Sec. 555.104. - Program criteria and administrative procedures.

The Jacksonville Affordable Housing Program shall be governed by the following criteria and administrative procedures: A. Unless no funding is available due to a waiting list (in which case no notice of funding availability is required), the City acting by and through its Administrator shall advertise the notice of funding availability for the Housing Assistance Plan in a newspaper of general circulation and periodicals serving ethnic and diverse neighborhoods, at least 30 days before the beginning of the application period; B. In accordance with the provisions of F.S. §§ 760.20—760.37, the City, the Administrator and any person participating in or under the Housing Assistance Plan, and their respective officers, employees and agents shall not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, age, sex, marital status, familial status, national origin, or handicap in the loan award application process for eligible housing. C. As a condition of receipt of an award, the eligible sponsor or eligible person must contractually commit to comply with the affordable housing criteria provided under F.S. §§ 420.907—420.9079, applicable to the affordable housing objective of the award. The Housing Assistance Plan criteria shall prescribe the contractual obligations required to ensure compliance with award conditions so that failure to comply therewith shall permit the City acting by and through its Administrator to terminate the award, recover the full amount of the award, recover damages, expenses, costs and attorney's fees, terminate any other award to that eligible sponsor or eligible person, eliminate that eligible sponsor or eligible person from receiving any award until such aforesaid amounts have been paid to the satisfaction of the City acting by and through its administrator, or such other action as may ensure compliance with the award conditions including but not limited to providing financial guarantee, surety, letter of credit, insurance, cash reserve or other similar financial device, or any combination of all or any of the foregoing. D. The Administrator shall annually monitor and determine tenant eligibility in regard to assistance awarded to rental developments. E. The following criteria shall be applicable to Awards made to eligible sponsors or eligible persons for the purpose of providing: 1. At least 65 percent of the funds from the Jacksonville Housing Distribution must be reserved for home ownership for eligible persons or households; 2. At least 75 percent of the funds from the Jacksonville Housing Distribution must be reserved for construction, rehabilitation or emergency repair of affordable eligible housing. 3. The sales price or value of new or existing eligible housing may not exceed 90 percent of the median area purchase price in the area where the eligible housing is located, as established by the United States Department of Treasury. 4. All units constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted with funds from the trust fund must be occupied by very low-income persons, low-income-persons or moderate-income persons. At least 30 percent of the funds deposited into the trust fund must be reserved for awards to very-low-income persons or eligible sponsors who will serve very low-income persons and at least an additional 30 percent of the funds deposited into the trust fund must be reserved for awards to low-income persons or eligible sponsors who will serve low-income persons. 5. Loans shall be provided for periods not exceeding 30 years, except for deferred payment loans or loans that extend beyond 30 years which continue to serve eligible persons. 6. Loans or grants for eligible rental housing constructed, rehabilitated or otherwise assisted with funds from the trust fund must be subject to recapture requirements as provided by the City in its housing assistance plan unless reserved for eligible persons for a term of 15 years or for the term of the assistance, whichever term is longer. Eligible sponsors that offer rental housing for sale before 15 years or that have remaining mortgages made from the trust fund must give a right of first refusal to eligible nonprofit organizations for purchase at the current market value for continued occupancy by eligible persons. 7. Loans or grants for eligible owner-occupied housing constructed, rehabilitated or otherwise assisted with funds from the trust fund shall be subject to recapture provisions which are identical to those specified in Section 143 et seq. of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which govern the use of proceeds of mortgage revenue bonds or such other recapture provisions as provided in the Housing Assistance Plan. 8. The total amount of monthly mortgage payments or the amount of monthly rent charged by the eligible sponsor or its designee must be made affordable. 9. The maximum sales price or value per unit and the maximum award per unit for eligible housing benefiting from awards made using funds from the trust fund must be established in the Housing Assistance Plan. 10. The benefit of assistance provided through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program must accrue to eligible persons occupying eligible housing. This provision shall not be construed to prohibit use of the Jacksonville Housing Distributions for a mixed-income rental development. 11. Funds from the Jacksonville Housing Distribution not used to meet the criteria established in subsections 1. or 2. immediately above or not used for the administration of the Housing Assistance Plan must be used for housing production and finance activities, including, but not limited to, financing the purchase of existing units, providing rental housing, and providing home ownership training to prospective home buyers and owners of homes assisted through the Housing Assistance Plan. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 1. or 2. immediately above, program income as defined in subsection 555.102.DD. hereof may also be used to fund activities described in this subsection. If both an award under the Housing Assistance Plan and federal low-income housing tax credits are used to assist a project and there is a conflict between the criteria prescribed in this Section and the requirements of Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the Administrator may resolve the conflict by giving precedence to the requirements of Section 42 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in lieu of following the criteria prescribed in this subsection with the exception of subsections 1 or 2 immediately above and of this Section. 12. Funds from the trust fund shall not be used as a pledge to pay the debt service on any bonds or as rent subsidies, however this does not prohibit the use of such funds for security and utility deposit assistance. (Ord. 98-570-E, § 2)