| (h) Board Standards for Review. Some issues may require
or benefit from Board review. The Board is not constrained to a particular
standard, and while its actions on one matter are not binding as to
how it will address another matter, the Board does seek to promote
consistency with its policies, including the policies set forth in
this chapter.
(i) Scattered Site Applications. As it relates to calculating
any distances (tie determinations, proximity to features, etc.), year
of initial construction, or determining satisfaction of scoring, the
site that scores or ranks the lowest will be the site used for that
analysis. There is no opportunity for higher scoring or performing
sites to elevate the score or performance of other sites in the scattered
site Application.
(j) Public Information Requests. Pursuant to Tex. Gov't
Code §2306.6717, any pre-application and any full Application,
including all supporting documents and exhibits, must be made available
to the public, in their entirety, on the Department's website. The
filing of a pre-application or Application with the Department shall
be deemed as consent to the release of any and all information contained
therein, including supporting documents and exhibits. As part of its
certifications, the Applicant shall certify that the authors of the
reports and other information and documents submitted with the Application
have given their consent to the Applicant to submit all reports and
other information and documents to the Department, and for the Department
to publish anything submitted with the Application on its website
and use such information and documents for authorized purposes.
(k) Responsibilities of Municipalities and Counties.
In considering resolutions regarding housing de-concentration issues,
threshold requirements, or scoring criteria, municipalities and counties
should consult their own staff and legal counsel as to whether their
handling of actions regarding such resolution(s) are consistent with
Fair Housing laws as they may apply, including, as applicable, consistency
with any Fair Housing Activity Statement-Texas (FHAST) form on file,
any current Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, any current
Assessment of Fair Housing, or any current plans such as one year
action plans or five year consolidated plans for HUD block grant funds,
such as HOME or CDBG funds.
(l) Request for Staff Determinations. Where the requirements
of this chapter do not readily align with the activities proposed
in an Application, an Applicant may request and Department staff may
provide a determination to an Applicant explaining how staff will
review an Application in relation to the applicable rules. In no instance
will staff provide a determination regarding a scoring item. Any such
request must be received by the Department prior to submission of
the pre-application (if applicable to the program) or Application
(if no pre-application was submitted). Staff may, in its sole discretion,
provide the request to the Board for it to make the determination.
Staff's determination may take into account the articulated purpose
of or policies addressed by a particular rule or requirement, materiality
of elements, substantive elements of the development plan that relate
to a term or definition, a common usage of the particular term, or
other issues relevant to a rule or requirement. All such requests
and determinations will be conveyed in writing. If the determination
is finalized after submission of the pre-application or Application,
the Department may allow corrections to the pre-application or the
Application that are directly related to the issues in the determination.
It is an Applicant's sole responsibility to request a determination
and an Applicant may not rely on any determination for another Application
regardless of similarities in a particular fact pattern. For any Application
that does not request and subsequently receive a determination, the
definitions and applicable rules will be applied as used and defined
herein. An Applicant may appeal a determination for their Application,
using the Appeal Process provided for in §11.902 of this chapter
(relating to Appeals Process), if the determination provides for a
treatment that relies on factors other than the explicit definition.
A Board determination may not be appealed. A staff or Executive Director
determination not timely appealed cannot be further appealed or challenged.
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