§ 5.156 - Joint and Regional AFHs.

§ 5.156 Joint and Regional AFHs.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 85 FR 47906, Aug. 7, 2020.

(a) General. For the purposes of sharing resources and addressing fair housing issues from a broader perspective, program participants are encouraged to collaborate to conduct and submit a single AFH, either a joint AFH or regional AFH (as defined in § 5.152), for the purpose of evaluating fair housing issues and contributing factors.

(1) Collaborating program participants, whether joint participants or regionally collaborating participants, need not be located in contiguous jurisdictions and may cross State boundaries, provided that the collaborating program participants are located within the same Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA), as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the time of submission of the joint or regional AFH.

(2) Program participants, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, that are either not located within the same CBSA or that are not located within the same State and seek to collaborate on an AFH, must submit a written request to HUD for approval of the collaboration, stating why the collaboration is appropriate. The collaboration may proceed upon approval by HUD.

(3) Collaborating program participants must designate, through express written consent, one participant as the lead entity to oversee the submission of the joint or regional AFH on behalf of all collaborating program participants. When collaborating to submit a joint or regional AFH, program participants may divide work as they choose, but all program participants are accountable for the analysis and any joint goals and priorities, and each collaborating program participant must sign the AFH submitted to HUD. Collaborating program participants are also accountable for their individual analysis, goals, and priorities to be included in the collaborative AFH.

(4) Program participants that intend to prepare either a joint or regional AFH shall promptly notify HUD of such intention and provide HUD with a copy of their written agreement.

(b) Coordinating program years and submission deadlines.

(1) To the extent practicable, all collaborating program participants must be on the same program year and fiscal year (as applicable) before submission of the joint AFH or regional AFH. (See § 5.160 and 24 CFR 91.10 and 903.5.) The applicable procedures for changing consolidated plan program participant program year start dates, if necessary, are described in 24 CFR 91.10. The applicable procedures for changing PHA fiscal year beginning dates, if necessary, are described in 24 CFR part 903.

(2) If alignment of a program year or fiscal year is not practicable, the submission deadline for a joint AFH or regional AFH must be based on the designated lead entity's program year start date or fiscal year beginning date (as applicable), as provided in § 5.160(c). Within 12 months after the date of AFH acceptance, each collaborating program participant that has a program year start date, or fiscal year beginning date, earlier than the designated lead entity must make appropriate revisions to its full consolidated plan (as described in § 91.15(b)(2) of this chapter), or PHA Plan and any plan incorporated therein, to incorporate strategies and proposed actions consistent with the fair housing goals, issues, and other elements identified in the joint AFH or regional AFH.

(c) Procedures for withdrawal from a joint or regional collaboration. A program participant that, for any reason, decides to withdraw from a previously arranged collaborative AFH must promptly notify HUD of the withdrawal. HUD will work with the withdrawing program participant, as well as the remaining collaborative participants, to determine whether a new submission date is needed for the withdrawing participant or the remaining participants. If a new submission date is needed for the withdrawing participant or the remaining participants, HUD will establish a submission date that is as close as feasible to the originally intended submission date and is no later than the original joint or regional submission date unless good cause for an extension is shown.

(d) Community participation. Collaborating program participants must have a plan for community participation that complies with the requirements of §§ 5.150 through 5.180. The community participation process must include residents, and other interested members of the public, in the jurisdictions of each collaborating program participant, and not just those of the lead entity. In addition, the community participation process must be conducted in a manner sufficient for each consolidated plan program participant collaborating in a joint AFH or regional AFH to certify that it is following its applicable citizen participation plan, and for each PHA, collaborating in a joint AFH or regional AFH, to satisfy the notice and comment requirements in 24 CFR part 903. To the extent that public notice and comment periods provided in §§ 5.150 through 5.180 or in the consolidated plan or PHA plan regulations differ, the longer period shall apply. A material change that requires any collaborating program participant to revise its AFH pursuant to § 5.164(a)(1) will trigger a requirement to revise the joint or regional AFH.

(e) Content of the joint or regional AFH. A joint or regional AFH must include the elements required under § 5.154(d). A joint or regional AFH does not relieve each collaborating program participant from its obligation to analyze and address local and regional fair housing issues and contributing factors that affect housing choice, and to set priorities and goals for its geographic area to overcome the effects of contributing factors and related fair housing issues.