The National Disaster Resilience Competition

The National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) is a HUD funding program that reflects Congress's response to the natural disasters of 2011-2013, starting with Hurricane Sandy. It is funded out of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and is called CDBG-DR, or CDBG-Disaster Recovery. Toward the end of this year, HUD will allocate $1 billion in CDBG-DR to successful NDRC applicants. This will have a huge impact on disaster recovery efforts across the country, with an aim of mitigating the impacts of future natural disasters. Here are the basics about NDRC.

• The application consists of two phases. Phase I applications, submitted earlier this year, framed unmet recovery needs and described an overall approach to address them. HUD invited Phase I applicants to submit a Phase II application (due Oct. 27th) that proposes specific projects to receive CDBG-DR funds.

• All states with counties that experienced a Presidentially Declared Major Disaster in 2011, 2012 or 2013 were eligible to submit a Phase I application.

• CDBG-DR eligible projects include housing, infrastructure, community facilities and watershed restoration. At least half of the funds must benefit Low and Moderate Income Households, as defined by HUD.

• The program seeks to fund proposals that further "resilience", meaning that the community will resist and rapidly recover from disasters with minimal outside assistance.

• The NDRC also prioritizes projects that fully engage and inform community stakeholders, address the specific needs of vulnerable populations, and leverage investments from the philanthropic community.

Housing Tools has experience developing applications for this competition, so please contact me if you have any questions.

Staying on Top of HOME Deadlines

HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program enforces strict deadlines for committing funds, expending funds, starting project construction, and closing out a project. A Participating Jurisdiction (PJ) that receives an annual entitlement HOME grant (also called a Formula Allocation) may lose its funds if it does not meet these deadlines. It can be a challenge to keep track of these deadlines because the clock re-starts every year that the PJ receives a new Formula Allocation. A PJ usually has multiple deadlines for different years of Formula Allocation that have not been entirely committed or spent.

The HOME deadlines became more stringent a few years ago when the legislature sought to improve the timely use of funds, resulting in the 2013 HOME Rule. Below is a summary of HOME Deadlines.

• Expenditure— PJ’s must spend HOME funds within five years of receiving their Formula Allocation.
• Commitment— PJ’s must commit HOME funds to a specific project with a binding legal agreement within 24 months of receiving their Formula Allocation.
• Project Commencement— HOME-funded projects must begin construction within 12 months of receiving a HOME commitment, as documented with building permits.
• Project Completion— HOME-funded projects must be completed within four years of commitment, as documented with certificates of occupancy. Any project that is not completed in this timeframe will be terminated and PJs will be required to repay HOME funds drawn.
• Lease-up— HOME-assisted rental units must be occupied by income-eligible households within 18 months of project completion. If this requirement is not met, PJs must repay HOME funds for the vacant units. For units that remain vacant six months following completion, the PJ must develop an enhanced marketing plan and report this information to HUD.
• Home purchase— A HOME-assisted homebuyer unit must have a ratified sales contract within nine months of construction completion.

HUD does provide a 120-day notice when a deadline is approaching that has not yet been met. Deadlines are also tracked on HUD's HOME Deadline Compliance Status Reports online. However, it may often be too late for a PJ to line up or complete a project by the time the 120-day notice has arrived. Real estate projects often require long timelines and a more proactive approach.

To initiate a planning process to meet deadlines, it is a good idea to set up a timeline for each year's HOME allocation and each HOME-funded project. Housing Tools uses Smartsheet cloud-based project management software to make these timelines available to all team members on the Internet, allowing them to access and update timelines at any time. This software also offers tools to make assignments, notify team members when tasks are completed, and send automated reminders via email. This helps PJs stay on top of HOME deadlines. Let me know if you would like to find out more about these systems.

How to Become a Community Housing Development Organization

A Community Housing Development Organization, or CHDO, is an entity that is prioritized to receive funding from HUD's HOME Program. States, cities and counties across the country receive an annual allocation of HOME funds from the federal government to produce affordable housing. HUD requires that at least 15% of their annual allocations fund CHDO projects. In this post I summarize the most important steps an organization needs to take in order to qualify as a CHDO.

HOME Participating Jurisdictions (PJs) are responsible for certifying entities as CHDOs in accordance with HUD regulations. In order to be certified as a CHDO, an organization must meet standards in three general areas:

• Mission- the organization's mission must include the provision of affordable housing for low income households. This mission must be documented in the organization's articles of incorporation or bylaws. In addition, CHDOs must have a policy and process for incorporating input from program beneficiaries.

• Board Composition- at least 1/3 of the organization's Board of Directors must represent the community's low-income population, either as a low-income resident, a resident of a predominantly low-income census tract, or a representative of a low-income neighborhood organization. In addition, no more than 1/3 of the Board of Directors can be affiliated with a public entity, as an elected representative, an appointed representative, or as an employee.

• Capacity- the organization must demonstrate capacity to develop housing by documenting financial health, accomplishments and staff qualifications. The organization must also have experience serving in the PJ that is certifying it. A new requirement that came with the 2013 HOME Interim Rule is that CHDOs must have paid, full-time staff involved in housing development.

Feel free to contact me to get more details on becoming a CHDO, or to use my cloud-based checklists for certifying CHDOs.

Getting a Handle on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing

HUD requires each entitlement jurisdiction to update its Analysis of Impediments (AI) to fair housing every five years, concurrent with the update of the Consolidated Plan. Unlike the Consolidated Plan, the AI is not submitted through IDIS to HUD, but is kept on file at the jurisdiction. Five years is a long time, so here's a refresher (or introduction) on how to approach the AI.

 I recommend you review HUD's Fair Housing Planning Guide to make sure you are addressing all of the relevant topics. The AI can be organized in five general sections:

1. Goals and Process- definition of Fair Housing Impediments, AI goals, and process, including description of entities consulted (government agencies, housing authority, lenders, real estate agents, landlords, legal services, services for disabled persons, advocacy groups, etc.);
2. Background Data- demographics (population, race, ethnicity, household characteristics), household income, employment, transportation, and housing (type, rents, vacancies, condition). 
3. Potential Public Impediments
4. Potential Private Impediments
5. Summary of Impediments and Plan to Address Them

While all of the sections are essential, most of the effort should be focused on the potential Impediments (Sections 3 and 4). In researching potential Impediments, here are some of the key questions to consider with respect to the Public Sector:

Are building and zoning codes in compliance with State and Federal Law with regard to fair housing?

Do building or zoning codes make it more difficult for protected fair housing classes to access housing than other populations?

Are low-income or racial minority populations concentrated in particular neighborhoods? Do these neighborhoods have good access to transportation, amenities, public services and employment? Are there public policies that intentionally or unintentionally lead to low-income or racial minority population concentrations?

Do zoning or building codes present impediments to building affordable housing throughout the jurisdiction or in particular communities (e.g. minimum lot sizes, excessive parking requirements, lengthy review processes)? Are there policies that treat affordable housing different than market rate housing?

Are financial resources made available for affordable housing?

Do planning and zoning boards reflect the community's diversity? Is the board member selection process open, transparent and fair?

Are Section 8 voucher holders concentrated in particular neighborhoods, or are they broadly distributed throughout the jurisdiction? If concentrated, what are the conditions in these neighborhoods? Is the Housing Authority making efforts to open access to new neighborhoods?

Does the Housing Authority provide implement reasonable accommodation procedures, pursue tenant access to a variety of neighborhoods, empower residents to help shape their communities, and provide opportunities for tenants to move to homeownership?

Good data sources for the Background Data section include:

• Housing Element and Consolidated Plan
• U.S. American Community Survey
• Local rental market surveys
• Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Website (Hint: if you want to look at census tract data, select your County or Metro Area, export to Excel, and then sort by tract number)

I hope this helps you get started. Give me a call if you need further assistance. Good luck with your AI!

Consolidated Plans: Bringing It All Together

In many ways, HUD has simplified the Consolidated Planning process with the new eCon Planning Suite. It has a standardized format, and much of the data (albeit a bit out of date) is already provided in tables within the forms. Rather than interpreting HUD regulations, the form asks specific questions, taking a great deal of guesswork out of the process. In addition, all information can be input into IDIS, where plans, disbursements and reports are now stored in one place.

These are all welcome developments. Still, when the Consolidated Plan is printed out, it is well over 100 pages and not in the most readable format. One can easily get lost in the numerous forms and tables. To gain some perspective and strategic direction, I have found it helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture.

In summary, the Consolidated Plan consists of the following elements:

1.              Executive Summary

2.              The Process - a description of your consultation with other agencies, and the public outreach process.

3.              Needs Assessment - an analysis of housing, community development, and economic development needs.

4.              Market Analysis - an assessment of market conditions.

5.              Strategic Plan - a plan of action for the 5-Year planning period.

6.              Annual Action Plan - a plan of action for the first year of the 5-Year planning period.

After completing Sections 1-4, I recommend you summarize your findings by listing the Priority Needs identified through the following processes:

·                Consultation and Public Outreach

·                CAPER review

·                Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (HUD is putting a strong emphasis on this)

·                ConPlan Needs Assessment

·                ConPlan Market Analysis

After listing your priorities, you will find some overlap and duplication between the different processes. Through this analysis, you will be able to assemble the overall Priority Needs list required in the Strategic Plan. You can then formulate your Strategic Plan’s goals and Annual Action Plan Projects, based on the Priority Needs, available resources (i.e. budget constraints), and past performance (as documented in the CAPER).

So here's the ConPlan big picture process, as we formulated it for the City of Chico:

Good luck navigating through the IDIS weeds and keeping your focus! You can do it!

Do you have any helpful tips or tricks for navigating the Consolidated Process? Post your comments below!

Tips for Labor Compliance on HUD Projects: Part 3

Welcome to my final installment of HUD labor compliance tips. Part 1 provided an overview, and suggestions on complying with federal prevailing wages. Part 2 dealt with integration of requirements into contracts. Part 3 will focus on Equal Employment Opportunity and Section 3 requirements. Relevant regulations include Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development of 1968, 24 CFR Part 135, Executive Orders 11246, 11375, 12086, and 41 CFR Part 60 1.4(b).

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) 
These requirements are often called MBE/WBE (Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises). The purpose of these requirements is to involve minority and women owned businesses in contracts to the maximum extent possible. Grantees and general contractors must demonstrate that they have implemented policies and procedures to meet this goal. It isn't enough to say you tried. You must document efforts, and this post will help you understand how this can be done.

Section 3
These requirements generally apply to any contract funded by HUD that is $100,000 or greater. The purpose of these requirements is to involve local low-income persons in contracts to the maximum extent possible. Similar to EEO requirements, grantees and general contractors must demonstrate that they have taken steps to meet this goal.

EEO and Section 3 compliance has three elements: recruitment, documentation and contract management. Below is a summary of each.

Recruitment

• Prepare a EEO/Section 3 Plan and send it to the General Contractor. It should consist of hiring goals and resources, including contact info for: the local government, developer, and HUD labor representatives; local unions and trade associations; local community organizations and media for affirmative recruitment; and in-house or local apprenticeship and trainee programs for referral.
• Send letters to the local labor representative and local unions and trade associations requesting feedback on the EEO/Section 3 Plan.
• Post a project sign at the project site, place notices in community papers, and send letters to community organizations and businesses identified by local government with the following information: Section 3 regulations; contact information for employment opportunities; and the list of apprenticeship and training programs from the EEO/Section 3 Plan.

Documentation

• Maintain a file documenting all EEO/Section 3 implementation efforts.
• Maintain a list of all lower income residents, women and minority owned businesses that have applied for a job, and referral sources.
• Provide an annual report on EEO/Section 3 progress to the HUD Administrator.

Contract Management

• Notify potential subcontractors of EEO/Section 3 goals and requirements.
• Incorporate EEO/Section 3 requirements and goals into all subcontracts.

Be aware that some local or State governments will add their own requirements on top of the base federal requirements. Feel free to contact me if you need assistance with putting together plans and templates. 

So go out there and have a blast with HUD labor compliance.....which really isn't possible. But at least you can move forward with confidence and a plan.

Tips for Labor Compliance on HUD Projects: Part 2

Happy New Year! I took a long holiday break from the blog, but now I'm back at it. In my last post, I focused on wage compliance for HUD Projects. In this post, I will address contract conditions.

When it comes to "CYA" for labor requirements, documentation is your friend, particularly contractual documentation. Far too often, the project team catches up with the labor requirements after the contracts are already signed, or after construction has already begun. You can always add addenda, but contractors will have already initiated their hiring and subcontracts. At that point, it's always challenging to get everyone to understand their obligations and implement them into their work programs. It's much better to start on the right foot and on the same page.

In this regard, I have assisted a general contractor that does a lot of HUD work. I drafted form letters for their subcontractors that accompanies the contract for execution, and requires incorporation of the HUD-92554M form into the contract. The letter explains key labor conditions of HUD-92554M, as described below. In this way, the general contractor and the subcontractors have the same requirements incorporated into their contracts, and those requirements are brought to their attention.

• Davis-Bacon Wages: Inform contractor that they must pay Federal Prevailing Wages to all workers on the project, as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Refer to and attach the DOL Wage Determination to the contract. See my last blog post for more information about wage determinations.
• Apprenticeships: Describe the process for requesting approval to use an apprenticeship program that is not listed on the Office of Apprenticeship website.
• Copeland "Anti-Kickback" Act:  It is a federal crime for anyone to require any laborer to kickback (give up or pay back) any part of wages (29 CFR Part 3).
• Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA):  Overtime must be paid at 150% of the basic pay rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a week. Proper health and safety standards must be maintained on the job site.
• Equal Employment Opportunity and Section 3: Federal law requires that contractors implement a plan to affirmatively recruit low-income residents, minorities and women to work on the project. 

This is a summary of the major elements of the HUD-92554M form "Supplementary Conditions of the Contract for Construction". I recommend that you outline these clearly for your general contractor in a letter so that they understand the obligations they are taking on. In my next blog, I'll have more information about implementing Equal Employment Opportunity and Section 3 requirements.