Preferred Sustainability Status

In HUD’s FY2010 Notice of Funding Availability for the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program, we announced that we would offer Preferred Sustainability Status (PSS) to applicants who received a qualifying score.  The applicants who accepted this invitation signified that they are committed to continuing to advance sustainability in their region, and that they are interested in the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities (comprised of HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) supporting them in  reaching that objective. PSS will provide the following benefits: 

• In FY2011, HUD will award 2 bonus points to applicants that are working with communities that have received Preferred Sustainability Status under the HUD FY2010 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program and/or the FY2010 HUD funded Challenge Grant Program. For more information, see here.
• PSS recipients may be able to preserve elements of their proposal for the FY2011 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant competition.
• PSS consortia will be invited to participate in a range of training opportunities to be offered by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. OSHC is establishing a robust capacity building agenda. There will be sharing of best practices in order to enable local communities to incorporate sustainability into municipal and regional plans and the management of the agencies charged to execute them; techniques for moving from visioning and plan development to implementation; and methods for helping communities to prioritize principles for social equity and inclusion that frame long-term outcomes for regional development.
• A learning network of regions committed to advancing sustainability is under development, which will build peer-to-peer networks focused on issues of common concern. PSS communities will be a part of this network.
• In FY2011 and 2012, other HUD discretionary grant programs will count two bonus points for applicants who include a team member that has PSS. Those grant programs include:
  • Section 4 Capacity Building (FYs 11 and 12)
  • Rural Innovation Program (FY 11)
  • SHOP (FY 11 and 12) FHIP (FY 12)
  • Lead-Based Hazard Control and reduction (FY 12)
  • Healthy Homes Production grants (FY 12)
  • Assisted Living Conversion program (FY 12)
  • Housing Counseling Program (FY 12)
  • Tenant Resource Network Program (FY 12)
  • Public Housing Capital Fund Education and Community Facilities (FY 11)
  • Choice Neighborhoods (FY 12)
  • HOPE VI (FY 11)
  • HOPE VI Main St. Program (FY 11)
  • Section 202 (FY 12)
  • Section 811 (FY 12)