Activities Eligible for CDGB Funding

1. The acquisition of real property, (including air rights, water rights, and other interests therein) which is: (a) blighted, deteriorated, deteriorating, undeveloped, or inappropriately developed from the standpoint of sound community development and growth; (b) appropriate for rehabilitation or conservation activities; (c) appropriate for the preservation or restoration of historic sites, the beautification of urban land, the conservation of open spaces, natural resources, and scenic areas, the provision of recreational opportunities, or the guidance of urban development; (d) to be used for the provision of public works, facilities, and improvements eligible for assistance under Title I; or (e) to be used for other public purposes;
2. the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or installation (including design features and improvements with respect to such construction, reconstruction, or installation that promote energy efficiency) of public works, facilities (except for buildings for the general conduct of government), and site or other improvements;
3. code enforcement in deteriorated or deteriorating areas in which such enforcement, together with public or private improvements or services to be provided, may be expected to arrest the decline of the area;
4. clearance, demolition, removal, reconstruction and rehabilitation (including rehabilitation which promotes energy efficiency) of buildings and improvements (including interim assistance, and financing public or private acquisition for reconstruction or rehabilitation, and reconstruction or rehabilitation, of privately-owned properties and including the renovation of closed school buildings);
5. special projects directed to the removal of material and architectural barriers which restrict the mobility and accessibility of elderly and handicapped persons;
6. payments to housing owners for losses of rental income incurred in holding for temporary periods housing units to be utilized for the relocation of individuals and families displaced by activities under this title;
7. disposition (through sale, lease, donation, or otherwise) of any real property acquired pursuant to Title I, or its retention for public purposes;
8. provisions of public services, including but not limited to those concerned with employment, crime prevention, child care, health, drug abuse, education, energy conservation, welfare or recreation needs, if such services have not been provided by the unit of general local government (through funds raised by such unit, or received by such unit from the state in which it is located) during any part of the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of submission of the Statement with respect to which funds are to be made available under Title I, and which are to be used for such services, unless the Secretary finds that the discontinuation of such services was the result of events not within the control of the unit of general local government, except that not more than 15 percent of the amount of any assistance to a unit of general local government (or in the case of non entitled communities not more than 15 percent statewide) under this title including program income may be used for activities under this paragraph unless such unit of general local government used more than 15 percent of the assistance received under this title for fiscal year 1982 or fiscal year 1983 for such activities (excluding any assistance received pursuant to Public Law 98-8), in which case such unit of general local government may use not more than the percentage or amount of such assistance used for such activities for such fiscal year, whichever method of calculation yields the higher amount, and except that of any amount of assistance under this title (including program income) in each of the fiscal years 1993 through 1998 to the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles, each such unit of general government may not use more than 25 percent in each such fiscal year for activities under this paragraph;
9. payment of the non-federal share required in connection with a federal grant-in-aid program undertaken as part of activities assisted under Title I;
10. payment of the cost of completing a project funded under Title I of the Housing Act of 1949;
11. relocation payments and assistance for displaced individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and farm operations, when determined by the grantee to be appropriate;
12. activities necessary to: (a) develop a comprehensive community development plan; and (b) to develop a policy-planning-management capacity so that the recipient of assistance under this title may more rationally and effectively (i) determine its needs, (ii) set long-term goals and short-term objectives, (iii) devise programs and activities to meet these goals and objectives, (iv) evaluate the progress of such programs in accomplishing these goals and objectives, and (v) carry out management, coordination, and monitoring of activities necessary for effective planning and implementation;
13. payment of reasonable administrative costs related to establishing and administering federally approved enterprise zones and payment of reasonable administrative costs and carrying charges related to: (a) administering the HOME program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act; and (b) the planning and execution of community development and housing activities, including the provision of information and resources to residents of areas in which community development and housing activities are to be concentrated with respect to the planning and execution of such activities, and including the carrying-out of activities as described in section 701(e) of the Housing Act of 1954 on the date prior to the date of enactment of the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1981;
14. provisions of assistance including loans (both interim and long term) and grants for activities which are carried out by public or private non-profit entities, including:  (a) acquisition of real property; (b) acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or installation of (i) public facilities (except for buildings for the general conduct of government), site improvements, and utilities, and (ii) commercial or industrial buildings or structures or other commercial and industrial real property improvements; and (c) planning;
15. assistance to neighborhood-based non-profit organizations, local development corporations, nonprofit organizations serving the development needs of the communities in non-entitlement areas, or entities organized under section 301(d) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to carry out a neighborhood revitalization or community economic development or energy conservation project in furtherance of the objectives of section 101(c), and assistance to neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations, or other private or public nonprofit organizations, for the purpose of assisting, as part of neighborhood revitalization or other community development, the development of shared housing opportunities (other than by construction of new facilities) in which elderly families (as defined in section 3(b)(3) of the United States Housing Act of 1937) benefit as a result of living in a dwelling in which the facilities are shared with others in a manner that effectively and efficiently meets the housing needs of the residents and thereby reduces their cost of housing;
16. activities necessary to the development of energy use strategies related to recipient’s development goals, to assure that those goals are achieved with maximum energy efficiency, including items such as:  (a) an analysis of the manner in, and the extent to, which energy conservation objectives will be integrated into local government operations, purchasing and service delivery, capital improvements budgeting, waste management, district hearing and cooling, land use planning and zoning, and traffic control, parking, and public transportation functions; and (b) a statement of the actions the recipient will take to foster energy conservation and the use of renewable energy resources in the private sector, including the enactment and enforcement of local codes and ordinances to encourage or mandate energy conservation or use of renewable energy resources, financial and other assistance to be provided (principally for the benefit of low- and moderate-income persons) to make energy conserving improvements to residential structures, and any other proposed energy conservation activities;
17. provision of assistance to private, for-profit entities, when the assistance is appropriate to carry-out an economic development project (that shall minimize, to the extent practicable, displacement of existing businesses and jobs in neighborhoods) that: (a) creates or retains jobs for low- and moderate-income persons; (b) prevents or eliminates slums and blight; (c) meets urgent needs; (d) creates or retains businesses owned by community residents; (e) assists businesses that provide goods or services needed by, and affordable to, low- and moderate-income residents; or (f) provides technical assistance to promote any of the activities under subparagraphs (a) through (e);
18. the rehabilitation or development of housing assisted under Section 17 of the United States Housing Act of 1937;
19. provision of technical assistance to public or nonprofit entities to increase the capacity of such entities to carry out eligible neighborhood revitalization or economic development activities, which assistance shall not be considered a planning cost as defined in paragraph (12) or administrative costs as defined in paragraph (13);
20. housing services, such as housing counseling, in connection with tenant-based rental assistance and affordable housing projects assisted under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, energy auditing, preparation of work specifications, loan processing, inspections, tenant selection, management of tenant-based-rental assistance, and other services related to assisting owners, tenants, contractors, and other entities, participating or seeking to participate in housing activities assisted under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act;
21. provisions of assistance by recipients under this title to institutions of higher education having a demonstrated capacity to carry out eligible activities under this subsection for carrying out such activities;
22. provision of assistance to public and private organizations, agencies, and other entities (including nonprofit and for-profit entities) to enable such entities to facilitate economic development by (a) providing credit (including providing direct loans and loan guarantees, establishing revolving loan funds, and facilitating peer lending programs) for the establishment, stabilization, and expansion of micro enterprises; (b) providing technical assistance, advice, and business support services (including assistance, advice and support relating to developing business plans, securing funding, conducting marketing, and otherwise engaging in micro enterprise activities) to owners of micro enterprises and persons developing micro enterprises; and (c) providing general support (such as peer support programs and counseling) to owners of micro-enterprises and persons developing micro enterprises;
23. activities necessary to make essential repairs and to pay operating expenses necessary to maintain the habitability of housing units acquired through tax foreclosure proceedings in order to prevent abandonment and deterioration of such housing in primarily low- and moderate-income neighborhoods;
24. provision of direct assistance to facilitate and expand homeownership among persons of low and moderate income (except that such assistance shall not be considered a public service for purposes of paragraph (8)) by using such assistance to: (a) subsidize interest rates and mortgage principal amounts for low- and moderate-income homebuyers; (b) finance the acquisition by low-and moderate-income homebuyers of housing that is occupied by the homebuyers; (c) acquire guarantees for mortgage financing obtained by low- and moderate-income homebuyers from private lenders (except that amounts received under this title may not be used under this subparagraph to directly guarantee such mortgage financing and grantees under this title may not directly provide such guarantees); (d) provide up to 50 percent of any down payment required from low- or moderate-income homebuyer; or (e) pay reasonable closing costs (normally associated with the purchase of a home) incurred by a low or moderate income home-buyers; and
25. lead-based paint hazard evaluation and reduction, as defined in section 1004 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, as implemented by regulations at 24 C.F.R. Part 35.

In accordance with federal regulations, no activity listed as eligible under section 105(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (as amended) will be specifically excluded from any component of the Massachusetts Community Block Grant Program.