Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 11-23-2010 Regular — reading text

down payment assistance and closing cost assistance; minor repairs to existing single family owner occupied housing units through the World Changer program, which is a faith -based partnership; and acquisition of property for low- to moderate -income housing. The City' s Comprehensive Plan also outlines a Housing Element and a plan to provide for affordable housing as it relates to local policy, land use, and zoning. Fair Housing. The City will provide fair housing educational and investigative services to limit housing discrimination, as well as other activities to remove barriers to affordable housing. The steps to be taken by the City are outlined in the City' s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. There are approximately 9, 737 households located in Fort Walton Beach. Of these households, 59. 2% are owner occupied and 32. 6% are renter 10  occupied, with 8. 1 % being vacant. The following tables are a special cross -tabulation of the 1990 Census of Population and Housing prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida. Households by Household Size County Place Size 2000 2005 2010 2015 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 1- 2 5136 5419 5530 5603 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 3 -4 2747 2897 2946 2970 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 5+ 675 711 724 731 Households by Household Income County Place Income 2000 2005 2010 2015 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 30% AMI 721 760 776 791 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 30. 01 -50% AMI 873 917 939 960 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 50.01 -80% AMI 1594 1674 1696 1711 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 80. 01 - 120% AMI 1964 2068 2093 2100 Okaloosa Ft. Walton Beach 120. 01 +% AMI 3407 3609 369 3740 Specified Renter -Occupied Units County Place 200 200- 300- 500- 750- 1000- 1500 No Total 299 499 749 999 1499 or Cash More Rent Okaloosa FWB 128 101 722 1514 1 323 123 1 10 47 2968 Public Housing There are currently two City public housing areas in Fort Walton Beach: Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority on Robinwood Drive and Germany Terrace on Carson Drive, containing 50 units. The FWBHA receives assistance through the Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program ( CIAP). The FWBHA has not been designated as troubled" by HUD. Also, the City is working with the FWBHA and HUD on redevelopment of the Germany Terrace housing project, described as Sound Side in the Affordable Housing section of this Plan. The Chester Pruitt Summer Enrichment program and after school tutoring are available and in close proximity to FWBHA residents. The City also coordinates its transportation planning to help meets the needs of those who depend on public housing. The City works with Okaloosa County to ensure fixed -route transit service at the housing units. PHA Participation Role The City through the development of a neighborhood action plan, provided the PHA with concept plan to redevelop a part of their property to increase the number and types of units available to low and moderate income households. The City donated over two acres of City property to make the project feasible. 11 Compliance with URA The City is in compliance with the acquisition and relocation requirements of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Lead -Based Paint Hazards The City' s lead -based paint hazard reduction strategy is three -fold: education, testing, and remediation. The education objective includes providing handouts and booklets, specifically " Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home" at various events and at City Hall, This year the City will perform the following activities to continue lead -based paint hazard compliance: distribution of 25 lead -safe painting pre -kits to homeowners, coordinate and/ or exhibit at one homeowner awareness event, and distribution of 25 additional lead hazard literature items to homeowners where children aged 6 or younger reside. Literature will also include encouragement for children to have blood tests to check for the presence of elevated lead levels. The testing objective includes evaluating and/or testing for the presence of lead -based paint for units proposed for painting and/ or re- roofing. The remediation objective includes having a certified consultant/ contractor remove paint and repair the surface if such hazards are determined to exist on units proposed for rehabilitation. Estimated number of housing units containing lead -based paint hazards occupied by extremely low, low, and moderate income families: 3, 652. 3. Continuum of Care The City of Fort Walton Beach works with many public and private agencies to administer the CDBG program and achieve the goals and objectives set forth in the plan. . Institutional Structure, Resources and Coordination The City provides funding to extremely low, low -, and moderate -income families through services provided by non -profit organizations. Funding may be sought by these organizations through an application process during the formation of the CDBG annual program. Funding for public service programs is highly competitive due to limited funds and an abundance of need. Therefore, the City has not solicited projects which target specific needs. The City relies on the CDBG program funds yearly to implement important community development and housing objectives. Additional cash resources are scarce for the program, but the following list describes the pooling of in -kind resources from many different agencies in order to accomplish the goals of the program. In addition, the list below outlines the institutional structure for the program and the coordination among agencies: 12  1. The Okaloosa/ Walton Homeless Continuum of Care Opportunity, Inc - health clinics, provision of bicycles, and other essential needs beyond the capacity of individual members. 2. Waterfront Rescue Mission —The target population is men with substance abuse and other disorders. 3. Bridgeway Center, Inc. — Assists men and women requiring crisis stabilization and detoxification. 4. Salvation Army —The target population is men. 5. FRESH Start — Targets working parents and single women, primarily transitional housing for persons with jobs. 6. Shelter House — Women and children in imminent danger of harm from domestic violence. 7. Family Life Center —Provides assistance to pregnant and unwed mothers. 8. Lutheran Services —Provides assistance to runaway teens. 9. JADA — Provides services to men and women with substance abuse disorders; must agree to enroll in Christian recovery program. 10. Catholic Charities — Transients, emergencies. There is not a shelter but there are limited funds for hotel stays. 11. Red Cross — Provides services to persons rendered homeless by fire or other natural disasters. No shelter, but has limited funds for hotel stays. 12. Harbor House — Men with substance abuse disorders; transitional housing only. 13. Habitat for Humanity in Okaloosa County — Build affordable homes for low - income families. 14. White Sands Manor — Provides HUD subsidized housing for very low- income disabled senior citizens. 15. Okaloosa County Development Corporation ( OCDC) — Administers the S. H.I.P. and HOME programs for the City of Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County through an interlocal agreement between both jurisdictions. 16. Striving for Perfection Ministries — Provides emergency benevolence, food, and utilities for low- income people. 17. Okaloosa County Head Start — Provides child care services for low -income families. 18. Okaloosa County Council on Aging — Coordinating agency for support services for the elderly, including housing and transportation. 19. Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority (FWBHA) —An independently operationg agency chartered by the City in 1968; provides housing units for low- and moderate -income families and individuals. 13 20. Harbor Place Apartments — Ten units of transitional housing for women and families. The City is confident in the institutional structure and coordination among agencies to carry out the program and is not aware of any gaps that would impact the priority needs established in the program. The City continually strives to extend and strengthen partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including non -profit and for -profit organizations, for the provision of public services, affordable housing, and economic opportunities. 4. Other Aspects of the Strategic Plan Meeting Underserved Needs in all categories. The primary target of activities funded by the CDBG program is improvement of living conditions for low- to moderate -income persons. The activities are focused on assisting persons in the community to obtain and maintain suitable housing and adequate living standards in stable or improving neighborhoods. The activities included in the Annual Action Plan are designed to overcome obstacles and meet the underserved needs of low- and moderate -income persons. Housing program activities for improvement of occupied housing, expansion of decent and attractive affordable housing stocks, and assistance to persons to enable them to live in decent and sustainable housing are direct methods to improve living conditions. Activities that improve infrastructure improve the quality of life and raise the standard of living for all of the people in the neighborhood served by the infrastructure. Public services and facilities that meet community needs, particularly for the young and the elderly, provide a means by which persons may receive needed services and benefits that will enable them to live decently; and, in the case of children, develop the future capability to provide for themselves. Obstacles in all categories. The primary obstacle to meeting underserved housing and community development needs of the City is available funding, which is shrinking each year. Demand for assistance exceeds the supply of available resources. The number of lower income individuals, families, and neighborhoods in need, coupled with the complexity of issues they face is steadily increasing in both scale and cost. The combination of these factors places substantial new burdens on an already strained housing and community