53488 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 173 / Thursday, September 8, 2005 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–4712–N–02] 

Eligibility of Firefighters and 

Emergency Medical Technicians To 

Participate in the Officer Next Door 

Sales Program 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 

Commissioner, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

eligibility of firefighters and emergency 

medical technicians to purchase HUDacquired homes located in HUDdesignated revitalization areas at a 

discount, in accordance with HUD’s 

regulations for the Officer Next Door 

(OND) Sales Program. Inclusion in the 

OND Sales Program is designed to help 

more firefighters and emergency 

responders become homeowners, and 

will further the goals of the OND Sales 

Program to accelerate the revitalization 

of America’s cities by promoting the 

integration of dedicated role models and 

mentors into the community. Elsewhere 

in today’s Federal Register, HUD has 

published a proposed rule that would 

establish the Good Neighbor Next Door 

(GNND) Sales Program. The GNND 

Sales Program would build upon and 

replace the existing OND Sales Program 

and Teacher Next Door Sales Program, 

combining them into one broader 

program. The proposed rule, when 

made final, will codify the eligibility of 

law enforcement officers, teachers, 

firefighters and emergency medical 

technicians to participate in the new 

Good Neighbor Next Door Sales 

Program. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joseph McCloskey, Director, Office of 

Single Family Asset Management, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 

Room 9172, Washington, DC 20410– 

8000; telephone (202) 708–1672 (this is 

not a toll-free number). Hearing- or 

speech-impaired individuals may access 

this number through TTY by calling the 

toll-free Federal Information Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Officer Next Door (OND) Sales 

Program enables eligible law 

enforcement officers to assist in the 

revitalization of economically distressed 

neighborhoods. Under the OND Sales 

Program, full-time law enforcement 

officers may purchase HUD-acquired 

homes located in HUD-designated 

revitalization areas at a 50 percent 

discount from list prices. The home 

must be the law enforcement officer’s 

sole residence during a prescribed 

owner-occupancy term. HUD’s 

regulations for the OND Sales Program 

are located in subpart F of 24 CFR part 

291 (entitled ‘‘Disposition of HUDAcquired Single Family Properties’’). 

The success of the OND Sales Program 

led to the development of the Teacher 

Next Door (TND) Sales Program, which 

enables teachers to purchase HUDacquired homes located in revitalization 

areas at a discount from list prices. HUD 

announced the creation of the TND 

Sales Program through a Federal 

Register notice published on December 

7, 1999 (64 FR 68370). 

II. This Notice 

This notice builds upon the success of 

both the OND and TND Sales Programs 

by expanding eligibility to include 

firefighters and emergency medical 

technicians. As with law enforcement 

officers and teachers, the daily 

responsibilities of firefighters and 

emergency medical technicians reflect a 

high level of commitment to public 

service and represent a nexus to the 

needs of the communities they serve. 

The expansion of eligibility will help 

more firefighters and emergency 

medical technicians become 

homeowners, and will further the goals 

of the OND and TND Sales Programs to 

accelerate the revitalization of 

America’s cities by promoting the 

integration of dedicated role models and 

mentors into the community. 

Firefighters and emergency medical 

technicians will be able to participate 

under, and subject to, the regulations for 

the OND Sales Program codified at 24 

CFR part 291, subpart F. To qualify as 

an eligible firefighter or emergency 

medical technician, an individual must 

be employed as a full-time firefighter or 

emergency medical technician by a fire 

department or emergency medical 

services responder unit of the federal 

government, a state, a unit of general 

local government, or an Indian tribal 

government serving the area where the 

home is located. The employment 

requirement must be satisfied both at 

the time the firefighter or emergency 

medical technician submits a bid to 

purchase the home, and at the time of 

closing on the purchase of the home. 

Elsewhere in today’s Federal Register, 

HUD has published a proposed rule for 

public comment that would establish 

regulations for a new Good Neighbor 

Next Door (GNND) Sales Program. The 

GNND Sales Program would replace and 

build upon the success of the OND and 

TND Sales Programs, and include as 

eligible participants, law enforcement 

officers, teachers, firefighters, and 

emergency medical technicians. 

Interested persons should refer to the 

proposed rule for additional information 

on the GNND Sales Program. The public 

comment period for the proposed rule 

closes on November 7, 2005. HUD will 

consider all public comments in the 

development of the final rule. 

Dated: August 29, 2005. 

Brian D. Montgomery, 

Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal 

Housing Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. 05–17674 Filed 9–7–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–27–P