(a) Amendments to Housing Tax Credit (HTC) Application or Award Prior to Land Use Restriction Agreement (LURA) recording or amendments that do not result in a change to the LURA (§2306.6712). The Department expects the Development Owner to construct or rehabilitate, operate, and own the Development consistent with the representations in the Application. The Department must receive notification of any amendments to the Application. Regardless of development stage, the Board shall re-evaluate a Development that undergoes a material change, as identified in paragraph (3) of this subsection at any time after the initial Board approval of the Development (§2306.6731(b)). The Board may deny an amendment request and subsequently may rescind any Commitment or Determination Notice issued for an Application, and may reallocate the credits to other Applicants on the waiting list.
  (1) Requesting an amendment. The Department shall require the Applicant to file a formal, written request for an amendment to the Application. Such request must include a detailed explanation of the amendment request and other information as determined to be necessary by the Department, and the applicable fee as identified in Chapter 11, Subchapter E of this title (relating to Fee Schedule, Appeals, and other Provisions) in order to be received and processed by the Department. Department staff will evaluate the amendment request to determine if the change would affect an allocation of Housing Tax Credits by changing any item that received points, by significantly affecting the most recent underwriting analysis, or by materially altering the Development as further described in this subsection.
  (2) Notification Items. The Department must be notified of the changes described in subparagraphs (A) - (F) of this paragraph. The changes identified are subject to staff agreement based on a review of the amendment request and any additional information or documentation requested. Notification items will be considered satisfied when an acknowledgment of the specific change(s) is received from the Department and include:
    (A) Changes to Development Site acreage required by the City or other local governmental authority, or changes resulting from survey discrepancies, as long as such change does not also result in a modification to the residential density of more than 5%;
    (B) Minor modifications to the site plan that will not significantly impact development costs, including, but not limited to, relocation or rearrangement of buildings on the site (as long as the number of residential and non-residential buildings remains the same), and movement, addition, or deletion of ingress/egress to the site;
    (C) Increases or decreases in net rentable square footage or common areas that do not result in a material amendment under paragraph (4) of this subsection;
    (D) Changes in amenities that do not require a change to the recorded LURA and do not negatively impact scoring, including changes to outdated amenities that could be replaced by an amenity with equal benefit to the resident community;
    (E) Changes in Developers or Guarantors (notifications for changes in Guarantors that are also the General Contractor or are only providing guaranties during the construction period are not required) with no new Principals (who were not previously checked by Previous Participation review that retain the natural person(s) used to meet the experience requirement in Chapter 11 of this title (relating to Qualified Allocation Plan)); and
    (F) Any other amendment not identified in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection.
  (3) Non-material amendments. The Executive Director or designee may administratively approve all non-material amendments, including, but not limited to:
    (A) Any amendment that is determined by staff to exceed the scope of notification acknowledgement, as identified in paragraph (2) of this subsection but not to rise to a material alteration, as identified in paragraph (4) of this subsection;
    (B) Changes in Developers or Guarantors (excluding changes in Guarantors that are also the General Contractor or are only providing guaranties during the construction period) not addressed in §10.405(a)(2)(E). Changes in Developers or Guarantors will be subject to Previous Participation requirements as further described in Chapter 11 of this title and the credit limitation described in §11.4(a) of this title; and
    (C) For Exchange Developments only, requests to change elections made on line 8(b) of the IRS Form(s) 8609 to group buildings together into one or more multiple building projects. The request must include an attached statement identifying the buildings in the project. The change to the election may only be made once during the Compliance Period.
  (4) Material amendments. Amendments considered material pursuant to this paragraph must be approved by the Board. When an amendment request requires Board approval, the Development Owner must submit the request and all required documentation necessary for staff's review of the request to the Department at least 45 calendar days prior to the Board meeting in which the amendment is anticipated to be considered. Before the 15th day preceding the date of Board action on the amendment, notice of an amendment and the recommendation of the Executive Director and Department staff regarding the amendment will be posted to the Department's website and the Applicant will be notified of the posting (§2306.6717(a)(4)). Material Amendment requests may be denied if the Board determines that the modification proposed in the amendment would materially alter the Development in a negative manner or would have adversely affected the selection of the Application in the Application Round. Material alteration of a Development includes, but is not limited to:
    (A) A significant modification of the site plan;
    (B) A modification of the number of Units or bedroom mix of Units;
    (C) A substantive modification of the scope of tenant services;
    (D) A reduction of 3% or more in the square footage of the Units or common areas;
    (E) A significant modification of the architectural design of the Development;
    (F) A modification of the residential density of at least 5%;
    (G) A request to implement a revised election under §42(g) of the Code prior to filing of IRS Form(s) 8609;
    (H) Exclusion of any requirements as identified in Chapter 11, Subchapter B of this title (relating to Site and Development Requirements and Restrictions) and Chapter 11, Subchapter C of this title (relating to Application Submission Requirements, Ineligibility Criteria, Board Decisions and Waiver of Rules); or
    (I) Any other modification considered material by the staff and therefore required to be presented to the Board as such.
  (5) Amendment requests will be denied if the Department finds that the request would have changed the scoring of an Application in the competitive process such that the Application would not have received a funding award or if the need for the proposed modification was reasonably foreseeable or preventable by the Applicant at the time the Application was submitted, unless good cause is found for the approval of the amendment.
  (6) This section shall be administered in a manner that is consistent with §42 of the Code. If a Development has any uncorrected issues of noncompliance outside of the corrective action period (other than the provision being amended) or otherwise owes fees to the Department, such non-compliance or outstanding payment must be resolved to the satisfaction of the Department before a request for amendment will be acted upon.
  (7) In the event that an Applicant or Developer seeks to be released from the commitment to serve the income level of tenants identified in the Application and Credit Underwriting Analysis Report at the time of award and as approved by the Board, the procedure described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph will apply to the extent such request is not prohibited based on statutory and/or regulatory provisions:
    (A) For amendments that involve a reduction in the total number of Low-Income Units, or a reduction in the number of Low-Income Units at any rent or income level, as approved by the Board, evidence noted in either clause (i) or (ii) of this subparagraph must be presented to the Department to support the amendment:
      (i) In the event of a request to implement (rent to a household at an income or rent level that exceeds the approved AMI limits established by the minimum election within the Development's Application or LURA) a revised election under §42(g) of the Code prior to an Owner's submission of IRS Form(s) 8609 to the IRS, Owners must submit updated information and exhibits to the Application as required by the Department and all lenders and the syndicator must submit written acknowledgement that they are aware of the changes being requested and confirm any changes in terms as a result of the new election; or
Cont'd...