Corona is one of several communities in Riverside County, California. The city is referred to as the "Gateway to Orange County". Corona is served by two major freeways (Interstate 15 and Freeway 91) and is known for its people and business friendly atmosphere.
In 1995 Corona will have nearly $1,155,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program funds to maintain its public infrastructure (i.e., streets, sewers etc.) and to provide needed public services to its low-income households. Corona supplements its CDBG funds with California Redevelopment Low and Moderate-Income Housing Set Aside funds to maintain its affordable housing stock and to preserve neighborhoods.
The City Council held two public hearings to obtain citizen views and receive comments on the Consolidated Plan. This first public hearing was held prior to the publication of the Consolidated Plan and included proposed activities under the Community Development Block Grant Program. Citizens were given sufficient information about the subject of the hearing through an advanced notice published in the local newspaper. The hearing was held in the evening to accommodate most of the working population and accommodations were made for disabled persons. At the first two public hearings, the City received public testimony on the housing and nonhousing community development needs, including priority nonhousing community development needs.
In addition to holding the public hearings to obtain citizen input, the City held two town meetings. The first town meeting was held in the City Council Chambers on Tuesday, December 6, 1994, at 6:15 p.m. The second town meeting was held at 6:15 p.m. on a Tuesday, December 13, 1994 at the City Council Chambers. The location was within a census tract where extremely low- and low-income families reside.
Furthermore, the City identified various groups in the community and contacted these groups to solicit their input. This survey requests that respondents rank the City's housing and nonhousing community development needs on a priority basis.
The table below lists the community meetings that the City coordinated to present the purpose of the Consolidated Plan.
| DATE | FORUM | Approximate Number of Attendees |
| December 6, 1994 | Public Meeting | 3 |
| December 13, 1994 | Public Meeting | 2 |
| February 15, 1995 | City Council Public Hearing | 50 |
| March 1, 1995 | Second Public Hearing | 35 |
| April 19, 1995 | Third Public Hearing | 25 |
From 1980 to 1990, the percentage of Corona residents who were not United States citizens increased from 7.3% of the population to 13.4% of the population. Many of these residents immigrated to the United States during the 1980's. Corona has 7,434 (9.7%) residents who came to the United States between 1980 and 1990. It is expected that many of these people came to Corona in search of better employment.
Corona's large population increase is also reflected in the statistics showing where families lived five years prior to the Census. In 1980, the largest portion of the population (44%) had lived in the same house in both 1975 and 1980. By 1990, the largest portion of the population (36.4%) had lived in another County in California in 1985. For Riverside County as a whole, the largest percentage of the population (36.9%) had lived in the same house in 1985 and 1990. This illustrates that Corona has attracted more residents from outside the County than the County as a whole. This is probably due to Corona's proximity to Orange and Los Angeles Counties. The transportation data also shows that a majority of Corona's work force (52.3%) are employed outside of Riverside County.
As Corona continues to undergo changes in its demographic and business/industrial make-up, it will be faced with the task of meeting the housing needs of its growing community. Younger growing families will be seeking housing opportunities, including more space and home ownership within a modest price range, while the prices on the open market will remain primarily in the median-value range. Further, as the housing stock continually gets older, demands will be placed on the City to improve and replace these units while keeping them affordable for its residents.
According to the U.S. Census, the median household income for Corona was $20,693 in 1980, compared to a County-wide median household income of $16,037. According to the 1990 Census, the Corona median household income increased to $41,901 in ten years and the County- wide median household income increased at a similar rate to $41,100. As can be seen Table 2, below, Corona has kept pace with the Nation as a whole in terms of the increase in household median income. However, it remains behind in terms of actual dollars. This fact plays a key role in determining the extent of housing cost burden to City residents.
The local economy is primarily based on trade and service and is predominately geared to the needs of middle-income growing families. Population trends suggest that Corona will keep its place as one the fastest growing California cities over the next ten years. Growth is primarily due to Corona's close proximity to Orange County which offers higher paying jobs than many cities located in Riverside County.
According to 1990 Census data, there are 29,156 housing units in the City. The configuration of these units is as follows:
Approximately 26,538 of units are occupied, 8,626 units or 32% are renter-occupied and 15,294 units or 58% are owner-occupied. A total of 2,618 units are vacant. Of the vacant units, 1,183 are for rent, setting the rental vacancy rate at 45%; 879 units are for sale, setting the owner vacancy rate at 34%.
During the decade of the 1980's, housing costs in Corona increased dramatically. In August, 1988, the housing affordability index reached its lowest level since December, 1984. Only one fourth of California's households today have the income to qualify for a 30-year mortgage to buy the present median-priced single-family home priced at $167,428. A June, 1988 survey from the California Association of Realtors shows that 75% of California families cannot qualify to buy a typical home, assuming a 20% down payment and an annual income of $52,011 to make monthly payments including taxes and insurance of $1,300.
In 1980, the median owner-occupied property value in the City was $77,500, compared to a County median value of $67,037. By 1990, the median price for a home in Corona had increased to $186,300, compared to a County value of $137,100. Hence, while County-wide prices doubled over the past decade, owner-occupied property values in Corona increased in value almost two and one-half times. While this data does underscore the market strength and high demand in Corona, it also means that market rates and government assisted affordable housing will be increasingly difficult to achieve for low and middle income residents.
In the City of Corona, 52% of all households earn 95% or more than the 1990 area median income of $46,618; 48% of all households earn below $46,618 annually.
The principal areas of concentration of homeless people are the City Park, the Sixth Street Corridor, and the downtown section of the City. Currently, Corona provides funding to several service providers through its Redevelopment Low/Mod Funding to support those service organizations who provide for the needy and homeless of Corona. For example, The Settlement House provides assistance for the homeless and persons threatened with homelessness through their Rental Voucher Program which pays for a portion of the rent when rent payments fall behind and a family is threatened with eviction. The Corona Armory provides 40 beds for shelter during the cold-weather months. Given the limitations of local organizations, Corona homeless individuals and families are referred to several other agencies located outside of the City which serve all of Riverside County. Those service providers include:
The City currently has no transitional shelters or permanent housing for homeless with disabilities available in the City; the Circle of Hope is currently constructing a transitional/emergency shelter, which should be completed within a year.
The City of Corona has no public housing inventory at this time. All public housing that is located in the City of Corona is owned and managed by the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside. The Housing Authority of the County of Riverside provides affordable housing opportunities for very low-income families of Riverside County. The Housing Authority currently owns and manages 118 units that are located within the City of Corona and provides 17 of these rental units for low income families at fair market rent. The remaining 111 are offered at market rate to all Corona residents.
Market driven impediments in the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of housing involves a variety of costs that are beyond the control of a local government. These costs include those incurred for construction (labor and materials), the purchase of land, and the financing of construction.
Furthermore, by Law, California must provide housing programs for all economic segments of the community that cannot access the funds necessary to maintain such programs. Other government constraints include the Tax reform Act of 1986, environmental review requirements, permit requirements, historical renovation requirements for buildings on the National or State Historical Register and lead-based paint requirements.
Development standards sometimes add to the problem of affordable housing. The constraints with the greatest impact are those contained in the city's zoning ordinance. In order to reflect the community's development goals and objectives, zoning regulates the use, density, floor area, setbacks, parking and mix of all residential, commercial and industrial projects. Zoning reduces the supply of land available for residential development and regulates the intensity of residential land use through minimum lot size requirements. Although zoning can be a constraint, it is designed to create residential projects and areas that are functional and aesthetic.
Corona affirms the need for fair housing and will prepare an analysis of the impediment to fair housing. Corona currently provides funding to the Fair Housing Council of the County of Riverside to provide fair housing counseling and services to low-income households.
Of all low and very-low income housing units in Corona, 3,212 are estimated to have lead-based paint; 2,427 would be renter households below 80% of area median income and 785 would be owner-occupied households below 80% of area median income. Those units which may be of greatest risk to low and very-low income renters were built prior to 1940 and number 274 or 1% of the total housing stock. Pre-1940 units which may present the greatest risk to very-low income renter households are just over 1% of all units in the City; (16 housing units). In addition, of all pre-1940 rental housing units (3,782), 10% or 378 are occupied by low-income households. The exact locations of these housing units cannot be determined by the City. However, based on the ages of the homes in Census Tracts 416 and 417.01, these areas are likely to have the most number of housing units with lead-based paint.
Contact with the Riverside County Department of Health Child and Adolescent Program provided the City with information regarding educational information on the hazards of lead paint. Actual programmatic, coordinated efforts regarding testing of children for lead or lead-based paint abatement rest primarily with County health and housing and community development programs and staff. After consulting with local health officials and child protection agencies to examine existing data on lead hazards and poisoning, these agencies were able to provide the number of children affected by lead poisoning in Riverside County as a whole. However, data was not available at a local level and was not broken down in terms of whether or not the poisoning was attributed to the housing unit. Funding is not currently available to develop this type of database.
The city has adopted three strategies to minimize the incidence of lead paint poisoning as follows:
Through the availability of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds, the City is able to allocate funds to specific low- income areas which are prone to neighborhood decline and dilapidation. Through this effort the City reduces the risk of obvious delineation of lower income neighborhoods thereby promoting pride of homeownership and residency in all geographic areas within the City limits. In addition, the City can encourage the economic empowerment of its low- and moderate-income , especially very low-income residents by funding activities on an annual basis utilizing CDBG funds.
Multi year projects include projects in low and moderate-income neighborhoods such as:
One of Corona's general housing goals is to attain decent housing and living environment for households from all socioeconomic, age, and ethnic groups. Another goal is to provide various housing opportunities for all sizes of households. The city would also like to balance its residential environment with community facilities, adequate services and access to employment opportunities.
Based on all available information, the city has determine the overall needs of the community and has formulated them into goals and strategies. Some of these goals include the following:
The city will continue to support those organizations and groups that provide goods and services to low-income, moderate-income and homeless individuals. These city-supported organizations include: Riverside County Housing Authority (Job Training Partnership Act Program) and the Riverside County Department of Community Action (Family Self-Sufficiency Program).
Although the funding resources available to meeting affordable housing needs are limited, Corona can access a number of types of potential funding sources. Corona's primary financing tool for affordable housing comes from its California Redevelopment Low and Moderate Income Housing Set Aside fund. California Redevelopment Law requires redevelopment agencies to set aside 20% of all property tax revenues received for the development and preservation of housing for low and moderate income households. Federal Community Development Block Grant monies are used to provide needed repairs to the city's streets, sewers, lighting and other infrastructure improvements. The city also facilitates relationships with private lending institutions and developers to add to and leverage its existing pool of resources.
The city's Housing and Development Department is responsible for implementing the housing components of the Consolidated Plan. However, the city has established relationships with other agencies, community leaders and local lenders to better coordinate the provision of affordable housing opportunities.
Most Consolidated Plan projects in 1995 will benefit residents city-wide, even when funds are targeted to specific locations. Please see the following maps for more detail:
Map 1- City of Corona Points of Interest
Map 2- Areas where over 51 % residents have low to moderate income.
Map 3- Areas with minority concentration.
Map 4- Areas with unemployment concentration.
Map 5- Location of some CDBG funded projects.
Nancy Davison
Project Manager
City of Corona
815 West 6th Street,
Corona, CA 91720
PH: (909) 736-2488
