Foa_Content_of_FR-6700-N-98 updated.pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Community Planning and Development

Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing)

FR-6700-N-98

11/06/2023

Table of Contents

OVERVIEW

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Description

B. Authority

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Available Funds

B. Number of Awards

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

D. Period of Performance

E. Type of Funding Instrument

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Ineligible Applicants

C. Cost Sharing or Matching

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

E. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility

F. Program-Specific Requirements

G. Criteria for Beneficiaries

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Obtain an Application Package

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

C. System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

D. Application Submission Dates and Times

E. Intergovernmental Review

F. Funding Restrictions

G. Other Submission Requirements

V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Review Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative, National and Departmental Policy Requirements and Terms for HUD

Applicants and Recipients of Financial Assistance Awards

C. Reporting

D. Debriefing

VII. AGENCY CONTACT(S)

VIII. OTHER INFORMATION

APPENDIX

Program Office:

Community Planning and Development

Funding Opportunity Title:

Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing)

Funding Opportunity Number:

FR-6700-N-98

Assistance Listing Number (formerly CFDA Number):

14.023

Due Date for Applications:

11/06/2023

OVERVIEW

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issues this Notice of Funding

Opportunity (NOFO) to invite applications from eligible applicants for the program and purpose described within this NOFO. You, as a prospective applicant, should carefully read all instructions in all sections to avoid sending an incomplete or ineligible application. HUD funding is highly competitive. Failure to respond accurately to any submission requirement could result in an incomplete or noncompetitive proposal.

In accordance with Title 24 part 4, subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), during the selection process (which includes HUD’s NOFO development and publication and concludes with the award of assistance), HUD is prohibited from disclosing covered selection information.

Examples of impermissible disclosures include: 1) information regarding any applicant’s relative standing; 2) the amount of assistance requested by any applicant; and 3) any information contained in the application. Prior to the application deadline, HUD may not disclose the identity of any applicant or the number of applicants that have applied for assistance.

For further information regarding this NOFO, direct questions regarding the specific requirements of this NOFO to the agency contact identified in section VII.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501- 3520) (PRA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements in this NOFO. HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. This NOFO identifies its applicable OMB control number, unless its collection of information is excluded from these requirements under 5 CFR part 1320.

OMB Approval Number(s):

2506-0220

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Description

1. Purpose

Communities nationwide are suffering from a lack of affordable housing, and housing production is not meeting the increasing demand for accessible and available units in many urban and rural areas, particularly areas of high opportunity. Pathways to Removing Obstacles to

Housing (PRO Housing) empowers communities that are actively taking steps to remove barriers https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-4/subpart-B https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-1320?toc=1 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-1320?toc=1 to affordable housing and seeking to increase housing production and lower housing costs for families over the long term.

Barriers to affordable housing can be caused by zoning decisions, land use policies, or regulations; inefficient procedures; gaps in available resources for development; deteriorating or inadequate infrastructure; lack of neighborhood amenities; or challenges to preserving existing housing stock such as increasing threats from natural hazards, redevelopment that reduces the number of affordable units, or expiration of affordability requirements.

Across the United States, regulatory and other barriers have made it difficult to produce, preserve, and access affordable housing. Constrained supply drives up housing costs and this reduces affordability over the long term. According to American Community Survey estimates in

2021, 39.3 million households (20.9 million renters and 18.4 million homeowners) have been classified as “cost-burdened,” spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. When broken down by race, Black families face affordability challenges as homeowners and renters more than any other race/ethnic group, spending between 30 to 50 percent of their income on housing. In Puerto Rico, cost-burdened households face severe affordability challenges, spending between 50 to 90 percent of their income on housing. Limited access to housing has long-term effects on access to opportunity and ability to build generational wealth, especially for underserved communities of color and low-income people. Affordability challenges and the lack of affordable housing supply further increase eviction pressures and likelihood of homelessness for low-income people.

HUD is issuing this NOFO under the authority of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023

(Public Law 117-328, approved December 29, 2022) (Appropriations Act), which appropriates

$85 million for competitive grant funding for the identification and removal of barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Congress has directed HUD to undertake a competition using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) statutory and regulatory framework. Under this NOFO, HUD will provide PRO Housing grants to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Grantees may use awards to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation. Eligible applicants are local and state governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities.

HUD has six goals for this competition:

• Fairly and effectively award the PRO Housing grant funding

• Elevate and enable promising practices dedicated to identifying and removing barriers to affordable housing production and preservation, while preventing displacement

• Institutionalize state and local analysis and implementation of effective, equitable, and resilient approaches to affordable housing production and preservation

• Provide technical assistance to help communities better fulfill the Consolidated Plan’s requirement of identifying barriers to affordable housing and implementing solutions to address those barriers

• Affirmatively further fair housing by addressing and removing barriers that perpetuate segregation, barriers that inhibit access to well-resourced areas of opportunity for protected class groups and vulnerable populations, and barriers that concentrate affordable housing in under-resourced areas.

• Facilitate collaboration and harness innovative approaches from jurisdictions, researchers, advocates, and stakeholders.

HUD will prioritize applicants that demonstrate: (1) progress and a commitment to overcoming local barriers to facilitate the increase in affordable housing production and preservation; and (2) an acute demand for housing affordable to households with incomes below 100 percent of the area median income. If applicable, proposals should also explain how the funds would be used to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing by expanding access to housing opportunities in well-resourced areas for protected class groups. HUD will also prioritize applicants that demonstrate a commitment and ability to identify and remove barriers to (1) expanding affordable housing in a manner that would promote desegregation; (2) expanding affordable housing in well-resourced areas of opportunity for protected class groups that have systematically been denied equitable access to such areas; or

(3) deconcentrating affordable housing and increasing housing choice. HUD encourages applications that incorporate a discussion of key barriers related to land-use regulations, permitting, or related procedural issues. HUD further encourages applicants to outline and discuss how their proposed activities will advance equity, locate affordable accessible housing near transit and bolster access to services and opportunities, increase community resilience and mitigate the effects of natural and environmental hazards, and develop and preserve affordable housing in accordance with input from community members and other stakeholders.

As with all CDBG assistance, the priority is to serve low- and moderate-income people.

PRO Housing grantees must administer the PRO Housing grant in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing, which means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunities, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.

2. HUD and Program-Specific Goals and Objectives

This NOFO supports HUD’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022-2026 to accomplish

HUD’s mission and vision. Each of the five goals in the Strategic Plan include what HUD hopes to accomplish, the strategies to accomplish those objectives, and the indicators of success.

However, of the five goals only those applicable to this NOFO are identified below.

You are expected to align your application to the applicable strategic goals and objectives below.

Use the information in this section to describe in your application the specific goals, objectives, and measures that your project is expected to help accomplish. If your project is selected for funding, you are also expected to establish a plan to track progress related to those goals, objectives, and measures. HUD will monitor compliance with the goals, objectives, and measures in your project.

Applicable Goals and Objectives from HUD’s Strategic Plan

1. Strategic Goal 1: Support Underserved Communities

Fortify support for underserved communities and support equitable community development for https://www.hud.gov/HUD-FY22-26-Strategic-Plan-Focus-Areas https://www.hud.gov/HUD-FY22-26-Strategic-Plan-Focus-Areas all people.

2. 1A: Advance Housing Justice

Fortify support for vulnerable populations, underserved communities, and Fair Housing enforcement.

3. 1B: Reduce Homelessness

Strengthen Federal, State, Tribal, and community implementation of the Housing First approach to reducing the prevalence of homelessness, with the ultimate goal of ending homelessness.

4. 1C: Invest in the Success of Communities

Promote equitable community development that generates wealth-building for underserved communities, particularly for communities of color.

5. Strategic Goal 2: Ensure Access to and Increase the Production of Affordable Housing

Ensure housing demand is matched by adequate production of new homes and equitable access to housing opportunities for all people.

6. 2A: Increase the Supply of Housing

Enhance HUD's programs that increase the production and supply of housing across the country.

7. 2B: Improve Rental Assistance

Improve rental assistance to address the need for affordable housing.

8. Strategic Goal 3: Promote Homeownership

Promote homeownership opportunities, equitable access to credit for purchase and improvements, and wealth-building in underserved communities.

9. 3A: Advance Sustainable Homeownership

Advance the deployment of tools and capital that put sustainable homeownership within reach.

10. 3A � Major Initiative: Expand Homeownership Opportunities

Promote financing for innovative ownership models to increase the availability of affordable housing.

11. 3B: Create a More Accessible and Inclusive Housing Finance System

Advance new policy, programs, and modernization initiatives that support a more equitable housing finance system. Promote the preservation and creation of affordable housing stock.

12. Strategic Goal 4: Advance Sustainable Communities

Advance sustainable communities by strengthening climate resilience and energy efficiency, promoting environmental justice, and recognizing housing's role as essential to health.

13. 4A: Guide Investment in Climate Resilience

Invest in climate resilience, energy efficiency, and renewable energy across HUD programs.

14. 4B: Strengthen Environmental Justice

Reduce exposure to health risks, environmental hazards, and substandard housing, especially for low-income households and communities of color.

15. 4C: Integrate Health and Housing

Advance policies that recognize housing's role as essential to health.

Funding Opportunity GoalsHUD has six goals for this competition:

Fairly and effectively award the PRO Housing grant funding

Elevate and enable promising practices dedicated to identifying and removing barriers to affordable housing production and preservation, while preventing displacement

Institutionalize state and local analysis and implementation of effective, equitable, and resilient approaches to affordable housing production and preservation

Provide technical assistance to help communities better fulfill the Consolidated Plan’s requirement of identifying barriers to affordable housing and implementing solutions to address those barriers

Affirmatively further fair housing by addressing and removing barriers that perpetuate segregation, barriers that inhibit access to well-resourced areas of opportunity for protected class groups and vulnerable populations, and barriers that concentrate affordable housing in under-resourced areas.

Facilitate collaboration and harness innovative approaches from jurisdictions, researchers, advocates, and stakeholders.

3. Changes from Previous NOFO

Not applicable

4. Definitions

a. Standard Definitions

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunities, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.

The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all program participant’s activities and programs relating to housing and urban development.

Assistance Listing number refers to the unique number assigned to each Federal assistance program publicly available in the Assistance Listing, which is managed and administered by the

General Services Administration. The Assistance Listing number was formerly known as the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number.

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is a person authorized to legally bind your organization and submit applications via Grants.gov. The AOR is authorized by the E-Business

Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) in the System for Award Management (see E-Biz POC definition).

An AOR may include an Expanded AOR and/or a Standard AOR.

Expanded Authorized Organization Representative is a user in Grants.gov who is authorized by the E-Biz POC to perform the functions of a Standard AOR, initiate and submit applications on behalf of your organization, and is allowed to modify organization-level settings and certifications in Grants.gov.

Standard Authorized Organization Representative is a user in Grants.gov who is authorized by the E-Biz POC to initiate and submit applications in Grants.gov. A Grants.gov user with the Standard AOR role can only submit applications when they are a Participant for that workspace.

Consolidated Plan is the document submitted to HUD that serves as the comprehensive housing affordability strategy, community development plan, and submission for funding under any of the Community Planning and Development formula grant programs (e.g., CDBG, ESG, HOME, and HOPWA). This Plan is prepared in accordance with the process described in 24 CFR part 91.

This plan is completed by engaging in a participatory process to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions with funding from formula grant programs. (See 24 CFR part 91 for HUD’s requirements regarding the Consolidated Plan and related Action Plan).

Contract means, for the purpose of Federal financial assistance, a legal instrument by which a recipient or subrecipient purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a federal award. For additional information on contractor and subrecipient determinations, see 2 CFR 200.331.

Contractor means an entity that receives a contract as defined above and in 2 CFR 200.1.

Cooperative agreement has the same meaning defined at 2 CFR 200.1.

Deficiency, with respect to the making of an application for funding, is information missing or omitted within a submitted application. Examples of deficiencies include missing documents, missing or incomplete information on a form, or some other type of unsatisfied information requirement. Depending on specific criteria, a deficiency may be either Curable or Non-Curable.

A Curable Deficiency is missing or incomplete application information that may be corrected by the applicant with timely action. To be curable, the deficiency must:

• Not be a threshold requirement, except for documentation of applicant eligibility;

• Not influence how an applicant is ranked or scored versus other applicants; and

• Be remedied within the time frame specified in the notice of deficiency.

A Non-Curable Deficiency is missing or incomplete application information that cannot be corrected by an applicant after the submission deadline. A non-curable deficiency is a deficiency that is a threshold requirement, or a deficiency that, if corrected, would change an applicant’s score or rank versus other applicants. If an application includes a non-curable deficiency, the application may receive an ineligible determination, or the non-curable deficiency may otherwise adversely affect the application’s score and final funding determination.

E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) is an organization applicant who is responsible for the administration and management of grant activities for his or her organization. The E-Biz

POC is likely to be an organization's chief financial officer or authorizing official. The E-Biz

POC authorizes representatives of their organization to apply on behalf of the organization (see

Authorized Organization Representative definition). There can only be one E-Biz POC per unique entity identifier (see definition of Unique Entity Identifier below).

Eligibility requirements are mandatory requirements for an application to be eligible for funding.

Environmental Justice means investing in environmental improvements, remedying past environmental inequities, and otherwise developing, implementing, and enforcing laws and policies in a manner that advances environmental equity and provides meaningful involvement for people and communities that have been environmentally underserved or overburdened, such as Black and Brown communities, indigenous groups, and individuals with disabilities. This https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-91 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-91 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR031321e29ac5bbd/section-200.331 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 definition does not alter the requirements under HUD’s regulations at 24 CFR 58.5(j) and 24

CFR 50.4(l) implementing Executive Order 12898. E.O. 12898 requires a consideration of how federally assisted projects may have disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority and/or low-income populations. For additional information on environmental review compliance, refer to:

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/environment_energy/regulations.

Equity has the meaning given to that term in Section 2(a) of Executive Order 13985 and means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific

Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Federal Award, has the meaning, depending on the context, in either paragraphs (1) or (2) of this definition:

(1)

(a) The Federal financial assistance that a recipient receives directly from a Federal awarding agency or a subrecipient receives indirectly from a pass-through entity, as described in 2 CFR 200.101; or

(b) The cost-reimbursement contract under the Federal Acquisition Regulations that a non- Federal entity receives directly from a federal awarding agency or indirectly from a pass- through entity, as described in 2 CFR 200.101.

(2) The instrument setting forth the terms and conditions. The instrument is the grant agreement, cooperative agreement, other agreement for assistance covered in paragraph (2) of the definitions of Federal financial assistance in 2 CFR 200.1, and this NOFO, or the cost-reimbursement contract awarded under the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

(3) Federal award does not include other contracts that a Federal agency uses to buy goods or services from a contractor or a contract to operate Federal Government owned, contractor operated facilities (GOCOs).

(4) See also definitions of Federal financial assistance, grant agreement, and cooperative agreement in 2 CFR 200.1.

Federal Financial Assistance has the same meaning defined at 2 CFR 200.1.

Grants.gov is the website serving as the Federal government’s central portal for searching and applying for Federal financial assistance throughout the Federal government. Registration on

Grants.gov is required for submission of applications to prospective agencies unless otherwise specified in this NOFO.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary of Education to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-58/subpart-A/section-58.5 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-50/subpart-A/section-50.4 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-50/subpart-A/section-50.4 https://www.archives.gov/files/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12898.pdf https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/environment_energy/regulations https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 toward accreditation. A list of accredited HBCUs can be found at the U.S. Department of

Education’s website.

Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) are

(1) a part B institution (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1601);

(2) a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1101a(5));

(3) a Tribal College or University (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1059c);

(4) an Alaska Native-serving institution or a Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined in

20 U.S.C. 1059d(b));

(5) a Predominantly Black Institution (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1059e);

(6) an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (as defined in 20

U.S.C. 1059g); or

(7) a Native American-serving nontribal institution (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1059f).

Non-Federal Entity (NFE) means a state, local government, Indian tribe, Institution of Higher

Education (IHE), or non-profit organization that carries out a federal award as a recipient or subrecipient.

Primary Point of Contact (PPOC) is the person who may be contacted with questions about the application submitted by the AOR. The PPOC is listed in item 8F on the SF-424.

Racial Equity is the elimination of racial disparities, and is achieved when race can no longer predict opportunities, distribution of resources, or outcomes – particularly for Black and Brown persons, which includes Black, Latino, indigenous, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and other persons of color.

Recipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a federal award directly from HUD. The term recipient does not include subrecipients or individuals that are beneficiaries of the award.

Resilience is a community’s ability to minimize damage and recover quickly from extreme events and changing conditions.

Small business is defined as a privately-owned corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that has fewer employees and less annual revenue than regular-sized business. The definition of

“small”—in terms of being able to apply for government support and qualify for preferential tax policy—varies by country and industry. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines a small business according to a set of standards based on specific industries. See 13 CFR Part 121.

Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.

Subrecipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a federal award but does not include an https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/ https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title20/pdf/USCODE-2020-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partB-sec1061.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title20/pdf/USCODE-2020-title20-chap28-subchapV-partA-sec1101a.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2015-title20/pdf/USCODE-2015-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partA-sec1059c.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2015-title20/pdf/USCODE-2015-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partA-sec1059d.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title20/pdf/USCODE-2020-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partA-sec1059e.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title20/pdf/USCODE-2020-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partA-sec1059g.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title20/pdf/USCODE-2020-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partA-sec1059g.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title20/pdf/USCODE-2020-title20-chap28-subchapIII-partA-sec1059f.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-121?toc=1 individual that is a beneficiary of such award. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other federal awards directly from a federal awarding agency.

System for Award Management (SAM) is the Federal Repository into which an entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient. Registration with SAM is required for submission of applications via Grants.gov. You can access the website at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. There is no cost to use SAM.

Threshold Requirements are eligibility requirements that must be met for an application to be reviewed, rated, and ranked. Threshold requirements are not curable, except for documentation of applicant eligibility, which are listed in Section III.D., Threshold Eligibility Requirements.

Similarly, there are eligibility requirements under Section III.E., Statutory and Regulatory

Requirements Affecting Eligibility.

Underserved Communities has the meaning given to that term in Section 2(b) of Executive

Order 13985 and refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the definition of “equity” above.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) means the identifier assigned by SAM to uniquely identify business entities. As of April 4, 2022, the Federal government has transitioned from the use of the DUNS Number to the use of UEI, as the primary means of entity identification for Federal awards government-wide.

b. Program Definitions.

For the purposes of the PRO Housing program, the following definitions of key terms apply. As needed, other definitions related to specific thresholds and rating factors will be provided in those sections of the NOFO. All definitions in Section 102 of the Housing and Community

Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302) and in 24 CFR 570.3 apply except as indicated below.

Affordable Housing. HUD recognizes that Federal, state, local, and nonprofit housing financial assistance programs apply a range of specific affordable housing definitions. Further, the CDBG program regulations and the Consolidated Plan regulations do not define affordable housing;

grantees must meet affordability requirements applicable to specific programs. Also, CDBG-assisted housing activities must demonstrate benefit to income-qualified households to meet the

CDBG low- and moderate-income national objective. However, for the purposes of this PRO

Housing competition, consistent use of one definition may assist applicants and reviewers, so

HUD will expect that any rating factor responses relying on a definition of affordable housing will apply, at a minimum, the HOME program standards to affordable housing as defined in 24

CFR 92.252(a), (e), and (f) for rental housing and 24 CFR 92.254 (a)(1)-(4) for homeownership.

CDBG means the annual Community Development Block Grant program as authorized by the

Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), and its regulations as codified in 24 CFR Part 570.

Local government shall have the same meaning as “unit of general local government” in section

102(a)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974: This term “local government” includes entitlement CDBG grantees and non-entitlement communities.

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) shall have the same meaning as defined in

Section 8 of the Federal Transit Act of 1991 at 23 U.S.C. 134(b).

Multijurisdictional entity refers to any association of local governments or public agencies which are bound by collective agreement (such as a memorandum of understanding, joint powers authority, interstate compact, or the like), such that HUD determines that the entity is authorized and has administrative capability to carry out the activities under this NOFO on behalf of its member jurisdiction(s).

State government shall have the same meaning as “State” in section 102(a)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302).

Transit-oriented development (TOD) creates dense, walkable, and mixed-use spaces near transit that support vibrant, sustainable, and equitable communities. TOD projects include a mix of commercial, residential, office, and entertainment land uses. Equitable TOD includes a strategy for both preserving existing affordable housing and ensuring an adequate supply of new affordable housing.

B. Authority

The funding for PRO Housing under this NOFO is provided by the Consolidated Appropriations

Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328, approved December 29, 2022) (Appropriations Act). The program authority for PRO Housing is Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) and the Appropriations Act.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Available Funds

Funding of approximately $85,000,000 is available through this NOFO.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFO consistent with Section

VI.A.2.e., Adjustments to Funding. Use of these funds is subject to statutory constraints. All awards are subject to the funding restrictions contained in this NOFO.

B. Number of Awards

HUD expects to make approximately 20 awards from the funds available under this NOFO.

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

Estimated Total Funding:

$85,000,000

Minimum Award Amount:

$1,000,000

Per Project Period

Maximum Award Amount:

$10,000,000

Per Project Period

D. Period of Performance

Estimated Project Start Date:

01/31/2024

Estimated Project End Date:

09/30/2029

Length of Project Periods:

Other

Length of Periods Explanation of Other:

6-year period of performance

E. Type of Funding Instrument

Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant)

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

00 (State governments)

01 (County governments)

02 (City or township governments)

25 (Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification))

Additional Information on Eligibility

Other eligible applicants include Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and

Multijurisdictional Entities. Refer to the Program Definitions in Section I.A to review how these terms are defined in the PRO Housing program.

Faith-based organizations

(1) Faith-based organizations may apply for this award on the same basis as any other organization, as set forth at 24 CFR 5.109, and subject to the protections and requirements of 42

U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., HUD will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization based on the organization's religious character, affiliation, or exercise.

(2) A faith-based organization that participates in this program will retain its independence and may continue to carry out its mission consistent with religious freedom and conscience protections in Federal law, including the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the

Constitution, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., 42 U.S.C. 238n, 42 U.S.C. 18113, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-1(a) and 2000e-2(e), 42 U.S.C. 12113(d), and the Weldon Amendment, among others. Religious accommodations may also be sought under many of these religious freedom and conscience protection laws, particularly under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

(3) A faith-based organization may not use direct financial assistance from HUD to support or engage in any explicitly religious activities except where consistent with the Establishment

Clause and any other applicable requirements. Such an organization also may not, in providing services funded by HUD, discriminate against a beneficiary or prospective program beneficiary https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-5#p-5.109 on the basis of religion, religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice.

B. Ineligible Applicants

HUD will not award grants to individuals or any entity that does not meet the criteria above.

HUD will not evaluate applications from ineligible applicants.

C. Cost Sharing or Matching

This Program does not require cost sharing or matching, but provides points based on leverage as described below.

HUD will award points under Rating Factor d. (Leverage) for applications that propose qualified financial leverage and provide the required firm commitments and/or supporting documentation to support each source of financial leverage. Applicants must secure and use all financial leverage by the end of the period of performance. Grantees may use other Federal sources as financial leverage only if a program’s authorizing statute permits such use. Recipients will also report on any leveraged funds received and used in association with this application.

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

Applicants who fail to meet any of the following threshold eligibility requirements are deemed ineligible. Applications from ineligible applicants are not rated or ranked and will not receive

HUD funding.

1. Resolution of Civil Rights Matters

Outstanding civil rights matters must be resolved before the application submission deadline.

Applicants with unresolved civil rights matters at the application deadline are deemed ineligible.

Applications from ineligible applicants are not rated or ranked and will not receive HUD funding.

a. An applicant is ineligible for funding if the applicant has any of the charges, cause determinations, lawsuits, or letters of findings referenced in subparagraphs (1) – (5) that are not resolved to HUD’s satisfaction before or on the application deadline date for this NOFO.

(1) Charges from HUD concerning a systemic violation of the Fair Housing Act or receipt of a cause determination from a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing agency concerning a systemic violation of a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing law proscribing discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, disability or familial status;

(2) Status as a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the United States alleging a pattern or practice of discrimination or denial of rights to a group of persons raising an issue of general public importance under 42 U.S.C. 3614(a);

(3) Status as a defendant in any other lawsuit filed or joined by the Department of Justice, or in which the Department of Justice has intervened, or filed an amicus brief or statement of interest, alleging a pattern or practice or systemic violation of Title VI of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the Americans with Disabilities

Act, Violence Against Women Act, or a claim under the False Claims Act related to fair housing, non-discrimination, or civil rights generally including an alleged failure to affirmatively further fair housing;

(4) Receipt of a letter of findings identifying systemic non-compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; Violence Against Women

Act; or the Americans with Disabilities Act; or

(5) Receipt of a cause determination from a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing agency concerning a systemic violation of provisions of a state or local law prohibiting discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or lawful source of income.

b. HUD will determine if actions to resolve the charge, cause determination, lawsuit, or letter of findings taken before the application deadline date will resolve the matter. Examples of actions that may be sufficient to resolve the matter include, but are not limited to:

(1) Current compliance with a voluntary compliance agreement signed by all the parties;

(2) Current compliance with a HUD-approved conciliation agreement signed by all the parties;

(3) Current compliance with a conciliation agreement signed by all the parties and approved by the state governmental or local administrative agency with jurisdiction over the matter;

(4) Current compliance with a consent order or consent decree;

(5) Current compliance with a final judicial ruling or administrative ruling or decision; or

(6) Dismissal of charges.

2. Timely Submission of Applications

Applications submitted after the deadline stated within this NOFO that do not meet the requirements of the grace period policy are marked late. Late applications are ineligible and are not considered for funding. See Section IV. D. Application Submission Dates and Times.

3. Eligible Applicant

Applicants must be an eligible applicant in accordance with Section III.A of this NOFO and must identify which type of eligible applicant they are in their application.

Multijurisdictional entities must demonstrate partnership among all parties. The parties may demonstrate a partnership by attaching relevant documentation, such as a memorandum of understanding or another foundational document (such as a CDBG joint agreement between an urban county and a metropolitan city or a HOME consortium agreement), to an application.

4. Number of Applications

a. An eligible applicant may submit only one application.

b. If HUD receives electronically multiple versions of an application, HUD will review the last version of the application received by Grants.gov that meets the timely receipt requirements. All other applications (i.e., prior versions) will not be considered eligible. If applicants find, after submitting an application, that they want to amend or adjust their application and it is prior to the deadline date, applicants must resubmit the entire application to ensure that HUD gets a complete application.

E. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility

Eligibility Requirements for Applicants of HUD’s Financial Assistance Programs

The following requirements affect applicant eligibility. Detailed information on each requirement is found in the “Eligibility Requirements for Applicants of HUD’s Financial

Assistance Programs” document on HUD’s Funding Opportunities page.

• Universal Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Requirements

• Outstanding Delinquent Federal Debts

• Debarments or Suspensions, or both

• Mandatory Disclosure Requirement

• Pre-selection Review of Performance

• Sufficiency of Financial Management System

• False Statements

• Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities

In addition, each applicant under this NOFO must have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the Award Term in Appendix A of 24 CFR part 170 if the applicant receives an award, unless an exception applies as provided in 2 CFR170.110.

F. Program-Specific Requirements

1. National objectives. Each activity, other than general administration and planning, proposed to be carried out with PRO Housing assistance must meet a CDBG national objective pursuant to section 101(c) of the Housing and Community Development Act of

1974:

a. Benefiting low- and moderate-income persons,

b. Preventing or eliminating slums or blight, or

c. Meeting other community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and other financial resources are not available to meet such needs

2. Eligible activities.

a. Each proposed activity must be eligible pursuant to section 105(a) of the Housing and

Community Development Act of 1974 and applicable program regulations at 24 CFR part 570, as applied and modified by this NOFO, or receive an eligibility waiver for the activity, requested in the application. Applicants may submit a waiver request pursuant to

Appendix A (Waiver Requests) of this NOFO. HUD does not guarantee that it will grant such waivers, but it will evaluate any request prior to determining whether to award funds for an application. Please note that PRO Housing funds can be used for new construction of affordable accessible housing. HUD is waiving 42 U.S.C. 5305(a) and 24

CFR 570.207(b)(3) and adopting alternative requirements to the extent necessary to permit new construction of housing, subject to the same requirements that apply to rehabilitation activities under the provisions at section 105(a)(4) of the Housing and

Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(4)) and 24 CFR 570.202(b).

https://www.hud.gov/grants https://www.hud.gov/grants https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-25/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-170 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-170/subpart-A/section-170.110 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-170/subpart-A/section-170.110

b. Eligible activities must identify and seek to remove one or more barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Additionally, each proposed activity must do one or more of the following:

i. Further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans

ii. Improve housing strategies

iii. Facilitate affordable housing production and preservation

c. Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

i. Planning and policy activities supporting affordable housing. Grantees may use

PRO Housing funds to develop proposals for planning and policy activities that support affordable housing production and preservation. Grantees may not fund the general conduct of government, as described in Section III.F.3.e. Examples include but are not limited to:

A. Developing or updating housing plans, community development strategies, and zoning and land use policies such as overlays to encourage multifamily and mixed-use development or access to affordable housing, floating zones (such as redevelopment, workforce housing, or live/work zones in high opportunity areas), incentive zoning, transit-oriented development zones, or ordinances to encourage housing development or preservation

B. Developing or updating housing plans, community development strategies, and zoning and land use policies to simplify, streamline, or change overlays that create a barrier to affordable housing development or preservation, such as architectural review or historic preservation overlays

C. Developing proposals for new by-right permitting procedures to streamline affordable housing development and reduce discretionary approvals

D. Developing new incentive programs for affordable housing development

E. Expanding existing affordable housing incentive programs to wider geographies, including high-opportunity neighborhoods

F. Developing proposals to reduce or eliminate requirements related to parking, building height, lot coverage, setbacks, minimum unit size, minimum lot size, floor area ratio, and other common land use controls

G. Establishing incentive programs or flexibilities to enable and promote the adaptive reuse of vacant or underutilized properties for housing or mixed-use development

H. Developing proposals to streamline and modernize local permit processing, such as by enabling one-stop or parallel-process permitting

I. Developing proposals to streamline or eliminate requirements that unduly delay the permitting process or establish unreasonable thresholds for approvals, such as duplicative and burdensome hearings and documentation for variances, rezonings, or similar planning approvals

J. Developing proposals to rezone to allow multifamily or mixed-use development including housing in office, commercial, and light industrial zones

K. Developing proposals to expedite approvals for affordable housing development that meets certain criteria

L. Developing proposals for higher-density zoning for current single-family and multi-family zones, including rezones to allow duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes by-right in all areas zoned primarily for single-family homes and encourage property owners to ensure that any infill development improves or maintains walkability

M. Establishing incentive programs, designing pre-approved floorplans, or introducing more flexible zoning to enable and promote accessory dwelling units

N. Developing proposals to replace discretionary design review procedures with objective design and development standards

O. Developing proposals to eliminate restrictions on lower-cost housing types such as prefabricated or manufactured homes

P. Developing proposals to update zoning or incentives to facilitate affordable housing on land owned by faith-based organizations

Q. Developing proposals to restructure fee schedules to eliminate burdensome costs for affordable housing development

R. Creating affordable housing planning resources for member jurisdictions

S. Developing regional planning models that enhance location efficiency by focusing on connecting housing, transportation, and economic growth

T. Providing affordable housing developers a first look at tax sale properties and other government properties

U. Developing proposals to eliminate, subsidize, waive, or otherwise reduce fees or other costs of…