Chapter 14.5. Building Equity And Growth In Neighborhoods Program of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 31. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 14.5.

(a) The Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Program and the Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Fund are hereby created.
  (b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, moneys in the BEGIN Fund shall be made available upon appropriation by the Legislature to the department and administered by the department pursuant to the CalHome Program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650), to make grants to qualifying cities, counties, or cities and counties that provide incentives or reduce or remove regulatory barriers as set forth in this chapter. These grants shall, except as otherwise provided by this chapter, be used for downpayment assistance to qualifying first-time home buyers of low- and moderate-incomes purchasing newly constructed homes in a BEGIN project.
  (c) Any loan repayments shall be retained by the qualifying city, county, or city and county and reused for first-time home buyer downpayment assistance, home rehabilitation, home buyer counseling, home acquisition and rehabilitation, or self-help mortgage assistance for persons and families of low- or moderate-income, as defined in Section 50093.

The department shall issue a notice of funding availability to all cities, counties, or cities and counties specifying when funds are available for the BEGIN Program, the terms of the program, and due date for applications. The application shall include a description of the incentives or regulatory barrier reductions or removals established pursuant to Section 50863 and a description of the incentives or barrier reductions or removals that the city, county, or city and county has provided to the identified project.

A city, county, or city and county that receives a grant from the BEGIN Fund shall use the proceeds from the grant for downpayment assistance to a prospective first-time home buyer who enters into an agreement to purchase a newly constructed home, or a newly erected manufactured home placed on a permanent foundation, with the sponsor or developer of the identified newly constructed project within this city, county, or city and county provided the first-time home buyer qualifies as a person or family of low- or moderate-income, as defined in Section 50093. Any residence assisted with downpayment financing provided by the BEGIN Fund shall be continuously occupied by the home buyer as his or her principal residence for at least five years following recordation of the deed of trust. If the home buyer fails to meet this condition, the loan amount shall become immediately due and payable to the grantee city, county, or city and county.

Downpayment assistance provided pursuant to this chapter shall be in the form of a second mortgage loan. The maximum amount of the loan shall be set in the current Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), but in no case shall the loan exceed 20 percent of the sale price of the residence. The loan shall accrue simple interest.

Grants shall only be made to a qualifying city, county, or city and county that has demonstrated that it has provided incentives or reduced or removed regulatory barriers to affordable housing for an identified or specified project. The department shall establish the types of local governmental actions that it determines are appropriate and objectively measurable incentives and regulatory barrier reductions or removals. These actions may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the following measures: standards relating to housing density, project design, parking requirements, permit processing, and fee reductions.

The department shall prioritize and quantify the criteria it establishes pursuant to Section 50863 by assigning points to each of the criteria. Applications of a city, county, or city and county that has a housing element that the department has found substantially complies with the requirements of Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code shall receive additional points, not exceeding the points granted for any one of the criteria in Section 50863. Additional points may be given for applications meeting one or more of the following objectives:
  (a) The extent to which the project is intended to serve low-income home buyers.
  (b) The location of the project on a site designated as "infill."
  (c) The location of the project in proximity to public transit, public schools, parks, or recreational facilities.
  (d) The location of the project in any of the following job centers:
  (1) The Los Angeles and Long Beach metropolitan statistical area.
  (2) The Orange County metropolitan statistical area.
  (3) The San Diego County metropolitan statistical area.
  (4) The San Francisco metropolitan statistical area.
  (5) The Oakland metropolitan statistical area.
  (6) The San Jose metropolitan statistical area.
  (7) The Sacramento metropolitan statistical area.
  (8) The Fresno metropolitan statistical area.
  (9) The Modesto metropolitan statistical area.

The department may administer the BEGIN Program through guidelines that shall not be subject to the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, following at least one consultation with the potential beneficiaries of, and participants in, the program, including, but not limited to, representatives of local governments and homebuilders.

No more than 5 percent of the funds deposited in the BEGIN Fund may be used to pay the costs of administration of this chapter.