Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 06-02-09 special — reading text

disabilities, person with HIV /AIDS, persons with alcohol or other substance abuse problems other than what has been mentioned above. The housing rehabilitation program and World Changer as well as the City Changer programs funded by CDBG do assist the special needs populations who have homes that need rehabilitation. Through the Community Redevelopment Agency, funding is potentially available to local agencies to assist them in addressing the needs of the homeless and other special needs individuals. f7 Other Actions (91. 220F) a. Meeting Underserved Needs. The primary target of activities funded by Community Development programs 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 include in the Consolidated 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 good housing are direct methods to improve living conditions. Activities that improve infrastructure improve the quality of life and raise the living standards for all 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. b. Obstacles. The primary obstacles to meeting underserved housing and community development needs of the City are funding and these resources are shrinking. 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 development delivery system. The City developed a Resource Guide that identifies all the various agencies and services within the County. United Way now maintains the Guide and it can be found on their web site: http:// w\ vw. tinited- way.org/FCFH. htm. C. Community Development Block Grants. Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 ( Public Law f93 -383) created the Community Development Block Grant funding program. It is allocated primarily through the entitlement communities, and state and small cities program. The primary objective of the CDBG program is to develop viable urban communities, by providing decent housing and suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities principally for persons of low and moderate income. All CDBG projects and activities must meet one of three national objectives: Principally benefit low -and -moderate income persons, aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or meet other urgent community needs. The City of Fort Walton Beach will use CDBG funds for activities that provide decent housing and provide a suitable living environment principally for persons of low and moderate income, by rehabilitating single family homes and by providing education and care for our youth. f.l) General f.l. a) General. The City plans to undertake activities to address obstacles to meeting underserved needs by funding the non -profit subrecipient organizations previously identified. f.l.b) Affordable Housing. The City' s CRA encourages the private sector in their effort to secure additional public and private funds for affordable housing, community and economic development. The City will foster and maintain the stock of affordable housing by way of the Residential Rehabilitation and World Changer /City Changer programs. Twenty -three ( 23) low /moderate income single family homeowners expect to be assisted in this grant year through rehabilitation and World Changer programs. No Community Development Block Grant funds are allocated to provide homeless with affordable housing; however, the Housing Authority and the city have partnered to provide 200 new tax credit affordable housing units. In addition, Fresh Start is expected to build 20 new transitional housing units for the homeless. Applicants for these programs are also advised of the rehabilitation services of the Okaloosa County Development Corporation, which also provides housing and rehabilitation services through the State Housing Initiative Partnership ( SHIP) program and the HOME Investment Partnership Program. f.l.c) Foster and Maintain Affordable Housing. The City' s allocation will provide assistance to homeowners for rehabilitation, emergency home repairs, and property maintenance. The City has effective property maintenance standards which are enforced through its code enforcement division. The Community Redevelopment Agency allocates funds to demolish or restore vacant /deteriorated properties. The City' s Community Development Services Department provides neighborhood organizational support and education services to community organizations. The city will maintain the stock of affordable housing by way of the Residential Rehabilitation program including the World Changer /City Changer programs. f.l.d) 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 which is currently being developed. f.l.e) Lead -based Paint Hazards. The City' s rehabilitation program continues to include lead -based paint hazard education within the initial phase of the application process.During the preconstruction conference, homeowners are given a copy of the booklet " Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home ". In addition, as part of the process, homeowners must complete and sign a written acknowledgement of the receipt of this booklet. Each unit to undergo rehabilitation will be evaluated for the presence of lead based -paint. If such hazards are determined to exist, the City will hire a certified consultant to remove the paint to the extent possible and repair the surface. To continue the city' s lead -based paint compliance activities, a number of actions are planned for the coming year. ACTION GOAL Distribution of Lead Safe Painting Prep Kits to homeowners 25 Coordination of homeowner awareness events 5 Distribution of additional lead hazard literature to homeowners where 25 children aged 6 or younger spend a significant amount of time in the home and encourage rehab applications to have children tested for " elevated blood" condition. f.l.f.) Barriers to Affordable Housing. As per the requirements of the adopted SHIP Affordable Housing Incentive Plan, the City will undertake the following actions to remove barriers to affordable housing ( these actions will not be funded through the CDBG program); 1. Expedite processing of permits for affordable housing projects and 2. The modification of street requirements. Other assistive strategies are: 1. Down payment assistance and closing cost assistance; 2. Minor repairs to existing single family owner occupied housing units through the City Changer program which is a faith based partnership; and 3. Acquisition of property for low /moderate income housing. The Community Redevelopment Agency and the City Council updated the Community Redevelopment Plan which directs mixed use development and strategies for affordable housing. As a result the Land Development Code, which is being updated to streamline procedures, will also be revised next year to include the new mixed use zoning districts. These districts are intended to encourage the development of affordable housing. f.l.g) Lead -based Paint Hazards. As part of the City' s Residential Rehabilitation program, all units to be assisted are inspected for lead based paint hazards. If lead based paint is identified, the City will contact a professional consultant that is qualified to remove lead based paint. f.l. h) Anti -poverty Strategy. The City does not plan to undertake activities which will reduce the number of poverty level families, develop institutional structure, and enhance coordination between public and private housing and social services agencies. f.l.i) Institutional Structure. The City funds services to extremely low, low and moderate income families through non -profit organizations who provide services to these families. Funding may be sought by these organizations through an application process during the formation of the annual program. Funding for Public Service programs is highly competitive due to limited funds and an abundance of need. The City has therefore not solicited projects which target specific needs. i.2) The City chartered the Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority ( FWBHA) in 1968. The FWBHA is administered by seven Commissioners, appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The executive director, who manages the daily functions, is hired by the FWBHA Commissioners. Other than the appointment of the Commissioners, the FWBHA is an independent agency from the City. The city is not involved in any hiring, contracting or procurement activities of the FWBHA. Various Public Service activities of the FWBHA have been funded through CDBG program to benefit the residents of public housing. The City will review development sites proposed by FWBHA in the same manner as other applications for development proposed by a private developer. As mentioned above, the Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority and City have partnered to develop a 200 unit tax credit project 0) The City is not aware of any gaps in the institutional structure that will impact the priority needs which will be addressed by the City within the planning period. f.l.j) Coordination. The city does not coordinate activities between public and assisted housing providers and private and governmental health and governmental health and mental health and service agencies except as mentioned above. f.2) Public Housing. The FWBHA does not operate under the Comprehensive Grant Program. The Authority receives assistance through the Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program ( CIAP). The FWBHA has not been designated as " troubled" by HUD. The City works closely with the Housing Authority and continues to encourage homeownership through sponsoring the Housing Expo each year. The Chester Pruitt Summer Enrichment program and after school tutoring are available and in close proximity to Housing Authority residents. Also the City has partnered with the Housing Authority to develop a 200 unit tax credit project as described above. Because of the limited amount of CDBG funds, they are not used to directly support the Housing Authority or its programs. The City is a major coordinator and sponsor of the Housing Expo each year which provides " one -stop shopping" homeownership and free credit checks and counseling to to individuals seeking home ownership. The Expo is