42 U.S.C. § 1437v : US Code - Section 1437V: Demolition, site revitalization, replacement housing, and tenant-based assistance grants for projects

Search 42 U.S.C. § 1437v : US Code - Section 1437V: Demolition, site revitalization, replacement housing, and tenant-based assistance grants for projects

(a) Purposes
The purpose of this section is to provide assistance to public
housing agencies for the purposes of -
(1) improving the living environment for public housing
residents of severely distressed public housing projects through
the demolition, rehabilitation, reconfiguration, or replacement
of obsolete public housing projects (or portions thereof);
(2) revitalizing sites (including remaining public housing
dwelling units) on which such public housing projects are located
and contributing to the improvement of the surrounding
neighborhood;
(3) providing housing that will avoid or decrease the
concentration of very low-income families; and
(4) building sustainable communities.
It is also the purpose of this section to provide assistance to
smaller communities for the purpose of facilitating the development
of affordable housing for low-income families that is undertaken in
connection with a main street revitalization or redevelopment
project in such communities.
(b) Grant authority
The Secretary may make grants as provided in this section to
applicants whose applications for such grants are approved by the
Secretary under this section.
(c) Contribution requirement
(1) In general
The Secretary may not make any grant under this section to any
applicant unless the applicant certifies to the Secretary that
the applicant will -
(A) supplement the aggregate amount of assistance provided
under this section with an amount of funds from sources other
than this section equal to not less than 5 percent of the
amount provided under this section; and
(B) in addition to supplemental amounts provided in
accordance with subparagraph (A), if the applicant uses more
than 5 percent of the amount of assistance provided under this
section for services under subsection (d)(1)(L) of this
section, provide supplemental funds from sources other than
this section in an amount equal to the amount so used in excess
of 5 percent.
(2) Supplemental funds
In calculating the amount of supplemental funds provided by a
grantee for purposes of paragraph (1), the grantee may include
amounts from other Federal sources, any State or local government
sources, any private contributions, the value of any donated
material or building, the value of any lease on a building, the
value of the time and services contributed by volunteers, and the
value of any other in-kind services or administrative costs
provided.
(3) Exemption
If assistance provided under this subchapter will be used only
for providing tenant-based assistance under section 1437f of this
title or demolition of public housing (without replacement), the
Secretary may exempt the applicant from the requirements under
paragraph (1)(A).
(d) Eligible activities
(1) In general
Grants under this section may be used for activities to carry
out revitalization programs for severely distressed public
housing, including -
(A) architectural and engineering work;
(B) redesign, rehabilitation, or reconfiguration of a
severely distressed public housing project, including the site
on which the project is located;
(C) the demolition, sale, or lease of the site, in whole or
in part;
(D) covering the administrative costs of the applicant, which
may not exceed such portion of the assistance provided under
this section as the Secretary may prescribe;
(E) payment of reasonable legal fees;
(F) providing reasonable moving expenses for residents
displaced as a result of the revitalization of the project;
(G) economic development activities that promote the economic
self-sufficiency of residents under the revitalization program,
including a Neighborhood Networks initiative for the
establishment and operation of computer centers in public
housing for the purpose of enhancing the self-sufficiency,
employability, an (!1) economic self-reliance of public housing
residents by providing them with onsite computer access and
training resources;
(H) necessary management improvements;
(I) leveraging other resources, including additional housing
resources, retail supportive services, jobs, and other economic
development uses on or near the project that will benefit
future residents of the site;
(J) replacement housing (including appropriate homeownership
downpayment assistance for displaced residents or other
appropriate replacement homeownership activities) and rental
assistance under section 1437f of this title;
(K) transitional security activities; and
(L) necessary supportive services, except that not more than
15 percent of the amount of any grant may be used for
activities under this paragraph.
(2) Endowment trust for supportive services
In using grant amounts under this section made available in
fiscal year 2000 or thereafter for supportive services under
paragraph (1)(L), a public housing agency may deposit such
amounts in an endowment trust to provide supportive services over
such period of time as the agency determines. Such amounts shall
be provided to the agency by the Secretary in a lump sum when
requested by the agency, shall be invested in a wise and prudent
manner, and shall be used (together with any interest thereon
earned) only for eligible uses pursuant to paragraph (1)(L). A
public housing agency may use amounts in an endowment trust under
this paragraph in conjunction with other amounts donated or
otherwise made available to the trust for similar purposes.
(e) Application and selection
(1) Application
An application for a grant under this section shall demonstrate
the appropriateness of the proposal in the context of the local
housing market relative to other alternatives, and shall include
such other information and be submitted at such time and in
accordance with such procedures, as the Secretary shall
prescribe.
(2) Selection criteria
The Secretary shall establish criteria for the award of grants
under this section and shall include among the factors -
(A) the relationship of the grant to the public housing
agency plan for the applicant and how the grant will result in
a revitalized site that will enhance the neighborhood in which
the project is located and enhance economic opportunities for
residents;
(B) the capability and record of the applicant public housing
agency, or any alternative management entity for the agency,
for managing redevelopment or modernization projects, meeting
construction timetables, and obligating amounts in a timely
manner;
(C) the extent to which the applicant could undertake such
activities without a grant under this section;
(D) the extent of involvement of residents, State and local
governments, private service providers, financing entities, and
developers, in the development and ongoing implementation of a
revitalization program for the project, except that the
Secretary may not award a grant under this section unless the
applicant has involved affected public housing residents at the
beginning and during the planning process for the
revitalization program, prior to submission of an application;
(E) the need for affordable housing in the community;
(F) the supply of other housing available and affordable to
families receiving tenant-based assistance under section 1437f
of this title;
(G) the amount of funds and other resources to be leveraged
by the grant;
(H) the extent of the need for, and the potential impact of,
the revitalization program;
(I) the extent to which the plan minimizes permanent
displacement of current residents of the public housing site
who wish to remain in or return to the revitalized community
and provides for community and supportive services to residents
prior to any relocation;
(J) the extent to which the plan sustains or creates more
project-based housing units available to persons eligible for
public housing in markets where the plan shows there is demand
for the maintenance or creation of such units;
(K) the extent to which the plan gives to existing residents
priority for occupancy in dwelling units which are public
housing dwelling units, or for residents who can afford to live
in other units, priority for those units in the revitalized
community; and
(L) such other factors as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(3) Applicability of selection criteria
The Secretary may determine not to apply certain of the
selection criteria established pursuant to paragraph (2) when
awarding grants for demolition only, tenant-based assistance
only, or other specific categories of revitalization activities.
This section may not be construed to require any application for
a grant under this section to include demolition of public
housing or to preclude use of grant amounts for rehabilitation or
rebuilding of any housing on an existing site.
(f) Cost limits
Subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary -
(1) shall establish cost limits on eligible activities under
this section sufficient to provide for effective revitalization
programs; and
(2) may establish other cost limits on eligible activities
under this section.
(g) Disposition and replacement
Any severely distressed public housing disposed of pursuant to a
revitalization plan and any public housing developed in lieu of
such severely distressed housing, shall be subject to the
provisions of section 1437p of this title. Severely distressed
public housing demolished pursuant to a revitalization plan shall
not be subject to the provisions of section 1437p of this title.
(h) Administration by other entities
The Secretary may require a grantee under this section to make
arrangements satisfactory to the Secretary for use of an entity
other than the public housing agency to carry out activities
assisted under the revitalization plan, if the Secretary determines
that such action will help to effectuate the purposes of this
section.
(i) Withdrawal of funding
If a grantee under this section does not proceed within a
reasonable timeframe, in the determination of the Secretary, the
Secretary shall withdraw any grant amounts under this section that
have not been obligated by the public housing agency. The Secretary
shall redistribute any withdrawn amounts to one or more other
applicants eligible for assistance under this section or to one or
more other entities capable of proceeding expeditiously in the same
locality in carrying out the revitalization plan of the original
grantee.
(j) Definitions
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) Applicant
The term "applicant" means -
(A) any public housing agency that is not designated as
troubled pursuant to section 1437d(j)(2) of this title;
(B) any public housing agency for which a private housing
management agent has been selected, or a receiver has been
appointed, pursuant to section 1437d(j)(3) of this title; and
(C) any public housing agency that is designated as troubled
pursuant to section 1437d(j)(2) of this title and that -
(i) is so designated principally for reasons that will not
affect the capacity of the agency to carry out a
revitalization program;
(ii) is making substantial progress toward eliminating the
deficiencies of the agency; or
(iii) is otherwise determined by the Secretary to be
capable of carrying out a revitalization program.
(2) Severely distressed public housing
The term "severely distressed public housing" means a public
housing project (or building in a project) -
(A) that -
(i) requires major redesign, reconstruction or
redevelopment, or partial or total demolition, to correct
serious deficiencies in the original design (including
inappropriately high population density), deferred
maintenance, physical deterioration or obsolescence of major
systems and other deficiencies in the physical plant of the
project;
(ii) is a significant contributing factor to the physical
decline of and disinvestment by public and private entities
in the surrounding neighborhood;
(iii)(I) is occupied predominantly by families who are very
low-income families with children, are unemployed, and
dependent on various forms of public assistance;
(II) has high rates of vandalism and criminal activity
(including drug-related criminal activity) in comparison to
other housing in the area; or
(III) is lacking in sufficient appropriate transportation,
supportive services, economic opportunity, schools, civic and
religious institutions, and public services, resulting in
severe social distress in the project;
(iv) cannot be revitalized through assistance under other
programs, such as the program for capital and operating
assistance for public housing under this chapter, or the
programs under sections 1437g and 1437l of this title (as in
effect before the effective date under under (!2) section
503(a) (!2) the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act
of 1998), because of cost constraints and inadequacy of
available amounts; and
(v) in the case of individual buildings, is, in the
Secretary's determination, sufficiently separable from the
remainder of the project of which the building is part to
make use of the building feasible for purposes of this
section; or
(B) that was a project described in subparagraph (A) that has
been legally vacated or demolished, but for which the Secretary
has not yet provided replacement housing assistance (other than
tenant-based assistance).
(3) Supportive services
The term "supportive services" includes all activities that
will promote upward mobility, self-sufficiency, and improved
quality of life for the residents of the public housing project
involved, including literacy training, job training, day care,
transportation, and economic development activities.
(k) Grantee reporting
The Secretary shall require grantees of assistance under this
section to report the sources and uses of all amounts expended for
revitalization plans.
(l) Annual report
The Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report
setting forth -
(1) the number, type, and cost of public housing units
revitalized pursuant to this section;
(2) the status of projects identified as severely distressed
public housing;
(3) the amount and type of financial assistance provided under
and in conjunction with this section, including a specification
of the amount and type of assistance provided under subsection
(n) of this section;
(4) the types of projects funded, and number of affordable
housing dwelling units developed with, grants under subsection
(n) of this section; and
(5) the recommendations of the Secretary for statutory and
regulatory improvements to the program established by this
section.
(m) Funding
(1) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this
section $574,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
(2) Technical assistance and program oversight
Of the amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for any
fiscal year, the Secretary may use up to 2 percent for technical
assistance or contract expertise, including assistance in
connection with the establishment and operation of computer
centers in public housing through the Neighborhoods (!3) Networks
initiative described in subsection (d)(1)(G) of this section.
Such assistance or contract expertise may be provided directly or
indirectly by grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, and
shall include training, and the cost of necessary travel for
participants in such training, by or to officials of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, of public housing
agencies, and of residents.
(3) Set-aside for main street housing grants
Of the amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for any
fiscal year, the Secretary shall provide up to 5 percent for use
only for grants under subsection (n) of this section.
(n) Grants for assisting affordable housing developed through main
street projects in smaller communities
(1) Authority and use of grant amounts
The Secretary may make grants under this subsection to smaller
communities. Such grant amounts shall be used by smaller
communities only to provide assistance to carry out eligible
affordable housing activities under paragraph (4) in connection
with an eligible project under paragraph (2).
(2) Eligible project
For purposes of this subsection, the term "eligible project"
means a project that -
(A) the Secretary determines, under the criteria established
pursuant to paragraph (3), is a main street project;
(B) is carried out within the jurisdiction of a smaller
community receiving the grant; and
(C) involves the development of affordable housing that is
located in the commercial area that is the subject of the
project.
(3) Main street projects
The Secretary shall establish requirements for a project to be
considered a main street project for purposes of this section,
which shall require that the project -
(A) has as its purpose the revitalization or redevelopment of
a historic or traditional commercial area;
(B) involves investment, or other participation, by the
government for, and private entities in, the community in which
the project is carried out; and
(C) complies with such historic preservation guidelines or
principles as the Secretary shall identify to preserve
significant historic or traditional architectural and design
features in the structures or area involved in the project.
(4) Eligible affordable housing activities
For purposes of this subsection, the activities described in
subsection (d)(1) of this section shall be considered eligible
affordable housing activities, except that -
(A) such activities shall be conducted with respect to
affordable housing rather than with respect to severely
distressed public housing projects; and
(B) eligible affordable housing activities under this
subsection shall not include the activities described in
subparagraphs (B) through (E), (J), or (K) of subsection (d)(1)
of this section.
(5) Maximum grant amount
A grant under this subsection for a fiscal year for a single
smaller community may not exceed $1,000,000.
(6) Contribution requirement
A smaller community applying for a grant under this subsection
shall be considered an applicant for purposes of subsection (c)
of this section (relating to contributions by applicants), except
that -
(A) such supplemental amounts shall be used only for carrying
out eligible affordable housing activities; and
(B) paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) shall not apply to grants under
this subsection.
(7) Applications and selection
(A) Application
Pursuant to subsection (e)(1) of this section, the Secretary
shall provide for smaller communities to apply for grants under
this subsection, except that the Secretary may establish such
separate or additional criteria for applications for such
grants as may be appropriate to carry out this subsection.
(B) Selection criteria
The Secretary shall establish selection criteria for the
award of grants under this subsection, which shall be based on
the selection criteria established pursuant to subsection
(e)(2) of this section, with such changes as may be appropriate
to carry out the purposes of this subsection.
(8) Cost limits
The cost limits established pursuant to subsection (f) of this
section shall apply to eligible affordable housing activities
assisted with grant amounts under this subsection.
(9) Inapplicability of other provisions
The provisions of subsections (g) (relating to disposition and
replacement of severely distressed public housing), and (h)
(relating to administration of grants by other entities) of this
section, shall not apply to grants under this subsection.
(10) Reporting
The Secretary shall require each smaller community receiving a
grant under this subsection to submit a report regarding the use
of all amounts provided under the grant.
(11) Definitions
For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions
shall apply:
(A) Affordable housing
The term "affordable housing" means rental or homeownership
dwelling units that -
(i) are made available for initial occupancy to low-income
families, with a subset of units made available to very- and
extremely-low income families; and
(ii) are subject to the same rules regarding occupant
contribution toward rent or purchase and terms of rental or
purchase as dwelling units in public housing projects
assisted with a grant under this section.
(B) Smaller community
The term "smaller community" means a unit of general local
government (as such term is defined in section 5302 of this
title) that -
(i) has a population of 50,000 or fewer; and
(ii)(I) is not served by a public housing agency; or
(II) is served by a single public housing agency, which
agency administers 100 or fewer public housing dwelling
units.
(o) Sunset
No assistance may be provided under this section after September
30, 2006.