Fort Walton Beach Resolution — 2013-19 - Adopt FY 2013-14 Community Dev Block Grant — reading text

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. III. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROCESS ( 91. 200b The City of Fort Walton Beach has many processes for involving citizens in its decision making including neighborhood meetings, numerous board and committee meetings, and City Council meetings; all designed to solicit public comments both informally or by utilizing formal public hearings. Citizens' comments on the use of CDBG funds are specifically solicited by a way of a citizen advisory group. The Citizen' s Advisory Committee ( CAC) advises staff on the use of the City of Fort Walton Beach' s annual CDBG fund allocation. Each year, the Citizen' s Advisory Committee ( CAC) comes together to plan for the CDBG budget for the coming fiscal year. The CAC reviews all applications submitted for the City' s annual allocation of grant funds. At least three advertised public hearings or meetings are held each year to address housing and community development needs, development of proposed activities, and review of performance for the Community Development Block Grant ( CDBG). This yen, the Citizen Advisory Committee met on April 30, 2013 to review and discuss the applications for funding that were submitted to staff. The CAC also met on June 11, 2013 to finalize the budget and applications for FY 13 - 14. Then, at the July 24, 2013 meeting, the Committee reviewed and approved the Annual Action Plan for FY 13 - 14. To ensure broad -based participation, extensive communication efforts are used during the implementation of the City' s Consolidated Plan citizen participation plan. Public notices for public hearings are published in the local newspaper and announced in local churches. The various printed notices notify where copies of the Consolidated Plan are available and invite persons to either speak at the public hearings and/ or submit written comments. Public hearings are handicap accessible and sign language interpretation is available at public hearings. The Citizen' s Advisory Committee continues to be at the core of the public participation process. The City' s Community Development Block Grant staff promotes public awareness and opportunities for participation by making available documents such as the annual action plan, five -year consolidated plan, consolidated annual performance evaluation report, analysis of impediments to fair housing, etc., and by advertising their availability in the local news media and on the City website. The City continually strives to organize and present data in a manner that is easily understood and evaluated by our citizens and welcomes comments on the Annual Action Plan and how future reports might be improved. IV. TARGETED AREAS (91. 200 d & fl At the onset of the CDBG program in the mid- 1970' s, federal regulations required that certain activities be geographically targeted. Although this requirement has since been removed, the City has continued its targeting strategy. The primary consideration for target area selection is neighborhood economic need ( low- and moderate -income levels) followed by the degree of housing deterioration. As outlined in the City' s Five -Year Consolidated Report ( 2010- 2015), the City' s CDBG Target Area represents the Block Groups with the greatest concentration of low- to moderate -income households. Three of the four projects this year are located within one of the CDBG target areas, and one project is located directly adjacent to one of the target areas. The Targeted Areas Map is located in the back of this document. The geographic boundary of the two target areas are Hughes Street ( north), Eglin Parkway ( east), Robinwood Drive ( west), and First Street ( south) for Target Area 1, and the area between Bay Street and Barnette Avenue in the northwest portion of the City for Target Area 2 See attached map). These two areas are the areas within the City of low income and minority concentration. Target Area 1 is located within the Community Redevelopment Area ( CRA), which is an area identified as blighted and corresponds with the Beal Parkway Neighborhood. CRA prepared a plan for the Beal Parkway Neighborhood. The Plan identifies specific projects needed within this area such as affordable childcare, job training and housing rehabilitation. Both the CDBG and the Community Redevelopment Agency allocates funds each year towards these projects. Target Area 1 is incorporated in Census Tracts 225 and 226. See attached map. Target Area 2, north of Lovejoy Road, is a Front Porch Community in Okaloosa County and is known as Sylvania Heights. This entire neighborhood is primarily low- income and minority concentrated. It is a relatively isolated neighborhood north of the City' s Commerce and Technology Park, which is a designated brownfields area. The City has allocated substantial resources to this area for housing rehabilitation and World Changers projects through CDBG funds and SHIP funds, sidewalk improvements, storm water improvements, code enforcement, and police protection. Target Area 2 is located in Census Tract 229. See attached map. The following census data pertains to the census block groups in which the two target areas are located:  Low to Moderate Income Estimates* TRACT BLKGRP LOWMOD LOWMODUNIV LOWMODPCT 22500 3 827 1534 53. 9 22600 1 634 1028 61. 7 22600 3 693 878 78. 9 22900 3 94 153 61. 4 Source: HUD /Census Data 2000 LEAD -BASED PAINT HAZARDS ( 91. 205e, 91. 2151) 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 City Hall. This year the City will highlight the hazards of lead -based paint on the City' s web site by including information that encourages 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. Anti- Poverty Strategy ( 91. 215j) According to the most recent Census data, four of the twelve census tracts in the City of Fort Walton Beach have more than 15% of the population living in poverty. The national estimated poverty rate is 15. 1 %. The poverty rate of the whole City is estimated to be 11. 8% of the population. The City is continuing to work closely with the several local organizations through the CDBG program to reduce poverty. The City provides funding to these agencies through the CDBG grant program applications targeting homeless, very low, and low income households. V. HOUSING Housing Needs ( 91. 205) Rapid population growth between 2004 and 2007 in Northwest Florida led to a greater demand for housing which in mm led to an increase in housing prices. Many factors contributed to the increase in development costs of new housing including soaring land prices, decreasing land supply - especially in communities such as Fort Walton Beach that are essentially land -locked and almost completely built out — and increasing costs of material and labor. On the surface it appears that much of the existing housing stock in the City, specifically the CDBG target area, is attainable, in that many of the homes were purchased in the 1950s and 1960s and the mortgages have been paid — allowing homeowners to " age in place" or, in the case of absentee landlords, allowing for less than market rents. However, many of the older homes are becoming deteriorated and there has been little reinvestment by the property owners. Many of the current homeowners are elderly and living on fixed incomes so they may not be able to maintain the structures and the yards. The owners of rental housing may not have the means or economic incentive to reinvest. Rental increases necessitated by rising property insurance costs and property taxes are passed on to the tenants, which may affect their ability to remain in the housing. Changing demographics mean that the construction of single family detached homes may no longer adequately meet current and projected housing needs. While the single -family detached home will remain the housing product of choice for many, demand is growing for greater alternatives in housing. The opportunities to expand the range of housing choices are myriad and the City can benefit from a wider range in type and quantity of housing choices. Housing Objectives Public Housing Strategy ( 91. 210b) There is currently one City public housing area in Fort Walton Beach: The Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority ( FWBHA) on Robinwood Drive. 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 the Consolidated Plan. The Sound Side project broke ground in April 2013 and will provide 200 new multi- family apartments. The City works closely with the FWBHA and continues to encourage homeownership through the sponsorship and exhibition at the Housing Expo each year. The Chester Pruitt Summer Enrichment program and after school tutoring are available and in close proximity to FWBHA residents as well as the future residents of Sound Side. 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. Barriers to Affordable Housing (91. 220j): 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 necessarily be funded through the CDBG program): expedite processing of permits for affordable housing projects, modification of street requirements; down payment assistance and closing cost assistance; minor repairs to existing single family owner occupied housing units through the World Changers program, which is a faith -based partnership; and acquisition of property for low- to moderate -income housing through Habitat for Humanity. 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. Homelessness ( 91. 205) Under this category, the City will not fully undertake a comprehensive action program to address the housing needs of the homeless due to the amount of the City' s entitlement CDBG funds. Unfortunately, the City' s entitlement CDBG funds do not provide sufficient funding to directly manage and fully support this type of program. The City will, however, support several operating agencies that are providing valuable services to prevent homelessness and to assist those who are already homeless. The City participates on the Okaloosa/ Walton Continuum of Care Board and assists agencies who help the homeless with expertise to address