[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 3]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR570.431]

[Page 97-99]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
  CHAPTER V--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND 
        DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 570_COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS--Table of Contents
 
           Subpart F_ Small Cities and Insular Areas Programs
 
Sec. 570.431  Citizen participation.

    (a) General. An applicant that is located in a nonentitlement area 
of a State that has not elected to distribute funds shall comply with 
the citizen participation requirements described in this section, 
including requirements for the preparation of the proposed application 
and the final application. The requirements for citizen participation do 
not restrict the responsibility or authority of the applicant for the 
development and execution of its community development program.

[[Page 98]]

    (b) Citizen participation plan. The applicant must develop and 
follow a detailed citizen participation plan and must make the plan 
public. The plan must be completed and available before the application 
for assistance is submitted to HUD, and the applicant must certify that 
it is following the plan. The plan must set forth the applicant's 
policies and procedures for:
    (1) Giving citizens timely notice of local meetings and reasonable 
and timely access to local meetings, information, and records relating 
to the grantee's proposed and actual use of CDBG funds including, but 
not limited to:
    (i) The amount of CDBG funds expected to be made available for the 
coming year, including the grant and anticipated program income;
    (ii) The range of activities that may be undertaken with those 
funds;
    (iii) The estimated amount of those funds proposed to be used for 
activities that will benefit low- and moderate-income persons;
    (iv) The proposed CDBG activities likely to result in displacement 
and the applicant's plans, consistent with the policies developed under 
Sec. 570.606(b), for minimizing displacement of persons as a result of 
its proposed activities; and
    (v) The types and levels of assistance the applicant plans to make 
available (or to require others to make available) to persons displaced 
by CDBG-funded activities, even if the applicant expects no displacement 
to occur;
    (2) Providing technical assistance to groups representative of 
persons of low- and moderate-income that request assistance in 
developing proposals. The level and type of assistance to be provided is 
at the discretion of the applicant. The assistance need not include the 
provision of funds to the groups;
    (3) Holding a minimum of two public hearings, for the purpose of 
obtaining citizens' views and formulating or responding to proposals and 
questions. Each public hearing must be conducted at a different stage of 
the CDBG program. Together, the hearings must address community 
development and housing needs, development of proposed activities and 
review of program performance. There must be reasonable notice of the 
hearings and the hearings must be held at times and accessible locations 
convenient to potential or actual beneficiaries, with reasonable 
accommodations including material in accessible formats for persons with 
disabilities. The applicant must specify in its plan how it will meet 
the requirement for hearings at times and locations convenient to 
potential or actual beneficiaries;
    (4) Meeting the needs of non-English speaking residents in the case 
of public hearings where a significant number of non-English speaking 
residents can reasonably be expected to participate;
    (5) Responding to citizen complaints and grievances, including the 
procedures that citizens must follow when submitting complaints and 
grievances. The applicant's policies and procedures must provide for 
timely written answers to written complaints and grievances within 15 
working days of the receipt of the complaint, where practicable; and
    (6) Encouraging citizen participation, particularly by low- and 
moderate-income persons who reside in slum or blighted areas, and in 
other areas in which CDBG funds are proposed to be used.
    (c) Publication of proposed application. (1) The applicant shall 
publish a proposed application consisting of the proposed community 
development activities and community development objectives in order to 
afford affected citizens an opportunity to:
    (i) Examine the application's contents to determine the degree to 
which they may be affected;
    (ii) Submit comments on the proposed application; and
    (iii) Submit comments on the performance of the applicant.
    (2) The requirement for publishing in paragraph (c)(1) of this 
section may be met by publishing a summary of the proposed application 
in one or more newspapers of general circulation, and by making copies 
of the proposed application available at libraries, government offices, 
and public places. The summary must describe the contents and purpose of 
the proposed application, and must include a list of the locations where 
copies of the entire proposed application may be examined.

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    (d) Preparation of a final application. An applicant must prepare a 
final application. In the preparation of the final application, the 
applicant shall consider comments and views received related to the 
proposed application and may, if appropriate, modify the final 
application. The final application shall be made available to the public 
and shall include the community development objectives and projected use 
of funds, and the community development activities.
    (e) New York grantee amendments. To assure citizen participation on 
program amendments to final applications that require HUD approval under 
Sec. 570.427, the grantee shall:
    (1) Furnish citizens information concerning the amendment;
    (2) Hold one or more public hearings to obtain the views of citizens 
on the proposed amendment;
    (3) Develop and publish the proposed amendment in such a manner as 
to afford affected citizens an opportunity to examine the contents, and 
to submit comments on the proposed amendment;
    (4) Consider any comments and views expressed by citizens on the 
proposed amendment and, if the grantee finds it appropriate, modify the 
final amendment accordingly; and
    (5) Make the final amendment to the community development program 
available to the public before its submission to HUD.