The purpose of this chapter is to prescribe the policies and procedures for providing financial assistance for neighborhood revitalization projects, and for administering the Strategic Demolition and Smart Growth Impact Program. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Act” means Housing and Community Development Article, §4-508, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Application” means an application to the Department as described in Regulation .04 of this chapter. “Community development organization (CDO)” means a nonprofit organization that operates for the purpose of improving the physical, economic, or social environment of its geographic areas of operation. “Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development, a principal department of the State. “Financial assistance” means a grant or a loan. “Fund” means the Strategic Demolition and Smart Growth Impact Fund established under Housing and Community Development Article, §4-508, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Nonprofit organization” means a corporation, foundation, or other legal entity that specifies in its charter or bylaws that no part of the net earnings may inure to the benefit of a private shareholder or individual holding any interest in the entity. “Program” means the Strategic Demolition and Smart Growth Impact Program. “Project” means a neighborhood revitalization project consisting of predevelopment activities, including demolition, land assembly, architecture and engineering studies, and site development in a sustainable community. “Secretary” means the Secretary of Housing and Community Development. “Sustainable community” means the area that has been designated a sustainable community in accordance with Housing and Community Development Article, §6-202, Annotated Code of Maryland. To be eligible to receive financial assistance under the Program, an applicant shall meet the following minimum requirements: Be a government agency or a CDO; Not have defaulted on any prior financial assistance from the Department; Not be currently barred or suspended from any of the Department's programs; Have the legal capacity and all necessary legal authority to incur the obligations involved in the form of financial assistance provided under the Program; and If the applicant is a CDO, be in good standing and qualified to do business in Maryland. Financial assistance may be used for the following predevelopment costs and expenses on a project: Demolition; Land assembly; Architecture and engineering; and Site development. A recipient of financial assistance may grant or lend all or a portion of the financial assistance it receives from the Program to a designated third party to carry out the project in accordance with the terms and conditions of an agreement with the Department. Applications for financial assistance shall be accepted in one or more competitive rounds to be announced by the Department annually. An application submitted to the Department shall: Be on standard forms prescribed by the Department; Be submitted by an applicant that meets the requirements of Regulation .03A of this chapter; Be for a project that is located within a sustainable community; State the amount and type of financial assistance requested; Provide a comprehensive description of the applicant and project including: The public purpose of the project and the revitalization needs of the community that will be served; The compatibility of the project with local development plans or redevelopment plans; A projected timeline for implementation of the project; The ability of the applicant to carry out the proposed project in accordance with the projected timeline; Other public and private resources available for implementing the project; and The social and economic opportunities created by the project; Provide a budget, in a form acceptable to the Department, that at a minimum shows anticipated project costs and expenses, anticipated sources of project revenue, and identification of the revenues that can be used to repay the financial assistance provided by the Program if provided as a loan; Propose benchmarks for evaluating whether the proposed project results in a desired outcome such as community stabilization or reversing the social, economic, and physical decline of the sustainable community in which the project is located; Describe any public input the applicant has received on the proposed project, including the nature and extent of the public support for or in opposition to the proposed project; Demonstrate that, upon completion, the project will be in compliance with all applicable zoning requirements and standards as well as the applicable building code of the local jurisdiction in which the project is located; Demonstrate the ability to gain site control of the project through ownership, leasehold interest, contract, option, or other written agreement satisfactory to the Department; Provide evidence that the applicant has matching funds available for the project in the amounts required by Housing and Community Development Article, §4-508(g)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland, or in the competitive application round announcement; Describe whether historic properties or districts will be impacted and how the applicant will comply with the requirements of State Finance and Procurement Article, §§5A-325—5A-326, Annotated Code of Maryland, and Financial Institutions Article, §13-1112(b), Annotated Code of Maryland; and Include other information or documentation the Department may require. An application for financial assistance may be submitted to fund one or more projects. A recipient of financial assistance may file one or more applications in accordance with schedules established by the Department. Each application shall be submitted to the Department to determine whether all of the information required under Regulation .04 of this chapter is contained in the application. All complete project applications will be competitively evaluated by the Department on a point basis, which shall include the following criteria: Capacity of the applicant to carry out the project; Community context; Public purpose; Leveraging and cost-effectiveness; Geographic distribution; Unique or time-sensitive projects; Revitalization needs of the community; Economic development and revitalization opportunities created by the project; and Other factors established by the Department in the competitive round announcement. The Department, in its discretion, may: Accept public input on each application; Request from the applicant additional information concerning an application, including oral presentations; and Consider recommendations from other State units on each application. Upon the Department’s completion of the review and scoring of the applications, the Department shall make a recommendation to the Secretary on the applications. Upon receipt of the Department's recommendation, the Secretary: May request additional information from the applicant or Department concerning the application, including oral presentations; May give priority to applications that provide for the likely repayment of the financial assistance; and Shall act on the application by approving it, disapproving it, or approving it with modifications. If the Secretary determines not to approve all or part of an application, the Department shall issue a written notice of denial. Reconsideration. An applicant may request initial reconsideration of a denial by submitting a written request to the Department, which must be received by the Department within 30 days following the date of the denial notice. The request for reconsideration shall address each reason for the denial and provide documentation supporting reasons for reconsideration of the application. The Department shall respond in writing to the applicant's request for reconsideration within 90 days of receipt by the Department of the request for reconsideration. An initial decision or reconsideration of a decision is not a contested case within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act or COMAR 05.01.01.02. The Department may establish from time to time detailed program guidelines containing application schedules, procedures, underwriting standards, processing requirements, and other requirements or matters relating to the Program. The Department may establish fees related to the processing of applications, underwriting, and servicing of financial assistance. The Department shall ensure that program guidelines, fee information, and application forms are publicly available on its website and at its offices. After financial assistance has been awarded to a recipient of financial assistance, the Department may: Determine specific terms and conditions, including length of term and rate of interest, for the financial assistance, which may be awarded as grants, recoverable grants, unsecured loans, or loans secured by a mortgage or other lien or security interest, including a security interest that may be superior or subordinate to other mortgages, liens, or other security interests on the collateral; Require and obtain appraisals, credit information, and other information related to making loans and enforcing the terms and conditions; Enforce the terms of grants, loans, or other financial assistance according to their terms and conditions; Commence and pursue any action to protect or enforce any right conferred by law, contract, or other agreement; Modify any provision of any grant, loan, or other financial assistance in order to facilitate the successful completion or operation of a project; and Exercise all powers authorized under the Act that are necessary or desirable for the implementation of the Program. A recipient of financial assistance and the recipient’s contractors and subcontractors shall maintain the books, accounts, and records and shall file with the Department the financial and other reports the Department may from time to time require. All of these books, accounts, and records shall be open to the inspection of representatives of the Department or other agencies of the State during reasonable working hours. Books, accounts, and records of designated third parties, contractors, and subcontractors shall be maintained and made available for inspection for 3 years past the date of termination of the contractual relationship between a contractor or subcontractor and a recipient of financial assistance. A recipient of financial assistance shall submit reports to the Department on the progress or implementation of a project in accordance with an agreement with the Department. A recipient of financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or age, except with regard to age as permitted under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act, as amended from time to time, or other similar federal laws, in any aspect of the Program, or in any aspect of employment by any recipient of financial assistance in connection with any project financed or assisted under the Program. A recipient of financial assistance shall comply with all applicable federal, State, and local laws and Department policies and programs regarding discrimination and equal opportunity in employment, housing, credit practices, and drug and alcohol free workplaces, including: Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title VIII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1968, as amended; The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, as amended; State Government Article, Title 20, Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended; The Department’s Minority Business Enterprise Program, as amended; The Governor’s Executive Order 01.01.1989.18, Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace, and any Department or State regulations adopted or to be adopted to carry out the requirements of that Order; and The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. Covenants implementing these requirements, including affirmative action measures, shall be included in appropriate agreements between the Department and the recipient of financial assistance. The Secretary may waive or vary provisions of this chapter to the extent that the waiver or variance is consistent with the Act and if, in the written determination of the Secretary, the application of a regulation in a specific case or in an emergency situation would be inequitable or contrary to the purposes of the Act. An individual may not knowingly make or cause to be made a false statement or report in any document required to be furnished to the Secretary or the Department by an agreement relating to financial assistance. An individual who violates §A of this regulation is subject to immediate cancellation or acceleration of the financial assistance provided by the Program and any other penalties authorized by law. Housing and Community Development Article, §§2-111(a) and 4-508, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: August 14, 2017 (44:16 Md. R. 808)