeownership and tenant-based rental assistance) are ineligible 
uses of funds under this competition.

IV. Threshold and Program Requirements

    (A) Threshhold Requirements:
    (1) Ineligible Applicants. HUD will not consider an application 
from an ineligible applicant.
    (2) Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws.
    (a) All applicants and their subrecipients must comply with all 
Fair Housing and Civil Rights laws, statutes, regulations, and 
Executive Orders as enumerated in 24 CFR 5.105(a), as applicable.
    (b) If you, the applicant:
    (i) Have been charged with a systemic violation of the Fair Housing 
Act alleging ongoing discrimination;
    (ii) Are a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the 
Department of Justice alleging an on-going pattern or practice of 
discrimination; or,
    (iii) Have received a letter of non-compliance findings, 
identifying on-going or systemic noncompliance, under Title VI of the 
Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or Section 109 
of the Housing and Community Development Act; and
    If the charge, lawsuit, or letter of findings has not been resolved 
to HUD's satisfaction before the application deadline, you may not 
apply for assistance under this NOFA. HUD will not rate and rank your 
application. HUD's decision regarding whether a charge, lawsuit, or a 
letter of findings has been satisfactorily resolved will be based upon 
whether appropriate actions have been taken to address allegations of 
on-going discrimination in the policies or practices involved in the 
charge, lawsuit, or letter of findings. Examples of actions that may be 
taken prior to the application deadline to resolve the charge, lawsuit, 
or letter of findings, include, but are not limited to:
    (i) a voluntary compliance agreement signed by all parties in 
response to the letter of findings;
    (ii) a HUD-approved conciliation agreement signed by all parties;
    (iii) a consent order or consent decree; or
    (iv) a judicial ruling or a HUD Administrative Law Judge's decision 
that exonerates the respondent of any allegations of discrimination.
    (3) Conducting Business In Accordance with Core Values and Ethical 
Standards.
    Entities subject to 24 CFR parts 84 and 85 (most non-profit 
organizations and state, local and tribal governments or government 
agencies or instrumentalities that receive federal awards of financial 
assistance) are required to develop and maintain a

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written code of conduct (see 24 CFR 84.42 and 85.36(b)(3)). Consistent 
with regulations governing specific programs, your code of conduct 
must: prohibit real and apparent conflicts of interest that may arise 
among officers, employees, or agents; prohibit the solicitation and 
acceptance of gifts or gratuities by your officers, employees, and 
agents for their personal benefit in excess of minimal value; and, 
outline administrative and disciplinary actions available to remedy 
violations of such standards. If awarded assistance under this NOFA, 
you will be required, prior to entering into an agreement with HUD, to 
submit a copy of your code of conduct and describe the methods you will 
use to ensure that all officers, employees, and agents of your 
organization are aware of your code of conduct. Failure to meet the 
requirement for a code of conduct will prohibit you from receiving an 
award of funds from HUD.
    (4) Delinquent Federal Debts. Consistent with the purpose and 
intent of 31 U.S.C. 3720B and 28 U.S.C. 3201(e), no award of federal 
funds shall be made to an applicant who has an outstanding delinquent 
federal debt until: (a) The delinquent account is paid in full; (b) a 
negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least one payment 
is received; or (c) other arrangements satisfactory to the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development are made prior to the deadline 
submission date.
    (5) Executive Order 13202, Preservation of Open Competition and 
Government Neutrality Toward Government Contractors' Labor Relations on 
Federal and Federally Funded Construction Contracts. Compliance with 
HUD regulations at 24 CFR 5.108 implementing Executive Order 13202 is a 
condition of receipt of assistance under this NOFA. Subrecipients are 
considered recipients of financial assistance for purposes of Sec.  
5.108.
    (6) Procurement of Recovered Materials. State agencies and agencies 
of a political subdivision of a state that are using assistance under 
this NOFA for procurement, and any person contracting with such an 
agency with respect to work performed under an assisted contract, must 
comply with the requirements of Section 6002 of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 
In accordance with Section 6002, these agencies and persons must 
procure items designated in the guidelines of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR part 247 that contain the highest 
percentage of recovered materials practicable, consistent with 
maintaining a satisfactory level of competition, where the purchase 
price of the item exceeds $10,000 or the quantity acquired in the 
preceding fiscal year exceeded $10,000; must procure solid waste 
management services in a manner that maximizes energy and resource 
recovery; and must have established an affirmative procurement program 
for procurement of recovered materials identified in the EPA 
guidelines.
    (B) Program Requirements: In addition to meeting the requirements 
of this NOFA, you are subject to the regular HOME program regulations 
found at 24 CFR part 92, including the reporting of results in the 
Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). Where there is a 
conflict between the HOME regulations and this NOFA, the more stringent 
or limiting requirements shall prevail.

V. Application Selection Process

    (A) Rating. HUD will review all applications in accordance with the 
requirements of this NOFA and will use the threshold criterion 
described below and the three selection criteria and sub-factors 
referenced at 24 CFR 92.453 and found at section 217(c) of NAHA. As 
explained below in section V.(E), two of the three selection criteria 
are related to the applicant's past performance in the regular HOME 
Program. To facilitate the competition, HUD has already determined the 
scores for all potential applicants for these two selection criteria, 
including sub-factors, based on information reported to HUD by 
participating jurisdictions. A summary of these scores can be found in 
Appendix 1 to this NOFA. The score received for the remaining selection 
criterion will be added to the applicant's scores for the past 
performance criteria in order to obtain the applicant's total score in 
the competition.
    (B) Ranking and Selection Procedures. Applications that receive a 
total rating of 75 points or more will be eligible for selection, and 
HUD will place these applications and make selections in rank order.
    HUD will not fund any portion of an application that is ineligible 
for funding under program requirements, or which does not meet the 
requirements of this NOFA. If funds remain after all selections have 
been made, these funds may be combined with deobligations of CHDO set-
aside funds over the 12-month period following announcement of 
selections under this NOFA, and awarded to the highest-ranking un-
funded, eligible application(s) in this competition.
    (C) Applicant Debriefing. Beginning not less than 30 days after the 
public announcement of awards, and not longer than 120 days, HUD will, 
upon receiving a written request from an applicant, provide a 
debriefing to the requesting applicant. Materials provided during a 
briefing will be the applicant's final score and final evaluator 
comments for the third selection criterion, and the calculations for 
assigning scores for the two pre-scored criteria. Applicants requesting 
to be debriefed must send a written request to Cliff Taffet, Deputy 
Director, Office of Affordable Housing Programs, Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, Room 7168, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20410-7000.
    (D) Requirements. The following requirements apply specifically to 
this HOME Program competition:
    (1) You, the applicant, must be eligible to apply under HOME (see 
Section III(B) of this NOFA).
    (2) The projects undertaken with funds awarded through this NOFA 
must be permanent housing projects that are owned, developed or 
sponsored by eligible, currently certified CHDOs, and qualify as CHDO 
set-aside projects under the regular HOME regulations.
    (3) During the affordability period applicable to the projects 
developed with funds provided through this NOFA, persons residing in 
assisted units must meet the definition of ``chronically homeless'' at 
the time they are selected as tenants.
    (E) Factors for Award Used to Evaluate Applications. HUD will 
review and rate all eligible HOME competitive applications using the 
Threshold Criterion, Selection Criteria and the Application Submission 
Requirements described below. The maximum number of points for this 
competition is 100. No RC/EZ/EC bonus points are given.
    Threshold Criterion: Narrative on chronic homelessness in your 
jurisdiction.
    No applicant will be awarded funding without providing this 
narrative as part of the application! However, your response to this 
item will NOT be scored and will NOT count toward the 10-page 
limitation on responses to Selection Criterion 3 described below. 
Please provide a description of the extent of chronic homelessness in 
your jurisdiction and the main points of your strategy to end chronic 
homelessness by 2012, including any cooperation with other 
participating jurisdictions in your state to develop, coordinate and 
implement such a plan. Much if not all of this information may be found 
in the FY 2003 homeless assistance

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application from local Continua of Care networks and/or as part of the 
housing strategy described in your Consolidated Plan. If the boundaries 
of your participating jurisdiction do not coincide with those of the 
local Continuum of Care or if there is no active Continuum of Care 
network in your jurisdiction, please explain this as part of your 
narrative.

Selection Criterion 1: Commitment (up to 25 points--pre-scored)

    The applicant's demonstrated commitment to expand the supply of 
affordable rental housing, as indicated by the additional number of 
units of affordable housing made available through production or 
rehabilitation within the previous two years, making adjustment for 
regional variations in construction and rehabilitation costs and giving 
special consideration to the number of additional units made available 
under HOME through production or rehabilitation in relation to the 
amounts made available under HOME.
    In scoring this criterion, HUD used Integrated Disbursement and 
Information System (IDIS) reports consisting of information provided by 
the PJs on the number of HOME-assisted rental units completed over the 
past two years (from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2003), adjusting for 
variations in construction costs and the size of HOME allocations. The 
PJs were then rank-ordered from highest to lowest by the adjusted 
number of rental units produced or rehabilitated. PJs with no HOME-
assisted rental units produced or rehabilitated received zero points. 
The remaining PJs were divided into 25 equal groups, adjusted for ties, 
with the group having the most such units receiving 25 points, the next 
group receiving 24 points and so on. (See Appendix 1 for the score 
assigned to your PJ for this criterion.)
    Submission Requirements for Selection Criterion 1:
    No submission required.

Selection Criterion 2: Actions (up to 50 points--pre-scored)

    This criterion consists of four parts and rates the applicant's 
actions that:
    Part A: (up to 15 points--pre-scored): Direct funds made available 
under HOME to benefit very low-income families, with a range of 
incomes, in numbers that exceed the income-targeting requirements of 
HOME, with extra consideration given for activities that expand the 
supply of affordable housing for very-low-income families whose incomes 
do not exceed 30 percent of the median income for the area (i.e., 
extremely low-income), as determined by HUD.
    In scoring this part, HUD used Integrated Disbursement and 
Information System (IDIS) reports consisting of information provided by 
the PJs on the percentage of their completed units over the period of 
their participation in the HOME Program occupied by very low- and 
extremely low-income households, with double weighting given the 
extremely low-income segment. The PJs were then rank-ordered from 
highest to lowest by the weighted percentage of units occupied by the 
very low- and extremely low-income households. PJs with fewer than 20 
units indicated as being occupied by these households or with less than 
70 percent of completed rental units occupied received zero points. The 
remaining PJs were divided into 15 equal groups, adjusted for ties, 
with the group having the highest adjusted percentage receiving 15 
points, the next group receiving 14 points and so on. (See Appendix 1 
for the score assigned to your PJ for this part of criterion 2.)
    Submission Requirements for Selection Criterion 2, part A:
    No submission required.
    Part B: (up to 10 points--pre-scored): Provide matching resources 
in excess of funds required under the HOME requirements.
    In scoring this part, HUD used HUD field office reports on the 
status of PJs in meeting their regular HOME Program match requirement 
for the past two completed reporting periods. Those PJs having met or 
exceeded their match liability over this period received 10 points. 
Those PJs not having met their match liability in one or more of the 
past two completed reporting periods received zero points. (See 
Appendix 1 for the score assigned to your PJ for this part of criterion 
2.)
    Submission Requirements for Selection Criterion 2, part B:
    No submission required.
    Part C: (up to 15 points--pre-scored): Stimulate a high degree of 
participation in development by the private sector, including non-
profit organizations.
    In scoring this part, HUD used Integrated Disbursement and 
Information System (IDIS) reports consisting of information provided by 
the PJs to determine that at least one of the multi-family (5-units or 
more) rental projects completed within the past two years within the 
participating jurisdiction was funded through the eligible use of the 
CHDO set-aside. The focus was on CHDO rental projects in this part 
since funds awarded in this competition must be used by CHDOs for 
eligible CHDO set-aside projects. Those PJs having met this standard 
received 15 points. Those PJs not having met this standard received 
zero points. (See Appendix 1 for the score assigned to your PJ for this 
part of criterion 2.)
    Submission Requirements for Selection Criterion 2, part C:
    No submission required.
    Part D: (up to 10 points--pre-scored): Stimulate a high degree of 
investment in development by the private sector, including non-profit 
organizations.
    In scoring this part, HUD used Integrated Disbursement and 
Information System (IDIS) reports consisting of information provided by 
the PJs to determine the extent to which, in percentages, each PJ was 
leveraging private funds with HOME dollars invested in completed 
projects. The PJs were then rank-ordered from highest to lowest by the 
leveraging percentage. PJs with no leveraging indicated in IDIS, or 
less than $50,000 in HOME funds invested overall in completed projects, 
received zero points. The remaining PJs were divided into 10 equal 
groups, adjusted for ties, with the group having the highest percentage 
receiving 10 points, the next group receiving 9 points and so on. (See 
Appendix 1 for the score assigned to your PJ for this part of criterion 
2.)
    Submission Requirements for Selection Criterion 2, part D:
    No submission required.

Selection Criterion 3: Policies (up to 25 points)

    This criterion examines the degree to which your PJ is pursuing 
policies that:
    (A) Make existing housing more affordable;
    (B) Remove or ameliorate any negative effects that public policies 
identified by you in your Consolidated Plan may have on the cost of 
housing or the incentives to develop, maintain, or improve affordable 
housing in the jurisdiction;
    (C) Preserve the affordability of privately owned housing that is 
vulnerable to conversion, demolition, disinvestment, or abandonment;
    (D) Increase the supply of housing that is affordable to very low-
income and low-income persons, particularly in areas that are 
accessible to expanding job opportunities; and
    (E) Remedy the effects of discrimination and improve housing 
opportunities for disadvantaged minorities.
    Submission Requirements for Selection Criterion 3:
    (1) Identify for each of the five goals listed above the policy or 
policies currently being implemented by your PJ to achieve the goal.

[[Page 59454]]

    (2) Indicate for each policy whether it has been formally adopted 
(e.g., city council or legislative action; city, county or state 
executive action; included as part of a state or local planning 
document, etc.).
    (3) Describe the effects of the policy or policies thus far in 
achieving the goal being specific as to performance measures used.
    (4) There is an absolute maximum limit of 10 pages (letter-sized, 
single-sided) for your submission in response to selection criterion 3. 
No information contained on page 11 or higher will be reviewed by HUD 
or considered in the scoring of your application.
    (F) Final Ranking and Conditional Awards. The score received by 
each PJ for the three selection criteria will be totaled and the PJs 
will be rank ordered from highest to lowest score received. Five 
hundred thousand dollars will be awarded to the PJ receiving the 
highest score. Moving down the ranking, $500,000 will be awarded to the 
next highest scoring PJ and so on until the balance of funds remaining 
is less than $500,000. Should two or more PJs have tie scores for the 
final award, the PJ receiving the highest score for selection criterion 
number 1 will be awarded the funds. Additional tie-breaks will be 
applied in the following order until a final award can be made: 
selection criterion 2A, selection criterion 2B, selection criterion 2C, 
selection criterion 2D, selection criterion 3. The awards are 
conditional pending execution of a special grant agreement between HUD 
and the PJ applicant. These awards may be combined with other federal 
funds, including regular HOME Program funds, state, local or private 
funding to develop the required permanent rental housing for the 
homeless that is subject to all regular HOME Program regulations.

VI. Application Requirements and Checklist for Application Submission

    Your application consists of the items listed in this Section VI. 
The standard forms, certifications, and assurances that are applicable 
to this funding (collectively referred to as the ``standard forms'') 
can be found in Appendix 2. The following checklist helps to ensure 
that all of the required items have been submitted in order to receive 
consideration for funding:

--HUD 424, Application for Federal Assistance and Funding Matrix 
(signed by the authorized representative of the organization eligible 
to receive funds, and incorporating Assurance and Certifications 
currently on file with HUD); and

Narrative Statements Addressing

--Threshold Criterion--Description of the extent of and the strategy to 
address chronic homelessness in your jurisdiction;
--Selection Criterion 3--Policies; and

Forms

--HUD-2880, Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report
--HUD-2993, Acknowledgment of Application Receipt

    These forms are available on the following Web site: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa/stdforms.cfm.

VII. Corrections to Deficient Applications

    After the application due date, HUD may not, consistent with its 
regulations in 24 CFR part 4, subpart B, consider any unsolicited 
information you, the applicant, may want to provide. HUD may contact 
you to clarify an item in your application or to correct technical 
deficiencies. HUD may not seek clarification of items or responses that 
improve the substantive quality of your response to any rating factors. 
In order not to unreasonably exclude applications from being rated and 
ranked, HUD may contact applicants to ensure proper completion of the 
application and will do so on a uniform basis for all applicants. 
Examples of curable (correctable) technical deficiencies include 
failure to submit the proper certifications or failure to submit an 
application that contains an original signature by an authorized 
official. In each case, HUD will notify you in writing by describing 
the clarification or technical deficiency. HUD will notify applicants 
by facsimile or by USPS, return receipt requested. Clarifications or 
corrections of technical deficiencies in accordance with the 
information provided by HUD must be submitted within 14 calendar days 
of the date of receipt of the HUD notification. (If the due date falls 
on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, your correction must be 
received by HUD on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or 
federal holiday.) If the deficiency is not corrected within this time 
period, HUD will reject the application as incomplete and it will not 
be considered for funding.

VIII. Environmental Requirements

    This NOFA provides funding under, and does not alter the 
environmental requirements of, 24 CFR part 92. Accordingly, under 24 
CFR 50.19(c)(5), this NOFA is categorically excluded from environmental 
review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321). Activities under this NOFA are subject to the environmental 
review provisions set out at 24 CFR 92.352.
    All HOME assistance is subject to the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 and related federal environmental authorities. HOME grant 
applicants are cautioned that no federal or non-federal funds or 
assistance which limits reasonable choices or could produce an adverse 
environmental impact may be committed to a project until all required 
environmental reviews and notifications have been completed by a unit 
of general local government or State and until HUD approves a 
recipient's request for release of funds under the environmental 
provisions contained in 24 CFR part 58.

IX. Authority

    The funding made available under this NOFA is authorized by section 
217(c) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (NAHA) 
(42 U.S.C. 12704 et seq.).

    Dated: October 6, 2003.
Roy A. Bernardi,
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
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[FR Doc. 03-26033 Filed 10-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-29-C