§ 91.100 - Consultation; local governments.

§ 91.100 Consultation; local governments.

Cross Reference

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

(a) General.

(1) When preparing the AFH and the consolidated plan, the jurisdiction shall consult with other public and private agencies that provide assisted housing, health services, and social services (including those focusing on services to children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, persons with HIV/AIDS and their families, homeless persons), community-based and regionally-based organizations that represent protected class members, and organizations that enforce fair housing laws. When preparing the consolidated plan, the jurisdiction shall also consult with public and private organizations. Commencing with consolidated plans submitted on or after January 1, 2018, such consultations shall include broadband internet service providers, organizations engaged in narrowing the digital divide, agencies whose primary responsibilities include the management of flood prone areas, public land or water resources, and emergency management agencies.

(2) When preparing the portions of the consolidated plan describing the jurisdiction's homeless strategy and the resources available to address the needs of homeless persons (particularly chronically homeless individuals and families, families with children, veterans and their families, and unaccompanied youth) and persons at risk of homelessness, the jurisdiction must consult with:

(i) The Continuum(s) of Care that serve(s) the jurisdiction's geographic area;

(ii) Public and private agencies that address housing, health, social service, victim services, employment, or education needs of low-income individuals and families; homeless individuals and families, including homeless veterans; youth; and/or other persons with special needs;

(iii) Publicly funded institutions and systems of care that may discharge persons into homelessness (such as health-care facilities, mental health facilities, foster care and other youth facilities, and corrections programs and institutions); and

(iv) Business and civic leaders.

(3) When preparing the portion of its consolidated plan concerning lead-based paint hazards, the jurisdiction shall consult with state or local health and child welfare agencies and examine existing data related to lead-based paint hazards and poisonings, including health department data on the addresses of housing units in which children have been identified as lead poisoned.

(4) When preparing the description of priority nonhousing community development needs, a unit of general local government must notify adjacent units of general local government, to the extent practicable. The nonhousing community development plan must be submitted to the state, and, if the jurisdiction is a CDBG entitlement grantee other than an urban county, to the county.

(5) The jurisdiction also should consult with adjacent units of general local government and local and regional government agencies, including local government agencies with metropolitan-wide planning and transportation responsibilities, particularly for problems and solutions that go beyond a single jurisdiction.

(b) HOPWA. The largest city in each eligible metropolitan statistical area (EMSA) that is eligible to receive a HOPWA formula allocation must consult broadly to develop a metropolitan-wide strategy for addressing the needs of persons with HIV/AIDS and their families living throughout the EMSA. All jurisdictions within the EMSA must assist the jurisdiction that is applying for a HOPWA allocation in the preparation of the HOPWA submission.

(c) Public housing agencies (PHAs).

(1) The jurisdiction shall consult with local PHAs operating in the jurisdiction regarding consideration of public housing needs, planned programs and activities, the AFH, strategies for affirmatively furthering fair housing, and proposed actions to affirmatively further fair housing in the consolidated plan. (See also 24 CFR 5.158 for coordination when preparing an AFH jointly with a PHA.) This consultation will help provide a better basis for the certification by the authorized official that the PHA Plan is consistent with the consolidated plan and the local government's description of its strategy for affirmatively furthering fair housing and the manner in which it will address the needs of public housing and, where necessary, the manner in which it will provide financial or other assistance to a troubled PHA to improve the PHA's operations and remove the designation of troubled, as well as obtaining PHA input on addressing fair housing issues in the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.

(2) This consultation will also help ensure that activities with regard to affirmatively furthering fair housing, local drug elimination, neighborhood improvement programs, and resident programs and services, those funded under a PHA's program and those funded under a program covered by the consolidated plan, are fully coordinated to achieve comprehensive community development goals and affirmatively further fair housing. If a PHA is required to implement remedies under a Voluntary Compliance Agreement, the local jurisdiction should work with or consult with the PHA, as appropriate, to identify actions the jurisdiction may take, if any, to assist the PHA in implementing the required remedies. A local jurisdiction may use CDBG funds for eligible activities or other funds to implement remedies required under a Voluntary Compliance Agreement.

(d) Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG). A jurisdiction that receives an ESG grant must consult with the Continuum of Care in determining how to allocate its ESG grant for eligible activities; in developing the performance standards for, and evaluating the outcomes of, projects and activities assisted by ESG funds; and in developing funding, policies, and procedures for the operation and administration of the HMIS.

(e) Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.

(1) The jurisdiction shall consult with community-based and regionally-based organizations that represent protected class members, and organizations that enforce fair housing laws, such as State or local fair housing enforcement agencies (including participants in the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP)), fair housing organizations and other nonprofit organizations that receive funding under the Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP), and other public and private fair housing service agencies, to the extent that such entities operate within its jurisdiction. This consultation will help provide a better basis for the jurisdiction's AFH, its certification to affirmatively further fair housing, and other portions of the consolidated plan concerning affirmatively furthering fair housing.

(2) This consultation must occur with any organizations that have relevant knowledge or data to inform the AFH and that are sufficiently independent and representative to provide meaningful feedback to a jurisdiction on the AFH, the consolidated plan, and their implementation.

(3) Consultation must occur at various points in the fair housing planning process, meaning that, at a minimum, the jurisdiction will consult with the organizations described in this paragraph (e) in the development of both the AFH and the consolidated plan. Consultation on the consolidated plan shall specifically seek input into how the goals identified in an accepted AFH inform the priorities and objectives of the consolidated plan.

[60 FR 1896, Jan. 5, 1995, as amended at 71 FR 6962, Feb. 9, 2006; 76 FR 75967, Dec. 5, 2011; 80 FR 42360, July 16, 2015; 81 FR 91011, Dec. 16, 2016; 85 FR 47906, Aug. 7, 2020]