The city of Chandler, Arizona, is located southeast of Phoenix. Once a quiet farm town, Chandler was home to more than 100,000 people by 1993. Chandler participates in the Maricopa County HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Consortium. The consortium's housing plans cover the cities of Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Scottsdale, Tempe, and the Maricopa urban county. The portion of the county in the consortium has a population of 1.3 million. With most housing issues covered under the consortium's plan, Chandler's Consolidated Plan covers primarily nonhousing planning and projects.
Chandler will have access to $1 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. All other funding will be administered through Maricopa County.
The city began to update its Redevelopment Area Plan in January 1994 and its Consolidated Plan in October 1994. More than 20 public hearings were held to garner citizen opinion. Residents expressed an interest in eliminating blight and increasing economic and social services, particularly youth services directed at District One, the Downtown Square, one of the city's poorest sections.
The Chandler Redevelopment Advisory Committee met three times to hear public comments before making recommendations on the allocation of Federal resources during Fiscal Year 1995. The city council approved the redevelopment program through a resolution on February 28, 1995, and at that time, instructed staff to draft the Consolidated Plan.
The Chandler Independent Tribune announced the availability of the draft Consolidated Plan on April 3, 1995. The public was invited to a final public hearing on April 18, 1995. Additionally, public hearings regarding the needs and direction specifically for the Consolidated Plan were scheduled for December 5 and 21, 1995.
In the 1980s Chandler's population tripled. At the same time, its unemployment rate dropped from 5.3 percent in 1980 to 3.8 percent in 1993.
District One, the Downtown Square, is a main target for development. It is the oldest area in the city and has some of the poorest housing. It is also home to the largest concentrations of low-income and minority residents.
The Chandler Housing and Redevelopment Division operates and manages the city's public housing program's 300 units for families and elderly or handicapped persons. Through its Housing and Redevelopment Division, Chandler plans to encourage homeownership for these residents.
The city is building or has planned many diverse affordable housing developments. Chandler has taken steps to encourage housing development to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income renters and first-time homebuyers. These include easing permit restrictions for developers and helping Human Action for Chandler, a local nonprofit organization, secure $2.2 million through the HOPE III program in 1992.
The city has an exceptional record in curbing locally instituted public policies that restrict or prohibit the construction or development of affordable housing. Actions planned for the coming fiscal year to increase the available stock of affordable housing include:
In December 1994 the Housing and Redevelopment Division began the Chandler Fair Housing hotline. This community link provides information on fair housing and referrals to enforcement agencies. The city will continue the service and advertise it citywide through monthly utility inserts.
The city will take steps to reduce the hazards related to lead-based paint through its Housing Rehabilitation Program. Identified properties will be tested and abated in accordance with applicable regulations.
High priority has been given to the following groups:
High priority for meeting homeless needs has been placed on transitional shelters, permanent supportive housing, and permanent housing for families. Medium priority has been placed on family outreach assessment, emergency shelters for families and individuals, transitional shelters for individuals and persons with special needs, and permanent housing for persons with special needs.
Top priorities for community development needs include:
Medium-priority needs include:
The Chandler Redevelopment Area will be revitalized by eliminating structures unfit for rehabilitation and instituting economic development programs.
The city receives an annual Federal entitlement of CDBG funds to be used to implement housing and community development programs. During Fiscal Year 1997, the city expects that local merchants will repay the CDBG program for the Facade Improvement Commercial Rehabilitation Program, which started in 1990. Repayments will give Chandler more CDBG income. In addition, funds from a Federal Special Purpose Grant are expected to continue to fund housing and rental rehabilitation as well as implementation of in-fill construction programs.
Being keenly aware of the necessity to leverage nonfederal resources, the city secured more than $500,000 from Intel Corporation for renovations and upgrades for a public housing development.
In the past, the city used State of Arizona Housing Trust Funds to aid Human Action for Chandler in obtaining $1.6 million from the HOPE III program. The city also succeeded in securing HOME funds with a match from the State for the construction of a transitional housing facility, and has matched its own bids for Federal funds with commitments of administrative support for all applicable programs.
The following is a sample of projects to be undertaken in 1996 by Chandler:
The city's Housing and Redevelopment Division will be responsible for the project and programs. The review, recordkeeping, and documentation for the programs also will be located at the Housing and Redevelopment Division. In some cases, nonprofit organizations will carry out program implementation. Staff of the Housing and Redevelopment Division will continue to monitor subrecipient agencies conducting revitalization activities to ensure compliance with Federal and local regulations and the Consolidated Plan.
The Chandler Redevelopment Advisory Committee has been charged by the mayor and city council with the monthly review of revitalization efforts in the city. Recommendations on the direction of revitalization efforts, changes in Consolidated Plan or other policies, and needs of the community will be forwarded to the city council for review as needed.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low- moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s) depicted in MAP 6.
