Orange County NC Website
9 <br /> <br />The 2020 application was developed based on the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 2017 1 <br />round of bond funding and the application evaluation criteria approved by the Board of 2 <br />Commissioners in April 2019. 3 <br /> 4 <br />Eligible projects will be new construction for homeownership and/or rental development 5 <br />affordable to low-income households. Projects may be mixed-use and/or mixed-income. No 6 <br />more than 20% of residential units may be set aside for people with disabilities, in compliance 7 <br />with best practices outlined in the State of North Carolina’s Olmstead settlement agreement. 8 <br />Land banking is not an eligible use. 9 <br /> 10 <br />Eligible applicants for funding will be: 11 <br />• nonprofit organizations involved in affordable housing and community development 12 <br />(including faith-based organizations) 13 <br />• for-profit developers, and 14 <br />• joint ventures between eligible nonprofit and for-profit entities 15 <br /> 16 <br />The application evaluation criteria consider the following factors for each proposed project: 17 <br />(1) income and vulnerable population targeting 18 <br />(2) targeting of households currently living and/or working in Orange County 19 <br />(3) leveraging of other funding sources 20 <br />(4) building and site design features including environmental sustainability and accessibility 21 <br />features 22 <br />(5) community design features including neighborhood compatibility and location relative to 23 <br />transportation, employment opportunities, and services 24 <br />(6) community sponsorship, engagement, and support 25 <br />(7) project feasibility, and 26 <br />(8) developer experience 27 <br /> 28 <br />Differences between this application and the 2017 RFP are mostly formatting changes in order 29 <br />to condense the content of application. Significant recommended changes include: 30 <br />• This is a funding application rather than an RFP – applications will go to the Department 31 <br />of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) instead of through Procurement. 32 <br />Because they will not go through Procurement, certain requirements of Contractors, 33 <br />such as E-Verify requirements and Iran Divestment Act certification requirements, are 34 <br />not included. 35 <br />• Application review and preliminary scoring will be conducted by DHCD staff, then 36 <br />funding recommendations will be made to the BOCC, rather than the review process 37 <br />going from staff to a County team, then to the Affordable Housing Advisory Board, and 38 <br />then to the BOCC. Because advisory boards may not be able to meet to review 39 <br />applications due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and the inability of advisory boards to hold 40 <br />virtual meetings), this process will prevent delays in application review and funding 41 <br />awards. 42 <br /> 43 <br />If and when the 2020 application is approved by the BOCC, the proposed timeline for 44 <br />application review and funding award is as follows: 45 <br />June 8, 2020 Application Released 46 <br />June 15, 2020 Application Workshop 47 <br />July 31, 2020 Application Submission Deadline 48 <br />August 2020 Staff Review Applications 49 <br />September 1, 2020 BOCC Considers Applications and Funding Recommendations 50