I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 932 
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make 
grants and offer technical assistance to local governments and others 
to design and implement innovative policies, programs, and projects that 
address widespread property vacancy and abandonment, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2009 
Mr. RYAN of Ohio (for himself and Mr. HIGGINS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment to make grants and offer technical assistance to 
local governments and others to design and implement 
innovative policies, programs, and projects that address 
widespread property vacancy and abandonment, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Regenera-
tion, Sustainability, and Innovation Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) many older industrial cities have experi-
enced significant population loss due to large-scale 
employment losses—especially well-paying jobs in 
basic industry and manufacturing; 
(2) beginning in the 1940s, Federal policies es-
tablished by the Federal Housing Administration 
and the Department of Transportation promoted 
suburban flight, which also caused population and 
income loss in many older cities; 
(3) by 1970, these trends were clearly evident 
in decennial data produced by the United States 
Census Bureau; 
(4) population loss and economic decline in 
such cities has caused widespread housing vacancy 
and abandonment, resulting in a landscape of gap- 
toothed streets where many homes have been demol-
ished, vast numbers of unattractive, dilapidated 
properties that pose a threat to public safety, and 
underused, crumbling public infrastructure, that cit-
ies cannot afford to maintain; 
(5) by 2000, such conditions had spread beyond 
the central cities to adjacent suburbs in many met-
ropolitan areas; 
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(6) as these trends continued after 2000, condi-
tions were exacerbated by the subprime lending cri-
sis, which led to unprecedented rates of mortgage 
foreclosures resulting in even more abandonments in 
many of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in the 
most distressed cities and suburbs; 
(7) unmanaged vacant property and land causes 
community abandonment, crime, further depopula-
tion, and despair; 
(8) unmanaged vacant property and land can 
also have a detrimental impact on adjacent residen-
tial property values, while the creation of green 
space and infrastructure on vacant land, even on an 
interim basis, can increase property values; 
(9) experience has demonstrated that land 
banking, undertaken by public entities and accom-
panied by other innovative strategies, is a rationale 
and efficient way for local governments to assert 
public control and management over vacant and 
abandoned property in order to stabilize neighbor-
hoods and real estate markets, rationalize land use, 
provide new public amenities, including open space 
and green infrastructure, and renew, strengthen, 
and reposition for the future communities that have 
experienced significant population loss; 
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(10) beginning in 1999, the State of Michigan 
reformed its property tax foreclosure processes and 
enacted new land banking legislation which opened 
the door for communities to reclaim, reinvest in, and 
rebuild their neighborhoods by creating a highly suc-
cessful land banking model that has proven effective 
in removing dilapidated structures, redeveloping 
abandoned properties, creating new open space, and 
increasing property values in communities hard-hit 
by employment and population losses such as the 
City of Flint and Genesee County, where thousands 
of parcels have been returned to productive use or 
set aside as green, open space; and 
(11) the Federal Government can assist State 
and local governments by providing financial support 
to establish and maintain land banks, including, 
where appropriate, multi-jurisdictional land banks, 
and to develop innovative strategies to convert such 
land to productive use or for long-term strategic 
public purposes. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to provide Federal assistance, through 
grants and the provision of technical assistance, to 
establish land banks in communities and metropoli-
tan areas that have experienced significant popu-
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lation loss due to large-scale employment losses 
which have resulted in widespread abandonment of 
real property; 
(2) to encourage innovation, experimentation, 
and environmentally sustainable practices through 
collaborative efforts to reuse and rehabilitate land 
bank property in ways that will provide long-term 
benefits to the public; 
(3) to encourage the creation of green infra-
structure; 
(4) to encourage the creation of new employ-
ment opportunities, especially in areas related to en-
vironmental sustainability and green infrastructure 
directly related to the implementation of regenera-
tion plans assisted under this Act; and 
(5) to encourage the strategic use of other Fed-
eral, State, local, private, and nonprofit resources 
not provided under this Act to stabilize and improve 
neighborhoods not presently experiencing widespread 
vacancy and abandonment, but whose stability is or 
may be threatened if current demographic or em-
ployment trends continue. 
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SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM FOR INNOVATIVE VA-
CANT PROPERTY RECLAMATION AND URBAN 
INFRASTRUCTURE RENEWAL STRATEGIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development shall carry out a demonstration pro-
gram under this section to encourage and test innovative 
vacant property reclamation and urban infrastructure re-
newal strategies in older industrial cities, suburbs of such 
cities, and metropolitan areas having a history of severe 
population and employment loss, blight, and decay caused 
by vacant properties. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY OF UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOV-
ERNMENT.—A unit of general local government, or a con-
sortia of such units, shall be eligible for selection for par-
ticipation in the demonstration program under this section 
only if the unit or consortium meets one of the following 
two requirements: 
(1) SUBSTANTIAL POPULATION LOSS.—The ap-
plicant unit of general local government, or the most 
populous unit of general local government of the ap-
plicant consortium, has experienced at least 20 per-
cent population loss since 1970, as measured by 
data from the 2000 decennial census. 
(2) CONCENTRATED
HOUSING
VACANCY
AND 
ABANDONMENT.—The applicant unit of general local 
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government, or the most populous unit of general 
local government of applicant consortium— 
(A) has experienced prolonged population, 
income, and employment loss resulting in sub-
stantial levels of housing vacancy and abandon-
ment; and 
(B) such housing vacancies and abandon-
ments are concentrated in more than one neigh-
borhood or geographic area within a jurisdiction 
or jurisdictions. 
(c) MULTIYEAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
(1) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the dem-
onstration program under this section, the Secretary 
shall enter into multiyear cooperative agreements 
with units of general local government, or consortia 
consisting of units of general local government, se-
lected for participation pursuant to subsection (h) in 
the demonstration program under this section, to de-
sign and implement regeneration plans to address 
problems associated with vacant and abandoned 
properties. 
(2) TERMS.—A cooperative agreement entered 
into under this subsection— 
(A) shall have a term of not less than 3 
years; 
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(B) shall provide for the Secretary to make 
grants under subsection (d) to the unit of gen-
eral local government or consortium; 
(C) shall provide for interaction between 
the Department of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment and the unit of general local govern-
ment or consortium to implement a regenera-
tion plan; and 
(D) may reference the responsibilities of 
third parties, such as State governments, uni-
versities, and non-profit organizations, and in 
such instances, each such entity shall enter into 
a memorandum of understanding with the unit 
of general local government or consortium. 
(3) DETERMINATION OF EFFECT ON HISTORIC 
PROPERTIES.—Notwithstanding that a unit of gen-
eral local government, or consortium of such units, 
has been selected for participation in the demonstra-
tion program under this section, the Secretary may 
not enter into a cooperative agreement under this 
subsection until the Secretary has complied with the 
requirements under section 106 of the National His-
toric Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) and the reg-
ulations issued under such section (36 C.F.R. Part 
800) to take into account the effects, on historic 
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properties, of the regeneration plan of the partici-
pant approved by the Secretary under subsection (h) 
of this section. 
(d) GRANTS.—To the extent amounts for grants 
under this section are made available in advance in appro-
priation Acts, the Secretary shall make a grant under this 
section to each unit of general local government, or con-
sortia of such units, selected to participate in the dem-
onstration program under this section, for each fiscal year 
covered by the multiyear cooperative agreement entered 
into by the unit or consortium pursuant to subsection (c). 
(e) ELIGIBLE USES.—Amounts from grants provided 
under this section may be used for any of the following 
purposes: 
(1) VACANT PROPERTY AND PROGRAM CAPAC-
ITY ACTIVITIES.—For the following vacant property 
and program capacity activities: 
(A) Establishment or expansion of local or 
regional land banks. 
(B) Establishment of recovered building 
materials reuse and recycling infrastructure, fa-
cilities, and technical support. 
(C) Establishment of local government 
purchasing requirements for deconstruction to 
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make use of existing building materials stock in 
new and rehabilitation construction. 
(D) Expansion and improvement of code 
enforcement capabilities. 
(E) Development of data and information 
systems such as comprehensive real property 
systems, early warning systems, and vacant 
property inventory and tracking systems. 
(F) Establishment or strengthening of the 
ability of State courts, local courts, and admin-
istrative agencies to address problems caused by 
vacant and abandoned properties, and to facili-
tating, where feasible, such properties’ transfer 
to public control under a local or regional land 
bank. 
(G) Amendment or reform of State and 
local property tax foreclosure procedures. 
(2) STABILIZATION ACTIVITIES.—For the fol-
lowing stabilization activities: 
(A) Deconstruction and demolition of va-
cant and abandoned properties. 
(B) Demolition and removal of public in-
frastructure. 
(C) Relocation of structures. 
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(D) Reconfiguration of existing infrastruc-
ture. 
(E) Protection and limited maintenance of 
vacant or abandoned properties for the pur-
poses of stemming the spread of blight. 
(F) Assessment and remediation of prop-
erty. 
(G) Relocation under the Uniform Reloca-
tion and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act 
of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) or applicable 
State and local relocation statutes and policies. 
(3) DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND REUSE AC-
TIVITIES.—For the following design, development, 
and reuse activities: 
(A) Creation of open space and networks 
of green infrastructure. 
(B) Establishing and maintaining urban 
agriculture and farm markets. 
(C) Adaptive reuse, rehabilitation, or im-
provement of architecturally, historically, or cul-
turally significant structures, or other struc-
tures of community significance, in areas tar-
geted for conservation under a regeneration 
plan. 
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(D) Development of infrastructure to 
produce renewable energy on vacant land, in-
cluding solar energy, wind power, and geo-
thermal power. 
(4) PLANNING
AND
POLICY
INNOVATION
AC-
TIVITIES.—For the following planning and policy in-
novation activities: 
(A) Strategic planning, neighborhood plan-
ning, brownfield plans, vacant property plans, 
city and neighborhood typologies, and collabo-
rative vacant property assessment processes 
that identify and target Federal, State, local, 
and nonprofit resources for neighborhoods and 
communities. 
(B) Reforms of existing State and local 
codes, policies, and processes to promote vacant 
property reclamation and reuse through flexible, 
performance based standards, regulations, and 
development processes. 
(5) OTHER USES.—For such other uses in ac-
cordance with the purposes of this Act as the Sec-
retary may designate. 
(f) INELIGIBLE USES.—Amounts from grants pro-
vided under this section shall not be used— 
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(1) to demolish public housing, as such term is 
defined in section 3 of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a); 
(2) to demolish any property listed, or eligible 
to be listed, in the National Register of Historic 
Places under the National Historic Preservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), or designated as historic 
under State or local law; 
(3) to alter or modify any property listed or eli-
gible for listing in the National Register of Historic 
Places, unless the proposed alteration or modifica-
tion is determined to be consistent with the Stand-
ards for the Treatment of Historic Properties of the 
Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 106 of 
the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
470f) and the regulations issued under such section 
(36 C.F.R. Part 800); 
(4) to clean-up any brownfield site, except for 
planning activities related to the clean-up of a 
brownfield site; or 
(5) to redevelop any brownfield site, except for 
planning activities related to the redevelopment of a 
brownfield site. 
(g) LIMITATION
ON
USE
FOR
ADMINISTRATIVE 
COSTS.—Of any amounts received from a grant under this 
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section in any fiscal year, a participant in the demonstra-
tion program under this section may use not more than 
20 percent for any administrative costs of the jurisdiction 
in carrying out the regeneration plan of such participant 
and in carrying out the responsibilities of the participant 
in connection such program. 
(h) SELECTION
OF PARTICIPANT REGENERATION 
COMMUNITIES.— 
(1) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to participate 
in the demonstration program established under this 
section, a unit of general local government or con-
sortium of such units shall submit an application for 
assistance under this section in such form and in ac-
cordance with such requirements as the Secretary 
shall establish, together with a regeneration plan 
under paragraph (2) for the community or region of 
the unit of general local government or consortium. 
(2) REGENERATION
PLAN.—A regeneration 
plan under this paragraph for a community or re-
gion shall meet the following requirements: 
(A) MANDATORY
ELEMENTS.—The plan 
shall include, for such community or region, the 
following elements: 
(i) A comprehensive land use plan 
that reflects the population loss the com-
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munity or region has experienced, reflects 
future population trends, including any an-
ticipated further losses, using the most 
current data available, and provides for the 
efficient and sustainable use of land, struc-
tures, neighborhoods, and resources within 
the community or region. 
(ii) A plan for creation of green infra-
structure to be set aside in the community 
or region for recreation, open space, agri-
culture, park use, educational use, or pur-
poses related to future economic or resi-
dential development. 
(iii) A detailed implementation strat-
egy for the plan, including modifications to 
a comprehensive or master land use plan, 
neighborhood plans, and zoning and build-
ing codes. 
(iv) A plan for integrating related pro-
grams and strategies funded through other 
sources, including Federal, State, local, 
and private sources, into the implementa-
tion strategy pursuant to clause (iii). 
(v) Any other elements, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
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(B) OTHER
INCLUDED
ELEMENTS.—The 
plan shall include as many of the following ele-
ments as may be appropriate or feasible: 
(i) Good urban design principles. 
(ii) Sustainability principles. 
(iii) Integration and targeting of fund-
ing provided under the community develop-
ment block grant program under title I of 
the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 
(iv) Use of other funds and resources, 
Federal, State, local, private, financial, or 
otherwise. 
(v) Brownfields remediation and rede-
velopment funded through other sources. 
(vi) Smart growth principles, includ-
ing, complete streets, new urbanism, af-
fordable housing, mixed uses, infill develop-
ment, public infrastructure improvements, 
and form based codes. 
(vii) Deconstruction activities with 
measurable outcomes. 
(viii) To the extent necessary, im-
provement of real property data and infor-
mation systems with respect to property 
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conditions, and streamlining and improve-
ment of code enforcement procedures to 
expedite the process of asserting public 
control over vacant and abandoned prop-
erties. 
(ix) Promotion of energy-use effi-
ciency, green collar jobs, natural systems 
storm water management, and other eco-
logical services. 
(x) Neighborhood plans developed 
through a community-based process for 
component communities within the appli-
cant’s jurisdiction or jurisdictions. 
(xi) The potential to create new em-
ployment opportunities, especially in areas 
directly related to the implementation of 
the regeneration plan, including building 
deconstruction, removal of buildings and 
infrastructure, creation of green infrastruc-
ture, environmental remediation, and long- 
term employment in environmentally sus-
tainable activities, including urban agri-
culture, open space maintenance, and re-
newable energy production. 
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(xii) Adaptive reuse, rehabilitation, or 
improvement of architecturally, histori-
cally, or culturally significant structures, 
or other structures of community signifi-
cance, in areas targeted for conservation. 
(xiii) Any other elements as the Sec-
retary may prescribe. 
(C) CITIZEN
PARTICIPATION
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The Secretary shall, by regulations 
issued under section 7, provide for citizen par-
ticipation requirements relating to the develop-
ment and implementation of regeneration plans 
as necessary to ensure, to the extent prac-
ticable, that affected citizens and community 
groups, including environmental organizations, 
and any others who would be impacted by the 
adoption of a regeneration plan, have notice of, 
and the opportunity to effectively participate in, 
the development of such a plan through public 
hearings, community workshops, charrettes, 
town hall meetings, or other means. 
(D) IMPLEMENTATION OF REGENERATION 
PLANS.—To the extent practicable, the Sec-
retary shall, by regulations issued under section 
7, ensure that processes are established and 
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maintained providing for the continued imple-
mentation and periodic updating of regenera-
tion plans for a reasonable amount of time fol-
lowing the full expenditure of assistance re-
ceived under this Act. 
(3) COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall select 
applicants for participation in the demonstration 
program under this section on a competitive basis 
using the evaluation and selection criteria estab-
lished pursuant to paragraph (5) and in accordance 
with section 102 of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 
3545). 
(4) SELECTION.— 
(A) NUMBER
AND
CATEGORIES
OF
PAR-
TICIPANTS.—During each of the first three fis-
cal years for which amounts are first made 
available for grants under this section, the Sec-
retary shall select units of general local govern-
ment, or consortia consisting of units of general 
local government, to be new participants in the 
demonstration program under this section, from 
each of the following categories as follows: 
(i) SMALLER
UNITS
OF
GENERAL 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—During each such 
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fiscal year, the Secretary shall select not 
more than five units of general local gov-
ernment having a population of 150,000 or 
less, as measured by decennial census data, 
or in the case of consortia of units of gen-
eral local government, consortia in which 
the largest unit of general local govern-
ment has such a population, except that at 
no time may there be more than a total of 
15 participants in the demonstration pro-
gram pursuant to this clause. 
(ii) LARGER
UNITS
OF
GENERAL 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—During each such 
fiscal year, the Secretary shall select not 
more than five units of general local gov-
ernment having a population of exceeding 
150,000, as measured by decennial census 
data, or in the case of consortia of units of 
general local government, consortia in 
which the largest unit of general local gov-
ernment has such a population, except that 
at no time may there be more than a total 
of 15 participants in the demonstration 
program pursuant to this clause. 
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(B) SUBSTANTIAL
POPULATION
LOSS.— 
The Secretary shall ensure that at least five ap-
plicants selected pursuant to subparagraph (A) 
in each fiscal year in which new applicants are 
selected for participation meet the eligibility 
standard set forth in subsection (b)(1). 
(5) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS AND SELEC-
TION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall establish eval-
uation and selection criteria for participation in the 
demonstration program under this section, which 
shall include the following criteria: 
(A) REGIONAL
COLLABORATION.—If fea-
sible or appropriate, the extent to which an ap-
plicant proposes to foster regional collaboration 
among and across governments, and with pri-
vate and non-profit organizations, in addressing 
vacant and abandoned properties, such as the 
establishment of one or more— 
(i) regional vacant property reclama-
tion strategies; 
(ii) regional land banks to gain public 
control of such properties; 
(iii) regional real property data sys-
tems; and 
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(iv) regional vacant property action 
plans that target and coordinate other 
Federal, State, local and nonprofit funds 
and resources to identified communities 
and neighborhoods. 
(B) TARGETING FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN 
NEIGHBORHOODS
AND
GREEN
INFRASTRUC-
TURE.—The extent to which an applicant pro-
poses to reposition for the future its jurisdiction 
or the jurisdictions within a consortium, by tar-
geting resources and investment in clusters of 
sustainable urban neighborhoods and by estab-
lishing networks of green infrastructure. 
(C) PARTNERING TO IMPLEMENT REGEN-
ERATION PLAN.—The extent to which an appli-
cant proposes to partner with institutions such 
as universities, museums, historic preservation 
organizations, neighborhood and community or-
ganizations, Federal, State, and local govern-
ments, and other organizations or entities 
whose participation would promote the success-
ful implementation of a regeneration plan. 
(D) VACANT PROPERTY RECLAMATION.— 
The extent to which an applicant proposes to 
design and develop policy and programmatic in-
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novations that foster vacant property reclama-
tion, such as code reforms and performance- 
based regulatory approaches. 
(E) SEVERITY
OF
VACANT
AND
ABAN-
DONED PROPERTY PROBLEMS.—The severity of 
the problem of vacant and abandoned property 
within an applicant’s or applicants’ jurisdiction 
or jurisdictions. 
(F) CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT.—The ca-
pacity of an applicant or applicants to imple-
ment a regeneration plan, including its ability 
to demonstrate quantifiable outcomes such as 
the potential to enhance property values, im-
prove ecosystems, and benefit public health. 
(G) COMMITMENT.—The level of commit-
ment of an applicant or applicants, and any or-
ganizational partners, to the implementation of 
a regeneration plan. 
(H) POTENTIAL
FOR
LIVABILITY.—The 
potential for a regeneration plan to promote the 
overall livability of a jurisdiction or jurisdictions 
for current residents. 
(i) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING.— 
(1) REQUIRED PERFORMANCE PLAN.—A unit of 
general local government, or consortium of such 
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units, selected for participation in the demonstration 
program under this section may not enter into a co-
operative agreement with the Secretary or receive 
any grant under this section unless the unit or con-
sortium has prepared, submitted to the Secretary, 
and had approved by the Secretary, a performance 
plan for implementing its regeneration plan, which 
shall include provisions for public participation and 
such other elements as the Secretary may prescribe. 
(2) ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION 
REPORTS.— 
(A) REQUIREMENT.—Each participant in 
the demonstration program under this Section 
that receives grant amounts under this section 
shall submit to the Secretary, in such form and 
by such deadlines as the Secretary may require, 
an annual performance and evaluation report 
concerning the use of funds made available 
under this Act, which shall include financial dis-
closure information and any other information 
as the Secretary may prescribe. 
(B) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—Before sub-
mitting an annual performance and evaluation 
report to the Secretary, a participant shall be 
make the report publicly available in the par-
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ticipant’s jurisdiction or jurisdictions in suffi-
cient time to permit citizens of such jurisdiction 
to comment on such report before its submis-
sion, and in such manner and at such times as 
the participant may determine. 
(3) REVIEWS.—The Secretary shall periodically 
make such reviews as may be necessary or appro-
priate to determine the progress of demonstration 
program participants in meeting their performance 
objectives identified in their performance plan pursu-
ant to paragraph (1) and identified in their reports 
pursuant to paragraph (2). 
(4) SANCTIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to assist-
ance made available under this section and sub-
ject to paragraph (3), if the Secretary deter-
mines that a participant in the demonstration 
program under this section grantee has sub-
stantially failed to meet its performance objec-
tives and outcomes, the Secretary may deter-
mine that the grantee is no longer in good 
standing and may reduce or limit the assistance 
under this section to the participant, or take 
other action as appropriate in accordance with 
the Secretary’s review and as provided in regu-
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lations issued by the Secretary to carry out this 
Act, except that any grant amounts already ex-
pended on eligible activities under this section 
shall not be recaptured or deducted from future 
assistance to such participant. 
(B) REMEDIAL
PLANS.—In cases where 
the Secretary takes action against a grantee 
pursuant to paragraph (1), the grantee shall 
submit a remedial plan for approval by the Sec-
retary that outlines the actions the grantee will 
take to ensure it meets its performance objec-
tives in the future. 
SEC. 4. PLANNING GRANTS AND SUSTAINABILITY DEM-
ONSTRATION PROJECT GRANTS. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—To the extent that amounts are 
made available in advance in appropriation Acts, the Sec-
retary may make grants to units of general local govern-
ment and consortia of units of general local government 
as follows: 
(1) PLANNING
GRANTS.—Grants under sub-
section (c) for development of regeneration plans. 
(2) SUSTAINABILITY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT 
GRANTS.—Grants under subsection (d) for carrying 
out sustainability demonstration projects. 
(b) TERMS.— 
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(1) AMOUNT.—A grant made under this section 
in any fiscal year to any one unit of general local 
government or consortium of units of general local 
government shall not exceed $250,000. 
(2) INELIGIBILITY.—A participant in the dem-
onstration program under section 3 shall not be eli-
gible to receive a grant under this section. 
(c) 
REGENERATION
COMMUNITIES
PLANNING 
GRANTS.—A grant under this subsection shall be used to 
develop a regeneration plan in accordance with the re-
quirements of section 3(h)(2), except that such amounts 
may be used for the purposes listed in section 3(e)(1)(E) 
and for providing technical assistance. 
(d) SUSTAINABILITY DEMONSTRATION GRANTS.— 
(1) COMPETITION.—Grants under this sub-
section shall be made on a competitive basis. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants under this subsection 
shall not be made to units of general local govern-
ment and consortia of such units that are partici-
pants in the demonstration program under section 3. 
(3) ELIGIBLE USES.—Amounts from a grant 
made under this subsection shall be used for car-
rying out specific short-term demonstration projects 
that are in accordance with the sustainability goals 
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of this Act, which may include one or more of the 
following projects: 
(A) Design and creation of interim and 
permanent open space and networks of green 
infrastructure, low impact development, and 
storm water management activities. 
(B) Establishment of recovered building 
materials, reuse and recycling infrastructure, 
facilities, creation of incentives, and technical 
support. 
(C) Development or expansion of urban ag-
riculture initiatives, including community sup-
ported agriculture and farmers markets. 
(D) Development of infrastructure to 
produce renewable energy on vacant land, in-
cluding solar energy, wind power, and geo-
thermal power. 
(E) Creation of workshops and training for 
green collar jobs to support sustainability dem-
onstration projects. 
(F) Development of any other innovative, 
sustainability projects that would further the 
purposes of this Act, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
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(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—A grant under 
this subsection may not exceed 4 times the amount 
that the grantee certifies to the Secretary are com-
mitted for use for the eligible uses under paragraph 
(3) to be carried out by the grantee using grant 
amounts. 
SEC. 5. FEDERAL INTERAGENCY REGENERATION COMMU-
NITIES COORDINATING COUNCIL. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall convene 
a Federal Interagency Regeneration Communities Coordi-
nating Council whose members shall include— 
(1) representatives of Federal agencies, includ-
ing designees of the Secretary of Energy, the Sec-
retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development, and the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency; and 
(2) representatives of non-Federal entities, such 
as academic institution, nonprofit organizations, and 
lending institutions. 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) FEDERAL AGENCY SUPPORT PLANS.—The 
Council shall develop Federal agency support plans 
for communities receiving grants under this Act that 
shall include— 
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(A) offering technical assistance to grant-
ees under this Act through a network of local 
and national vacant property assistance pro-
viders; 
(B) assigning staff through intergovern-
mental personnel agreements; 
(C) offering guidance and technical assist-
ance to program applicants on leveraging and 
coordinating 
funding 
from 
other 
Federal 
sources in regeneration plans, especially assist-
ance provided by the Economic Development 
Administration, the Environmental Protection 
Agency, and the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, particularly the commu-
nity development block grant program under 
title I of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); and 
(D) to the extent feasible, instituting alter-
native performance-based regulatory approaches 
and standards. 
(2) 
ALTERNATIVE
REGULATORY
AP-
PROACHES.—To the extent feasible and appropriate, 
the designee of the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development shall work with the designees of the 
other Federal agencies to institute alternative regu-
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latory approaches and standards by such other Fed-
eral agencies in order to better facilitate the imple-
mentation of regeneration plans. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
shall apply: 
(1) COMPLETE
STREETS
PRINCIPLES.—The 
term ‘‘complete streets principles’’ means transpor-
tation laws, policies, or principles that ensure— 
(A) all users of the transportation system, 
including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit 
users as well as children, older people, motor-
ists, and those with disabilities, are adequately 
accommodated in all phases of project planning 
and development; and 
(B) that the safety and convenience of all 
users are considered in all phases of project 
planning and development. 
(2) 
DECONSTRUCTION.—The 
term 
‘‘deconstruction’’ means the selective dismantlement 
of building components for reuse and recycling. 
(3) 
GREEN
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 
term 
‘‘green infrastructure’’ means the interim and per-
manent reuse of vacant properties for an inter-
connected network of open spaces, trails, and nat-
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ural areas, such as greenways, wetlands, parks, for-
est preserves, and native plant vegetation that can 
naturally manage stormwater, reduce flooding risks, 
improve water quality, and reduce urban heat is-
lands. 
(4) LAND
BANK.—The term ‘‘land bank’’ 
means a governmental, quasi-governmental, or non- 
profit entity established, at least in part, to assemble 
and manage surplus property for eventual conversion 
to productive use, or for holding for other strategic 
long-term purposes. 
(5) NEW URBANISM.—The term ‘‘new urban-
ism’’ means neighborhood design that incorporates 
concepts that promote community function, environ-
mental balance, social integration, pedestrian-friend-
ly streets, and dense development, among other 
things, in order to encourage a sense of community 
among neighborhood residents. 
(6) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ 
means a unit of general local government, or a con-
sortium of units of general local government, that 
has— 
(A) been selected for participation in the 
demonstration program under section 3; and 
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(B) entered into a cooperative agreement 
with the Secretary pursuant to section 3(c). 
(7) PERFORMANCE-BASED
REGULATION.—The 
term ‘‘performance-based regulation’’ means regula-
tion focused on results or outcomes of performance, 
rather than a prescriptive process, technique, or pro-
cedure. 
(8) REGIONAL
LAND
BANK.—The term ‘‘re-
gional land bank’’ means a land bank controlled by 
an entity comprising of, or representing more than, 
one unit of general local government. 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
(10) SMART
GROWTH.—The term ‘‘smart 
growth’’ means concentrating resources and new de-
velopment in areas in or near existing urban and 
neighborhood centers served by public transportation 
and other existing infrastructure. 
(11) SUSTAINABILITY
PROJECT.—The term 
‘‘sustainability project’’ means a program or project 
that integrates innovative ways to conserve re-
sources, reduce harmful emissions, protect public 
health, enhance the natural and built environments, 
and facilitate social equity. 
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