Code of Maine Rules › 19 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › 498 - OFFICE OF TOURISM AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › Chapter 44 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM › Section 498-44-2 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM
The Housing Assistance Grant (HA) Program provides funding to
				  address housing problems of low-and moderate-income persons. Housing Assistance
				  Program (HA) funds will be distributed through an annual grant application
				  selection process.
1.
Eligibility Requirements for Housing Assistance Applications:
Communities may not submit a HA single family rehabilitation application if
				they have received or benefited from two HA awards within the five (5) year
				period prior to the CDBG program year for which applications are being
				accepted. Multi-jurisdictional applications with more than 3 communities will
				not be accepted.
2.
Eligible
				Activities:
Eligible HA activities are rehabilitation of occupied or
				vacant single-family or multi-family housing units, same site replacement
				housing, relocation assistance, acquisition, alternative housing, energy
				conservation, correction of code violations, conversion of non-residential
				structures, demolition, down payment assistance, first time homebuyer's
				programs, lead based paint removal, new housing construction as allowed by HUD
				regulations, provision of potable water or sewer, removal of architectural
				barriers and eligible planning activities necessary to complete the Project
				Development Phase.
3.
Exclusions:
See Section 1H(6) (7).
4. Matching Funds: Applicants for housing
				activities must provide a match (cash or in-kind) of at least
10 %
				of the total HA grant award
; except for eligible new housing
				construction activities which must provide a cash match of at least
20% of the total HA grant award
.
5.
Maximum HA Grant Amount:
$1,000,000
6.
Maximum
				Administrative Costs:
The HA Program allows expenditures for general
				and/or rehabilitation administration. The total general and rehabilitation
				administration expenditures may not exceed 15% of the grant amount.
Please refer to OCD Policy Statement #2 for more information regarding
				CDBG administrative costs.
7.
Section 8 H ousing Quality
				Standards:
All units assisted orcreated with HA funds must, if possible,
				meet HUD Section 8 M inimum Housing Quality Standards. This does not apply to
				projects undertaken to correct specific emergency health and safety issues
				only, i.e. wells, septic, heating units, removal of hazardous materials, energy
				conservation etc.
8.
Administrative Capabilities for Housing Rehabilitation Applicants:
Applicants for HA assistance must demonstrate at the time of submitting the
				Letter of Intent that they have the capacity to administer the program either
				through municipal staff that is a qualified CDBG Rehabilitation Technician; or
				have completed a procurement process under the guidelines of the CDBG program
				(24 CFR Part 85) to hire a qualified CDBG Rehabilitation Technician subject to
				award of a HA contract.
9.
Selection Process:
The selection process for all HA applications
				will consist of two stages:
(a) Stage 1:
Letter of
				  Intent
:
All communities wishing to submit a HA
				  application must submit a Letter of Intent to OCD on or before March 11, 2016
				  according to the requirements set forth in the 2016 Housing Assistance
				  Application Package.
(b)
				Stage 2:
Application
:
The maximum length of an application is
four pages (not counting required
				  attachments)
. The application deadline for the HA Program is 4:00PM on
				  May 3, 2016. Members of the Review Team will assign a Review Point Total for
				  each application reviewed. Review Point Totals will consist of the sum of the
				  three scoring areas below and be determined by the total of each sub-scoring
				  area. A maximum of 100 points is obtainable.
Impact
(40 points):
A description of the specific housing problems to be
					 addressed with HA funds - 15 points
												 How the problems were identified - 10
					 points
												 How these issues affect LMI persons in the community
					 orregion - 15 points
Development Strategy
(40
				  points):
A description of the plan proposed to implement the
					 housing project - 20 points
												Summary of the activities and use of HA funds -20
					 points
Citizen Participation
(20
				  points):
How overall citizen participation process directly
					 relates to identification of solution strategies and application development -
					 4 points
												Effective use of any media (newspapers, radio, TV,
					 etc.) to further public awareness and participation - 4 points 
												Relevance of listed meeting/hearing activities/comments
					 (not counting required public hearing) on application and project development -
					 4 points
												Involvement of potential LMI project beneficiaries in
					 development of the application and project and how the required public hearing
					 relates to the application development and citizen participation process - 4
					 points
												How other local resources (cash and in-kind) are
					 directly related to the project and the establishment of a cash value
					 equivalent for all in-kind commitments - 4 points
11.
Final Application Score
-
				Each application will receive a Final Application Score consisting of the
				average of the scores assigned by members of the Review Team. Starting at the
				top of the scoring list, applicants will be invited to proceed to the Project
				Development Phase as funds allow.