The City of El Monte's 1995 Consolidated Plan constitutes a strategic vision for housing and community development in the City. This summarizes that plan to ensure that citizens within the community can have a quick overview of El Monte's housing and community development problems; the 5 year broad goals, strategies, and actions proposed to deal with those problems; and the specific projects proposed for 1 995 to carry out this strategy. In addition, maps demonstrate the location of most of these projects and how they relate to the neighborhood conditions.
As a part of the federal application process for the CDBG, HOME and ESG Programs, the City of El Monte is required to produce a single, 5 year, strategic plan that brings needs and resources together in a coordinated housing and community development strategy. The strategy must be developed to achieve the following statutory goals, principally for extremely low-, low-, and moderate-income residents:
In compliance with federal regulations, the City's 5 year Strategic Plan has been developed in accordance with the following statutory goals:
The City of El Monte attempts to address numerous issues through the programs set forth within the Consolidated Plan for Fiscal Years 1995-1999. These include the elimination of slums and blight, elimination of conditions that are detrimental to health, safety and public welfare, conservation and expansion of the nation's housing stock, expansion and improvement of the quantity and quality of community services, better utilization of land and other natural resources, reduction in the isolation of income groups within communities and geographical areas, restoration and preservation of properties of special values and alleviation of physical and economic distress.
During calendar year 1995, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued rules relating to the consolidation of several formula grant programs. These programs are the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnership (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA). The City of El Monte currently participates in the first three programs. The purpose of the Consolidated Plan Submission (CPS) is to assist the consolidation process by bringing together the planning, application, reporting, and citizen participation components of each of these formula grant programs.
These programs have three basic goals: securing decent housing; providing a suitable living environment; and expanding economic opportunities. Providing decent housing includes rehabilitating the housing stock, providing opportunities for first time home buyers, and increasing the availability of permanent affordable housing for low-income households without discrimination. Providing a suitable living environment includes improving the safety and livability of neighborhoods; enhancing housing opportunities for low income persons and minorities; revitalizing neighborhoods; restoring and preserving natural and physical features with historic, architectural, and aesthetic value; and conserving energy resources. To expand economic opportunities, the comprehensive approach encourages job creation, stimulating access to credit for community development, and assisting low-income persons with achieving self-sufficiency in federally assisted housing.
The City of El Monte Community Development Department coordinated consultations with various pubic agencies in order to gain a better understanding the needs of its community. Public meetings and public hearings were conducted throughout the Consolidated Plan development process. The Citizen Participation Plan adopted by the City of El Monte sets forth the guidelines and procedures for the continuing participation of the citizens of El Monte. The City of El Monte developed and implemented a community outreach process to obtain input from the community on the housing and nonhousing community development needs of the City.
This community outreach process encouraged the involvement of all groups including low and moderate-income persons, members of minority groups, non-English speaking persons, persons with mobility, visual or hearing impairments, residents of areas where a significant amount of activity is occurring or proposed, the elderly, the business community, and civic groups. All meetings addressed the following areas: housing needs, homeless needs, public housing needs, lead-based paint needs, market conditions, barriers to affordable housing, fair housing, needs of special populations, and nonhousing community development needs. In addition, at each of the public meetings held by the City, input from citizens on the above mentioned areas was verbally requested by the City.
In addition to holding the public hearings indicated below, the City held two public outreach town meetings to obtain citizen input. The first town meeting was held on Saturday, December 17, 1 995 in Lambert Park at 2:00 p.m. and the second town meeting was held on Saturday, February 25, 1995 at 1:00 p.m. at the Brookside Mobile Home Park. Both locations were within census tracts where extremely low- and low income families reside.
A public notice of the two town meetings was published in the Mid Valley News (in both English and Spanish) and in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune (in English) a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the meetings and hearings. Both papers are local newspapers of general circulation. In addition, the City sent invitations to the previous years CDBG subrecipients including public service providers in the City. As with the other meetings concerning the Consolidated Plan held by the City, CHS, Inc. gave a presentation on the Consolidated Plan, distributed a handout and the Community Needs Survey, and requested any verbal or written input on the housing and nonhousing community development needs for the next five years of the City.
In order to further public participation and to provide the public with information regarding the availability of CDBG and HOME funds for the future fiscal year, the City held a public hearing during which public comment was elicited regarding the current perceived housing and related social service needs of El Monte residents-on February 14, 1995. The City published a public notice in English and Spanish in the Mid Valley News on February 1, 1995 regarding this public hearing. The Mid Valley News is delivered to every household in El Monte. Additionally, the public notice was published in English in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune on January 31, 1995. All public notices advised residents, public agencies and other interested parties of a public participation meeting for the FY 1995 Consolidated Plan and its development. The notices were published a minimum of 14 days prior to the February 14, 1 995 meeting date and the meeting was held at 7:30 p.m. so that most interested parties would be able to attend with few other interferences. The meeting was held in the El Monte City Council Chambers which was accessible to all members of the public, including the handicapped. Three public service providers attended the hearing and provided information on their respective organizations including the GI Forum National Veteran Outreach Program, Inc., The Center for Independent Living and Catholic Charities.
The City also scheduled another public hearing on the completed FY 1995 Consolidated Plan which was held by the El Monte City Council on May 9, 1995. The City published a notice on April 5, 1995, which included (1) notification of the onset of the thirty-day comment period (April 5, 1 995 through May 5, 1 995; (2) a summary of the Five Year Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan were published in the Mid Valley News in both English and Spanish and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune in English; and (3) notification of the time, date and location of the May 9, 1 995 public hearing held by the City Council. The summary included a list of locations where the Consolidated Plan documents could be picked up or read and reviewed by interested members of the public. The Consolidated Plan documents, at indicated in the public notice, were made available at the following locations: City of El Monte Community Development Department, City of El Monte Planning Department, City of El Monte City Clerks Office, City of El Monte Administrative Office, Norwood Public Library, El Monte Library, El Monte Senior Center, Fair Housing Council, El Monte Community Center, El Monte/South El Monte Emergency Resources Association and Our Savior Center. Further, the public notice specified that comments would be received for a period of 30 days from the date of publication (beginning March 29, 1995 and ending April 29, 1995), and included an address where written comments could be received. Furthermore the City forwarded a copy of its approved Consolidated Plan to the State of California on May 17, 1995.
The City of El Monte has experienced a trend of in-migration over the last several decades and expects to see the same over the next ten years. In general, new non-white residents locate to El Monte because of strong family ties and a familiar setting (i.e. language). As El Monte 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 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.
Beginning in the late I970s, the City began to experience an increase in population due to the in-migration of large numbers of people from Southeast Asia and Latin America. Although the numbers of immigrants decreased during the early I980s, the City continued to experience a significant increase in population mostly due to the growth of family sizes of the immigrants who were now established in the City. The years between 1980 and I990 saw a 33.6 percent increase in the number of persons residing in the City. El Monte' unlike most of the Nation, is a community retaining a relatively stable elderly population. Almost six and one half percent of the City's population (6,836 residents) in I990 were over the age of 65 years, a 1.6 percent increase from the 8 percent of elderly in I980. The increase in El Monte's population is due mostly to an increase in the
number and size of younger, non-white families locating to El Monte. The current population trend is within primarily minority groups and in a built-out City replacement, displacement and /or redevelopment of existing housing stock is required to keep pace with growing population.
The I990 United States Census indicated a total population within the City of El Monte of 106,209. This data indicates that the population has increased by almost 20 percent in IO years. This growth reflects the "built out" nature of the community. The total population within the City is likely to increase modestly over the next 5 years, reflecting the relatively scarce opportunities for further new housing development in the community. The City has experienced a relatively steady increase in population from 1970 to 1980. In addition, the age distribution has remained relatively constant over the past I0 years. For example, in 1980 85.4 percent of the population was under 54 years of age as compared to 88.6 percent in I990. The percentage of school age children under 18 years of age was 25.4 percent in 1980 and 24.9 percent in I990.
Between I980 and I990, the number of El Monte households increased from 24,170 to 26,2 18 or 8 percent over the decade while the El Monte household population increased from 77,852 to 104,446 or 34 percent. The average household size has increased from 3.22 persons per household in 1980 to 4 persons per household in I990. In I990, family groups made up 92 percent of these households; seniors, 6 percent; and single residents, 14 percent. The average household size of 4 persons should not obscure the fact that a significant number of El Monte families are under-housed and, hence, live in overcrowded conditions. The I 990 Census shows over I1,140 El Monte residents, or nearly 43 percent of all households, live in conditions which are defined as overcrowded (more than one person per room).
According to the 1990 HUD Census Data, eleven census tracts located within the City have high concentrations, 50 percent or more of the population, of racial/ethnic groups. El Monte's population was designated as 34 percent White in 1980. In 1990, El Monte's White population group has declined to 15 percent of the total population. The actual number of whites has declined by nearly 41 percent but the growth in other population groups has been explosive over the last ten years. The Black population has increased 99 percent in ten years. The Hispanic population has increased over 58 percent in the same period. The Asian and Pacific Islander population has experienced a 377 percent growth rate within the City while the population group known as "Other" has modestly increased by 14 percent. On the other side of the equation, the Native American population has declined by 61 percent.
As indicated by current U.S. Census Bureau data, the City of El Monte experienced an overall population growth of about 34 percent between 1980 and 1990. Census Bureau data for 1980 indicate that white persons constituted about 15 percent of the El Monte population, while black persons constituted just over .5 percent and Asians constituted about I I percent of the population. Persons of Hispanic background represented 72 percent of the population. By I 990, minority groups accounted for well over half the population, with Hispanics alone accounting for almost 72 percent of the population. Numerically, the Hispanic ethnic/racial population shows the greatest number of households earning below 50 percent of the area median income. Approximately 43 percent of all Hispanic households (I 6,072) or 6,911 households are earning less than 50 percent of the area median income.
According to the U.S. Census, the median household income for El Monte was $ 16,146 in 1980, compared to a County-wide median household income of $29,415. According to the I990 Census, the El Monte median household income increased moderately to $28,034 in ten years and the County-wide median household income increased at a similar rate to $34,965. Thus, while the City of El Monte has kept pace with the Nation as a whole in terms of the increase in household median income, it remains behind in terms of actual dollars. In the City of El Monte, 29 percent of all households earn 95 percent or more than the I990 area median income of $2 8,034; 71 percent of all households earn below $28,034 annually. Low income families are those earning between 0 and 30 percent of the median family income, a range of $0.00 to $8,401 per year based on the median family income of $28,004. There are 5,104 households within this income group in the City of El Monte, representing I9.5 percent of the total households.
The needs section of the Comprehensive Plan outlines the extent of need by various groups for housing and the problems associated with community development which need to be addressed.
The housing market in the City of El Monte has experienced a downturn in the early I990s relative to the significant growth in home values of the 1980s. Housing units are losing between 7 percent and 10 percent of the values experienced at their peak in I990. This turn is advantageous for those trying to enter into homeownership now; in 1995, mortgage interest rates remain at their lowest level in nearly a generation. However, for those who purchased their first homes in the.late 1980s or very early 1990s, the reality of declining values has eaten into some of, if not all, the equity of these first-time homebuyers.
According to I990 Census data, there are 27,167 housing units in the City, and the median year for construction of these housing units is 1962. Approximately 26,131 of these units are occupied, 15,624 units or 58 percent are renter-occupied and 10,507 units or 39 percent are owner-occupied. A total of 1,036 units are vacant. Of the vacant units, 596 are for rent, setting the rental vacancy rate at 3.67 percent; 138 units are for sale, setting the owner vacancy rate at 1.30 percent. Some 302 units are considered "other" vacant units. 83 percent of the total housing stock is in standard condition in the City. On the other side of the spectrum, an estimated 17 percent of the City's housing stock (4,400) is in substandard condition. Of those which are in substandard condition, 72 percent are considered suitable for rehabilitation. Approximately 510 of the units suitable for rehabilitation are occupied by low-income homeowners and 1,066 are low-income rentals and another 188 are vacant. I990 available unit vacancy rates of approximately 3.9 percent suggest limited supply of large family rental units and owner-occupant units.
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has prepared population projections for all cities within the SCAG region. SCAG is predicting that El Monte will grow to 116,418 persons by the year 2000, an increase of almost 1O percent during the decade. However, it is projected that the number of households will increase to 28,436, an increase of only 8.5 percent. The discrepancy between the population and household projections reveals an increase in average household size from 4.05 in 1990 to 4.09 in 2000. If these projections prove accurate, the City will experience increasing overcrowding over the next decade. In order to maintain the present average household size, the City would need 29,289 housing units in the year 2000, assuming the I990 vacancy rate of 3.8 percent. This represents a net housing unit need of an increase of 2,122 units or 212 units per year. The built out condition of El Monte limits opportunities for achieving the City's housing objective due to the lack of vacant land available for development of affordable housing. Recycling previously developed residential properties for more intensive housing conflicts with safeguarding the City's supply of affordable single-family homes, and with the stabilization and protection of existing single-family neighborhoods.
Since I990 single-family housing units in El Monte has increased by 335 whereas the number of multifamily units increased only slightly by 38 units. The increase in single-family residential units does not indicate an availability of homeownership opportunities to low- and middle-income households, however, due to the high cost of new construction and thus a higher resale price for newly constructed single-family homes. in El Monte as elsewhere in California. The rate of home ownership decreased from 40 percent to 39 percent from 1980 to 1990 and owner-occupied housing in El Monte is far below that of the Nation, California and Los Angeles County. According to the Bureau of the Census, home prices in the City of El Monte have increased from $65,000 in 1980 to $172,100 in 1990. This represents a 165 percent overall increase in homes prices in the City during the last ten years. The 1990 median family income in the City of El Monte is $28,004. Assuming a prospective homebuyer makes a down payment equaling 20 percent of the total purchase price of $ 172,100 (median value), the family would need approximately $34,420 in savings and have the ability to carry a mortgage loan of $ 137,680.
Based on 1990 Census information, there are 11,140 total overcrowded units or 43 percent of occupied units (23,131). Of these, 7,317 units are severely overcrowded or 66 percent of occupied units. Over 14 percent of the renter population of El Monte lives in a large household (6,392 large households). These are households in which at least 5 or more persons reside. (No information was available on large family owner-occupied households). The first, most obvious comparison, is that there are not enough 3 or more bedroom rental units in El Monte available to families who require them. The available rental stock of 3 or more bedroom units is 2,012; there are 6,392 large family rental households in El Monte. Of these households, a total of 4,758 households or 48 percent of all large family households, are paying more than 30 percent of the household's income for shelter. Of the low-income households, some 1,152 low income large households, or 18 percent of all large households, are paying more than 50 percent of their income for monthly rent. Certainly, the 4,380 households not living in a 3 or more bedroom unit are experiencing overcrowding. Also, the 4,758 large family households which are cost-burdened require rental assistance.
In general, cost burden is the overwhelming housing problem facing El Monte households. Overcrowding and unit inadequacies are secondary according to census report findings. High percentages of all lowincome renter household types (i.e., 92 percent-96 percent)--regardless of ethnicity--experience some type of housing problem. Among low-income owners, 100 percent of small black households experience housing problems. Ninety-five percent (95 percent) and almost one hundred percent (I00 percent) of minority-headed small and large low-income households, respectively, report some type of housing problem. For each low-income owner household type (i.e. elderly, small and large) the percentage of Hispanics which report some type of housing problem nearly equals the corresponding percentage for minority-headed households, in general.
Approximately 25 percent of all renters are extremely low-income households. Approximately seven out of eight households (86 percent) are rent burdened by more than 30 percent of their monthly income, seventy-four (74 percent) of extremely low-income renter households suffer from severe housing cost burden of greater than 50 percent. Extremely low-income renter households experiencing a cost burden of 30 percent or greater represent 22 percent of the entire renter population with large related renter households bear most of this burden at 9 percent. Of extremely low-income renters, 90 percent report some type of housing problem. The elderly report some type of housing problem least at 73 percent and large families report it most at 99 percent. With respect to housing cost burden, 73 percent of all elderly extremely low-income renter report it at greater than 30 percent. Moreover, 93 percent of all large related household renters in this income range report housing cost burden greater than 30 percent and 90 percent of small-related households report cost burden in excess of 30 percent. Cost burden is the most reported problem within this income range over any other housing problem. Extremely low-income owners make up 24 percent of all extremely low-income households. Of these households, 67 percent are cost burdened by 30 percent or more and 48 percent are cost burdened by 50 percent or more.
A comparison of extremely low-income elderly owners to all other extremely low-income owners indicates that the percent of elderly households experiencing cost burden and housing problems in general is much lower than the corresponding percentages for all other owners. Of the owners in the 0-30 percent of MFI category, 82 percent of minority-headed households and 82 percent of Hispanic owner households, in general, report some type of housing problem. According to the CHAS Databook, there are no Black owner households in this income range.
Fair market rents range 27 to 39 percent greater than what a family at 50 percent of area median income can afford. As the unit size becomes greater, the affordability of that unit declines more rapidly. Therefore, many extremely low- and moderate-income families will tend to be priced out of the City's rental market unless they overpay for shelter, double-up with other households, or receive some form of housing assistance. A number of the jobs expected to be created in El Monte over the next several years will tend to pay salaries in the low income range. Only relatively experienced or skilled employees can reasonably expect to, afford rental housing in El Monte. Less experienced employees, as well as low- or no-skill employees may have difficulty finding affordable housing, particularly if these workers are sole wage-earners that have families to support.
Low-income households earn between 0 and 50 percent of the median family income. The median family income is $28,004; low-income households earn $ 14,002 annually or less. These households can be further divided into 0-30 percent of median and 31-50 percent of median income. The maximum that a low-income family could afford to pay in monthly rent is $350. This is 42 percent less than the City's median rent of $600. At this time, rental housing constitutes 58 percent of all available housing in El Monte. There appears to be enough rental units to meet the number of households (15,443) which are renters. Fifty percent, or 7,707, of all renter households are low income. This burden is reported to be the greatest for large and small-related households. Large-related household renters represent 24 percent (i.e., 6,372) of the entire renter population and 17 percent of these households are experiencing a housing cost, burden which exceeds 30 percent of their income while small-related household renters represent 11 percent of the entire renter population and 16 percent of these households report housing cost burden which exceeds 30 percent of their income.
Low-income owner-occupants make up 24 percent of all homeowners in El Monte. CHAS Table I C indicates that low-income elderly owner-occupants are 44 percent of all low-income homeowners. Table 27 indicates 22.8 percent or 1,052 of Hispanic-owned households are low-income. This percentage is slightly greater at 24 percent for total low-income and slightly lower for minority-headed households at 20.6 percent. In contrast, only 7.9 percent of black households are low-income.
Thirteen percent of all low-income owner households report a housing cost burden greater than 30 percent of their income. 38 percent of all elderly owner-occupied households in this income range report a housing cost burden of greater than 30 percent and 27 percent have a housing cost burden of greater than 50 percent. Seventy-six percent of all other low-income owner-occupant households in this income range report a housing cost burden greater than 30 percent and 65 percent have a housing cost burden greater than 50 percent of their income. Of all low-income households in the City of El Monte a full 37 percent are cost burdened. Over three quarters (76 percent) of all households paying more than 30 percent of their gross monthly income towards housing cost burdened households or 40 percent of all households in the City are rental households.
Forty three percent of all Hispanic households in El Monte are low-income. This is over 5 percent higher than any other ethnic group represented in the low-income range. In addition, nearly 84 percent of Hispanic renter households report having some type of housing problem. Furthermore, 52 percent, 5,889 of all Hispanic households, 11,457 are low-income. In addition, of all minority-headed households, 6,493, nearly 96 percent report some type of housing problem and these problems are reported the highest in large-related family households at almost one hundred percent (99.6 percent).
The Native American ethnic group does not appear to have a disproportionately large number of its total population earning a low-income, with only 13 percent of all households in this group being low-income. According to the I 990 Census, the average household size of the Native American family is 1.9 persons. Cost burden and/or physical inadequacy of the unit are likely the problems faced most often by these low income households since the small related household size implies that overcrowding is not a problem. Black households number 76 or less than I percent of all low-income households. Further, almost 53 percent and over 13 percent are small renter and large renter households and none are elderly renter households. Eighty-five percent (85 percent) of low-income small-related black households and I00 percent of all low-income large-related black households report some type of housing problem.
100 percent of all black owner households in this income range are elderly and all of these households report some type of housing problem. In addition, low-income minority-headed owner households number 1,368 or 53 percent of all low-income owner households. Small-related and large-related households makeup the greatest number of low-income minority-headed households at 36.3 percent and 33.7 percent, respectively with elderly households following at 20.2 percent. Further, nearly 95 percent of all low income large-related owner and 88 percent of all small owner minority-headed households report some type of housing problem. The minority-headed elderly households in this income range report housing problems at a rate of 42 percent.
There are approximately 11,436 moderate-income renter households in the City. This represents 74 percent of all renter households or 445 of the entire households population in the City. Large-related renter households make up 47 percent of the moderate-income households while small related follows relatively close behind at 35 percent. Of all moderate-income renter households, 87 percent report some type of housing problem. Large-family households cite the highest rate of some type of housing problem (77 percent) whereas a smaller percentage (30 percent) of elderly households cite, housing problem of any type. Small-related households cite the greatest cost burden over 30 percent of MFI, with the elderly (67 percent), large-related (59 percent) and all other (66 percent) behind. Severe cost burden for all moderate-income renter households is significant at 32 percent and appears too be most prevalent for small-related household of which 36 percent cite severe cost burden. However, both large and small-related families are experiencing severe cost burden in similar numbers (i.e., 1,442 and 1,465, respectively). Elderly moderate-income households report he least amount of severe cost burden at 6 percent.
Minority-headed households (9,673) represent 85 percent of all moderate-income renter households (11,428) in the City. In addition, minority-headed households report the highest incidence of housing problems in general at 83 percent. Moderate-income Hispanic households (1,457) represent 9 percent of the Cit/s renter households and approximately 1,124 or 84 percent of these households are experiencing housing problems of some type. Black non-Hispanic moderate-income households are experiencing the least amount of housing problems at over 53 percent. A total of 4,574 moderate-income owner households live in the City of El Monte. This constitutes almost 29 percent of the entire owner household population in the City. Of all moderate-income households a large number (61 percent) report some type of housing problem whereas a smaller number (42 percent) report cost burden as a factor. Overall, the elderly households in this income category cite the least amount of housing problems and cost burden at 30 percent while 77 percent all other moderate-income owner households report some type of housing burden and 60 percent cite cost burden. Furthermore, elderly moderate-income households (I 2 percent) report the least severe cost burden while 34 percent of all other households report severe cost burden as prevalent.
Middle-income households make up 24 percent, 3,729, of all renter households. Small related families are nearly half of these total households, 772. Forty percent of small households report some sort of housing problem (i.e. 309), which could be cost burden, overcrowding or physical inadequacy of the unit. Approximately one out of five small renter households, 1 54 or 20 percent, report cost burden of 30 percent or more. No households in this income range report any cost burdened greater than 50 percent.
Elderly middle-income renter households are only 6 percent, 211 of total middle-income households in El Monte. Forty-four, representing 44 percent of these households, 93, report some sort of housing problem while 41 percent, 87, report cost burden of greater than 30 percent. Large middle-income renter households are 12 percent of the middle-income renter population. Large families report some sort of housing problem in 97 percent of all of these households. Nineteen percent of large family households report cost burden of over 30 percent. Small and large-related households represent 83 percent, 3,095 of all middle-income renter households. Over one thousand, (1,827) middle-income large family renter households make up 50 percent of the total middle-income renter households, 372, compared to the 1,268 or 34 percent of small-related households. Given this information, it is apparent large-related family households may require slightly more assistance in alleviating the housing cost burden than small family households.
No household type, in general burdened severely, paying more than 50 percent of income for housing. All other households make up 11 percent, 423, of total middle income renter households, 3,729. Sixty-nine percent of these households report some sort of housing problem, while over half, 54 percent, report cost burden of over 30 percent. Middle income owner-occupants make up I 1 percent of all owner households. Cost burden of greater than 30 percent is reported in 10 percent, 43, of all elderly owner households and 52 percent of all other types of households. However, only
4 percent of elderly owner households report cost burden of greater than 50 percent while 16 percent of all other households report the same burden.
The City of El Monte does not own or operate any public housing. However, the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission provides Section 8 assistance to El Monte residents by working with individual property owners. As of October 1994, a total of 396 Section 8 units were held by low-income households in the City of El Monte. This number has remained relatively consistent over the last several years. The Los Angeles Community Development Commission waiting list for Section 8 housing never closes but the number on the list is estimated to be 113,000. Additionally, the Baldwin Park Housing Authority waiting list contains 120 El Monte residents. Also, the City of El Monte currently has 232 units of housing that were developed with the assistance of public subsidies, and that provide an important source of housing opportunities to extremely low-, low- and moderate-income households.
Roughly 92.3 percent of all low-income renter households, regardless of family type, cite some type of housing problem. This may refer to physical inadequacy of the unit (i.e., lacking plumbing, complete kitchen or bathroom) overcrowding within the unit (i.e., units which have more than one person per room) or a cost burden (exceeding 30 percent of gross income, including utilities or a severe cost burden (exceeding 50 percent of gross income, including utilities). Nearly I00 percent of all small and large renter households (including all households types within the large renter categories: total renter households; minority-headed households; black households; and Hispanic households) report having some type of housing problem. Similarly, minority-headed and Hispanic small-related, low-income renter households report having some type of housing problem at nearly 95 percent. Likewise, 87.2 percent of low-income minority-headed elderly renters and 87.7 percent of Hispanic elderly renters report some type of housing problem, in general. However, given the available data, one cannot make a determination of which types of housing problems are being experienced most often by minority and non-minority households.
According to the City's most recent HAP (I988), nearly 4,400 housing units do not meet the requirements of the local building code and are thus considered to be of substandard quality. Although City staff indicates that most of these units can be economically rehabilitated, approximately 1,232 are thought to be in such poor condition that they must be tom down and replaced. Of approximately 3,168 units suitable for rehabilitation approximately 2,569 are owner-occupants, and 2,484 are renters. A large number of these units are clustered in neighborhoods located in the central section of the City, primarily within census tract 4332 (owner units) and census tract 4328 (renter units).
1990 Census S Night operations identified 30 persons in emergency shelters in El Monte including I child age 13 to 17 and 29 adults age 18 and older. The Census counted 257 people in shelters for runaway, neglected and homeless children, with 62 children under age 6, 102 children between ages 6 and 12, 89 children between the ages of 13 to 17 and four persons age 18 or older. The total shelter count comes to 287 with another 152 persons visible in street locations. The Census count is not and was never intended to be a complete count of the total population of homeless persons. Therefore, the City's homeless population probably is somewhat larger than 439 persons, although the total number of homeless in unknown.
The City currently has no overnight shelters beds, transitional shelters, or permanent housing for homeless with disabilities available in the City. One of the principal areas of concentration of homeless people are the interchanges of the San Bernardino (1- 10) and San Gabriel River Freeways (1-605). Currently, El Monte provides funding to the El Monte/South El Monte Emergency Resources Association through its ESG to support a voucher system for&the needy and homeless of El Monte. The vouchers provide free shelter to approximately I 0 homeless persons per night at local motels. The El/Monte South El Monte Emergency Resources Association also provides assistance for the homeless and persons threatened with homelessness through the Emergency Shelter Grant, which is given to the City on an annual basis by HUD. Funding from this program can be used to pay for a portion of the first month's rent and security deposit for a homeless family to move into an apartment. Funds can also be used to pay for a portion of the rent when rent payments fall behind and a family is threatened with eviction. Given the financial limitations of the El/Monte South El Monte Emergency Resources Association, El Monte homeless individuals and families are referred to several other agencies located outside of the City which serve all of Los Angeles County.
Efforts to coordinate service programs for addressing the needs of non-homeless with special needs occur at City and County levels of government. Many supportive service agencies approached the City through the Consolidated Plan public participation and development process and expressed that while the services exist in many neighborhoods, the largest deficit is in affordable housing to accompany that service. The key appears to be to locate a site which could be converted to SRO or a site which would be a smaller housing project targeted to include a planned service component once completed.
There are a number of social service agencies within the City willing to coordinate service programs to address non-homeless with special needs, whether that be job training, social service, mental health, substance abuse, or counseling related services, etc. The County of Los Angeles offers assistance to all El Monte residents through County health clinics which manage mental health cases, alcohol/drug abuse cases, cases of domestic violence and homeless youth.
Efforts to coordinate service programs for addressing the needs of non-homeless with special needs occur at City and County levels of government. Many supportive service agencies approached the City through the Consolidated Plan public participation and development process and expressed that while the services exist in many neighborhoods, the largest deficit is in affordable housing to accompany that service. The key appears to be to locate a site which could be converted to SRO or
a site which would be a smaller housing project targeted to include a planned service component once completed.
There are a number of social service agencies within the City willing to coordinate service programs to address non-homeless with special needs, whether that be job training, social service, mental health, substance abuse, or counseling related services, etc. The County of Los Angeles offers assistance to all El Monte residents through County health clinics which manage mental health cases, alcohol/drug abuse cases, cases of domestic violence and homeless youth.
The Strategic Plan for the City of El Monte lays out a long term strategy to deal with the housing and community development needs within the City of El Monte.
The City of El Monte faces an enormous challenge in marshaling the resources necessary to implement its Strategic Plan. Successfully accomplishing ' the priorities set forth over the next five years is an ambitious ob active that will challenge the constituents of all sectors of the community. The Consolidated Plan contains an inventory of Federal, State, and local programs available to carry out the plan.
The five high priority "needs" in the City of El Monte and the specific programs and five year goals for successfully meeting these priorities are:
Priority # 1: Preservation and Rehabilitation of Existing Housing Stock
Throughout the City, preservation and rehabilitation of the existing housing stock is the number one priority for the City of El Monte. First, replacement of existing units is costly and very time consuming. Replacement of a low- or moderate-income unit must occur within 4 years of the removal or demolition of an existing affordable unit. Generally, if the City is able to provide code enforcement citations and use available funds to improve existing structurally and financially feasible units, maintain the number of decent, safe, and affordable units will be more manageable and will allow for development of additional units, for all income levels, as well. Housing rehabilitation addresses housing availability by assisting both owner-occupants and investment property owners through maintenance of the existing affordable stock, ensuring that the number of affordable units available today continue to be available for at least the next 15 years. Housing rehabilitation addresses housing affordability by keeping affordable units habitable at a lesser cost than new construction of affordable units or assisting first-time homebuvers in obtaining homes through second mortgage or down payment assistance which can require deeper Subsidies to some households. Also, housing rehabilitation tends to encourage similar activities within a neighborhood.
Finally, housing rehabilitation addresses housing adequacy ensuring that project completion is not granted until the unit is brought to an acceptable level of occupancy, according to local building code. The rehabilitation to be accomplished, whether at a moderate or substantial level, will ensure the completed unit has been repaired or refurbished to the extent that it will remain in the affordable stock for at least the next 15 years.
Among renters, the incidence of problems is consistently high across all low-income groups cited. Similarly, the incidence of housing problems among homeowners exceeds 62 percent for all income groups, too, dropping only slightly to just over fifty-seven percent (57.7 percent) for low and moderate income groups. For both renters and owners, the overwhelming problem is cost burden. Cost burden for extremely low-, low- and moderate-income households can make it very difficult to obtain any additional financial assistance from conventional banking institutions. If a household has a high debt-to-equity ratio or currently has a low loan-to-value ratio and needs additional funds to make emergency or routine repairs to their existing home, conventional lenders may not award the loan due to their strict underwriting criteria.
The City believes its first priority is to keep households currently residing in permanent owner housing in those residences. In order to assist the 10,775 rental and owner-occupant households who may be suffering -from any one or a number of housing problems from unit inadequacies, overcrowding or cost burden, the City operates the Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program, the Rehabilitation Grant and Loan Programs. Further, the City has an active Code Enforcement Team which assists in identifying existing and potential housing problems.
The City of El Monte, in response to the needs of low income home owners needing assistance has developed a strategy to actively maintain, improve and develop stable neighborhoods and housing opportunities for these income groups throughout the entire City. This strategy will utilize two programs aimed at owner-occupied units and one which targets rental properties. These programs are as follows:
Residential Rehabilitation Loan Program.Funds are dispersed by the City, and a loan may be granted for an amount up to 80 percent property equity. The City works with the property owner to identify substandard conditions to be corrected with loans fund by the CDBG program. The City may also assist in arranging for appropriate contractors to perform the repairs. The City also addresses the problems of overcrowding by allowing room additions such as additional bedrooms and/or bathrooms.
Rehabilitation Grant Program.This program is restricted to owner occupants of single-family units and mobile homes who are senior citizens or handicapped persons and who live on permanently fixed incomes at or below 80 percent of the County median income. The Program awards one-time grants of up to $3,000 for property repairs.
Rental Rehabilitation ProgramThe Rental Rehabilitation Program (RRP) was terminated by the Federal Government in October, 1 99 1. Remaining funds may be expended for the rehabilitation of rental housing units in order to create decent, safe, sanitary and affordable rental housing for up to five years after the allocation to the City. Future rehabilitation of affordable rental units to be available to low income tenants may be conducted through HOME formula allocation funding that the City of El Monte began receiving in FY 1992.
Priority #2: Expansion of Affordable Housing for the Elderly and Low- and Moderate income Families Through New Construction
The housing stock within the City of El Monte has not kept pace with the increase in households. Vacancy rates also show that both in the ownership and rental market, housing stock is not expanding fast enough to keep up with growth in demand. The low rental vacancy rate would appear to indicate an unmet rental demand. Generally, the pace of housing production has not kept up with population growth. Given the average size of an El Monte household (4-persons), this seems to indicate a shortage of large housing units within the City.
Of the available units within the City of El Monte, there is a definite bias toward availability of housing for large family owners and small family renters while their is an inadequate number of housing units for large renter households. For example, there are.7,833 zero and I bedroom renter units available and where it is assumed elderly households are comprised of one to two persons, this group numbers only I,099, it appears there are far more units than are needed. However, the cost of these units may exceed the amount an elderly household can afford to pay. Also, at the other extreme, there are 6,372 large related renter households while there are only 2,012 renter units with 3 or more bedrooms. In this case, there seems to be a real shortage of larger housing to meet the demand in the City. The problem with this simple analysis is there is no way to discern from the numbers alone whether adequate numbers of various bedroom types exist to fulfill various household types' needs. For instance, while there is a shortage of three plus bedroom units, there is insufficient data to determine the numbers of one and two person households who reside in larger rent al units. Income considerations may allow a two-person, two-income family to afford a two or three bedroom rental unit while a larger family with only one income might be unable to afford a larger unit and is thus crowded into a zero or one bedroom unit. Overcrowded owner households are, primarily large families living in units with two or fewer bedrooms. Among rental units, there is a shortage of units with 2 or more bedrooms. The larger rental households that cannot find adequately sized units are thus housed in zero and one bedroom units, leading to overcrowding.
In the City of El Monte over one third (39 percent) of all households fall within the low-income bracket of $ 14,017, another 22 percent have low incomes of $ 14,018 to $22,427. As previously shown in Table 1 3, the median home price of $ 172,100 is out of reach of most low- and moderate-income families even with the interest rates at their current low levels. Low and moderate-income households regardless of household type requires assistance in terms of alleviating cost burden. All households in El Monte earning between 0 and 50 percent of the area median income are more likely than any other income group to have severe housing problems whether cost burden or
inadequacy of their unit. However, information on elderly, and all other households in this income group also indicates that they also require assistance. The number of housing units in the City may appear to be adequate for elderly households; however, low- and Moderate income elderly households require units which are developed specifically with affordability restrictions to ensure that they are not required to spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing cost.
With these needs in mind, the City can proactively work toward serving the community projected to reside in El Monte over the next 5 to IO years by developing both single and multi-family housing for various income levels. This creates a more realistic outlook on the fact that the City's tax base will be made up of both renters and homeowners and plans for such. Monitoring of local rates of housing construction can provide valuable dues regarding overall availability of housing in the market. El Monte, which has a limited amount of developable land, will be proactively designing mixed income housing which would accurately reflect the housing needs of the projected household population.
The following specific locally funded activities will be utilized over the next five year period to provide opportunities for affordable housing through new construction to elderly and low-income families first-time buyers:
Use of 20 percent Redevelopment Set-Aside for Low-Income Housing
Twenty percent of the tax increment generated from redevelopment project areas is to be set aside for low- and moderate-income housing assistance programs. There are very few limitations on the use of housing set-aside funds other than the money be spent within the City, and preferably within the redevelopment project area, and respond to any housing needs created by redevelopment activity. The set-aside fund Will continue to grow as additional development in the City's four redevelopment project areas generates new tax increment.
Density Bonuses Incentives.
State Law sets up a framework for density bonuses requiring cities to grant developers a minimum of 25 percent density bonus above zoning ordinance limits if the developer provides at least 20 percent of the units for low-income households,'. IO percent for lower income households, or at least 50 percent of the proposed units for elderly.
Creation and Conversion of Housing to Handicapped-Accessibility
Housing opportunities for the 7,4 5 8 disabled persons identified by the I 990 Census can be maximized through housing rehabilitation programs as well as through providing design features such as widened doorways, ramps, lowered countertops, single-level units, and ground floor units in new developments. The Community Development Department will encourage the development of residential units which are accessible to handicapped persons or are adaptable for conversion to residential use by handicapped persons.
First-time Homebuyer Program New Construction
The City is preparing for the construction of 30 new single-family detached homes to be built by a developer on land provided by the City. The 3 and 4-bedroom homes will sell for $115,000 to $ 125,000 and will be available to first-time homebuyers with children. The City plans to use its 1993 HOME funds to provide soft seconds to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. Of the thirty homes to be developed one half (I5) will be constructed in 1995 and the final 15 will be constructed in 1996.
Priority #3: Provide Assistance to First-time Homebuyers
Census and other data indicates that low- and moderate-income families cannot afford the median priced home in El Monte even with today's record low interest rates. In addition, many moderate income families have difficulty saving enough for a down payment and closing costs. Table 1 3 in the Housing and Market Analysis provides a breakdown of the income required to purchase the median priced home ($ 1 72, 1 00) in EL Monte at current interest rates. A family earning the I 990 median family income of $28,004, would only be able to afford to purchase a home in El Monte if they had at least 40 percent of the purchase price available in the form of a down payment. Without this substantial down payment, the size of the mortgage the family would carry would create a monthly housing payment far in excess of 30 percent of their income, thus creating a cost burden.
The City of El Monte has developed a first-time homebuyer program funded with HOME monies to assist qualified low-income homebuyers. In addition to assisting families with home purchase, these type of programs have additional benefit of freeing up rental units for new families. In some cases the availability of these units might allow households experiencing housing problems to move into more suitable housing. Unfortunately, homes available at prices acceptable to first-time homebuyers are those in need of repairs or rehabilitation in older areas of the City, Therefore, there is a need for a program which will provide rehabilitation funds as part of the home purchase.
The stock of available affordable first-time homebuyer units could be expanded through the new construction process by using the City-owned land purchased with low- and moderate-income redevelopment funds. If the City could enlist a developer through incentives and with the dedication of land, possibly through a ground lease, affordable first-time homebuyer units could be developed an sold as a limited equity concept. The neighborhood developed would be considered a first-time homebuyers neighborhood or homeowners association developed expressly for the purpose of providing moderate to low-income households, educate these households as to the importance of maintenance and upkeep through a homeowners or neighborhood association and upon transfer of the property, the first-time homebuyer would receive a share of the equity built up in the home pursuant to resale restrictions placed on the project through deed restrictions, requiring resale to another first-time buyer.
The following is a summary of the current program developed or under development by the City which will be implemented over the next five years to meet the needs of low-income first-time buyers.
First-Time Homebuyer Program
The City of El Monte has developed a HOME-funded program which offers down payment assistance to the first-time homebuyer which is provided to the applicant as a deferred loan through deed restrictions running with the land. The deferred loan will take the form of a silent second mortgage, activated for repayment upon sale or transfer of the property within a designated time frame contingent on the total deferred down payment amount.
Priority #4: Provide Rental Assistance to Low and Moderate Income Households
Housing affordability is the single biggest housing problem facing El Monte residents. Fully, 6,285 low income households, 4,686 moderate-income households and 175 middle-income households state excess cost burden as a problem. Therefore, 11,146 or 43 percent of the total renter household population is rent burdened in El Monte
All household types experiences excess or severe cost burden in at least 43 percent of all low-income renter households. Thus, over 6,285 low-income households are cost burdened in El Monte. Over fifty percent of all low-income renter households are experiencing overcrowding and 93.4 percent of all low-income large related households are living in overcrowded conditions. Similarly, with elderly and other owner household types, severe cost burden affects at least 37 percent of all owner households which are low-income or nearly 967 households.
Currently, 396 low-income households receive federal rental assistance. Of these, approximately 93 are elderly households. However, the current Los Angeles County Housing Authority waiting list consists of over 113,000 persons and the Baldwin Park Housing Authority consists of 120 El Monte residents.
According to the Los Angeles County Housing Authority an estimated 85 percent or 85,000 households on the waiting list meet the "worst case housing needs" criteria and have federal preference (i.e., paying more than 50 percent of their income for housing cost). The Baldwin Park Housing Authority indicates 70 of the 120 households meet the "worst case housing needs" criteria.
The following is a summary of the current programs developed by the City which will be implemented over the next five years to meet the needs of low-income renter households.
Redevelopment Set Aside-funded Rental Rehabilitation Program
The City intends to develop a program much like the prior federally-assisted Rental Rehabilitation Program, however, the program will be funded with Local 20 percent redevelopment set-aside funds.
Section 8 Housing Certificates and Vouchers
The City will continue to receive its allocation of Section 8 housing certificates and vouchers through the Los Angeles County Housing Authority and the Baldwin Park Housing Authority.
HOME-funded Tenant Assistance Program
In March of 1 993, the City of El Monte began the implementation of its HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funded Tenant Assistance Program. This program will benefit -low income persons with rental subsidies for up to 24 months.
Priority #5: Assist the Homeless and Special Needs Persons with Supportive Service Programs
Housing availability, accessibility and affordability is virtually unknown for the homeless population. The S-Night I990 U. S.Census count determined there were 439 homeless in El Monte on the evening of March 20, 1990. The homeless in El Monte are a mix of unemployed persons, undocumented immigrants and women and children.
This strategy recognizes that if we are truly to eradicate homelessness, we must address the causes of homelessness for both broad and sometimes overlapping groups of homeless people. The recommendations offer a two-pronged strategy: 1) take emergency measures to bring those who are currently homeless back into our-communities, workforce, and families; and 2) address the structural needs to provide the necessary housing and social infrastructure for the very poor in our society to prevent the occurrence of homelessness. To be effective, a homeless system must provide three distinct components of organization. First, there must be an emergency shelter assessment effort that provides an immediate alternative to the street and can identity an individual's or families needs. The second component offers transitional or rehabilitative services, including substance abuse treatment, short-term mental health services, and independent living skills. The third and final component, and the one essential component for every homeless individual and family, is permanent housing or supportive housing arrangements.
The following is a summary of the current programs developed by the City which will be implemented over the next five years to meet the needs of homeless persons and households.
Emergency Shelter Grant
The State offers its federal Emergency Shelter Grant money annually to local service providers that provide emergency-shelter and essential services to homeless individuals and families.
Continue Coordination with Local Social Service Providers to Address the Needs of El Monte's Homeless Population
The City will continue to apply for state and federal resources for supportive services and will also support applications made by other agencies, nonprofit organizations and private organizations seeking these funds to improve the state of homeless population within the City.
Support Applications of Social Service Providers for Rehabilitation of Existing Structures for Emergency and Transitional Shelters
There are no official emergency shelters located in the City that provide the homeless with shelter. Again, the City will support nonprofit or private agency applications for funds to rehabilitate privately or nonprofit-owned and operated transitional and emergency shelters.
Transitional Housing
The City has recently established a new zoning regulation which will permit transitional housing in commercial and multiple-family zones, subject to discretionary permit review. Transitional housing is defined to be temporary housing which may be wholly or partly subsidized by the operators of the facility.
Battered Women's Shelter Program.
The City will continue to provide funds to a Battered Women's Shelter to assist women and children who are homeless or low-income and are in need of special services such as counseling, employment, or financial, planning. In addition, in 1995, the City will provide HOME funds for the acquisition and/or rehabilitation of a battered women's shelter program.
In addition to providing a suitable living environment with decent housing, a major goal of the Community Development Block Grant Program is to encourage and support the development of a balanced, diverse community by and expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income.
Based on community input during the Consolidated Plan development process and the information contained in the Non-housing Community Development Needs Analysis section, the following is a summary of the long term non-housing goals activities which may be pursued by the City of El Monte over the next five year period.
During the FY 1995-1996, the City intends to update its City-wide Pavement Management System Program (PMS) to better assess its overall needs in terms of street rehabilitation. In the interim, however, the City has determined, based on the age of the City's infrastructure and past repair and improvement funding limitations, that some type of immediate rehabilitation work is necessary on all of its streets and major arterial roads. In developing its PMS Program, the City will prioritize the form of rehabilitation streets in order of cost effectiveness. That is, by preserving streets with seals and overlays we lengthens their useful life. If we do not perform rehabilitation work as necessary, streets will further deteriorate and require complete reconstruction (remove and replace). By effectively preserving the streets with seals and overlays, the City of El Monte can minimize the major expense required for complete reconstruction.
Persons with disabilities are in need of mobility and access to public facilities. Correctly serving this population requires design modifications to housing units, public facilities, senior centers, public restrooms, parks, etc. to make them accessible to this population. Accessibility to public facilities and buildings as well public streets and sidewalks is also desirable. Under the Federal Civil Rights Act and the State Title 24 Handicapped Requirements, local jurisdictions are required to comply with unfunded Federal mandates. The constraint to comply with these federal mandates is the City's financial limitations. On an ongoing basis, the City will assess the need for handicap accessible improvements.
Responsibilities for public transportation within the City of El Monte is assumed by cities, counties, tribal governments, or special transit districts. Bus services for elderly and handicapped persons are generally provided by private, non-profit corporations which are also involved in some other type of service for the elderly and handicapped. The City of El Monte owns and operates a Citywide trolley system funded by Proposition A monies. Due to its growing popularity as an alternative form of transportation for the City's residents expansion and new construction efforts are being pursued by the City. Currently of the 55,000 monthly passengers, 95 percent are low and moderate-income residents. An additional form of transportation that serves El Monte residents is the Dial-A-Ride system. Elderly and handicapped residents may apply through the City's Parks and Recreation Department to obtain a card to use the Dial-A-Ride. The Dial-A-Ride is available on a first come first serve basis for transportation throughout the City for a modest cost of 50 cents each way. In addition, with 24 hours notice, Dial-A-Ride will provide transportation outside the Cities boundaries if the trip is medical-related.
Past and current assessments of need determine that the major problem facing low income residents of El Monte is overpayment or high cost of housing coupled with unemployment and/or underemployment. To assist in rectifying these impediments, the City intends to create job opportunities unitizing the Section 108 Program. Commercial rehabilitation will also be pursued by the City in an attempt to ameliorate the health and safety code violations and promote the viability of neighborhoods where low and moderate income households reside. In addition to the Section 108 Program, the City will be fund a portion of the salaries of redevelopment staff who specialize in economic development. The end result of these economic development activities will be the "economic empowerment of the City's low-, and moderate-income" residents.
While the City of El Monte's rapid growth in-the last several decades was due largely to suburban residential development, there has been a concerted effort on the part of the City to create a balanced community by attracting businesses to provide local jobs, especially for low-income residents. The City is in the process of developing business retention programs to encourage development and stability of businesses currently located within El Monte as well as promoting businesses working together with other businesses. The Citys largest and most profitable businesses are technical industries employing skilled technicians earning "average wages" of $ 12-$ I5.00 and hour. Also playing a viable part in the communities economic base ar ,.e the small businesses supported by the residents of the community on a dayto-day basis including, but not limited to, grocery stores, dry cleaners and drug stores. The City has long supported the development of commercial and business related projects which bring additional job opportunities to the City. Currently, a project called the "Pacific Place" is under construction and will include major manufacturing outlets producing and selling higher quality clothing and equipment. Additionally, the City is involved in the development of an International Trade Center which will deal with both the importand export of various commodities.
Unfortunately, portions of the business districts are poorly maintained and in need of repair. The overall appearance is such that it tends to discourage property maintenance and may impact expansion or relocation decisions. One of the long-term effects of these conditions, is that large portions of the commercial and industrial area have exposed storage yards with no buffering, landscaping, or architectural barriers. Mixed-use of building types, sizes, and architectural styles, with no continuity or conformance to existing development standards results in sporadic, outdated development, greatly amplify the difficulties associated with public improvements and targeted revitalization involving multiple parcels. Difficulties are also associated with related public infrastructure improvements, including upgrading sewer systems, roadways, accessibility, and other utilities. Adaptive reuse of many older buildings has been unsuccessful, resulting in inconsistent, physical conditions and appearance, site overcrowding, lack of storage space and lack of parking. In general the current property and structural conditions of these structures -do notirimet existing building -codes -and -zoning -standards. This prohibits upgrading and expansion because of the excessive cost that would be necessary to meet minimum standards. The physical condition of the district makes more difficult for private persons to obtain financing to purchase and/or rehabilitate property within these deteriorating areas.
The City's unemployment rate of 9.5 percent is higher than the national rate by a margin of over 2 percent. According to the Economic Element of the 1993 San Gabriel Valley Subregional Plan, the City of El Monte is ranked fourth of all San Gabriel Valley cities in the percentage of low skilled employees at 16.0 percent. Occupations classified as low skill includes helpers, handier, laborers, and equipment cleaners. Also noted in the Economic Element, another barrier to economic development is lack of English language skills in the work force. The labor force of the City is characterized by low educational attainment. In the category of the population 25 or older, 57.2 percent do not have high school diplomas, and only 5.5 percent have a bachelor degree or higher.
The City of El Monte has developed an ambitious five year strategy to meet the affordable housing needs of its citizens, as described in the previous section of this Consolidated Plan. In this plan, the City of El Monte sets forth the specific plan for investment and use of affordable and supportive housing funds that are expected to be available during the 1 994 Federal fiscal year. This plan presents the City of El Monte's goals for assisting individuals and households with their housing and supportive service needs and describes the implementation plan which guides the activities and other actions to be undertaken.
All of the priorities and programs which the City hopes to address over the next five years cannot be addressed in Fiscal Year 1995. With limitations in the amount of funding and in the size of the available staff, the City wants to avoid tackling too many priorities and programs at once.
The Department has established its approach to developing goals and objectives which will have a long term stabilizing impact on City neighborhoods through the concentration of resources on four or five specific citywide housing issues within "focus" neighborhoods. The City involves the community in determining needs and issues, designing programs and also coordinates the efforts of various City Departments to meet the identified housing needs, and utilize housing programs and projects to create sufficient-'visual impact intended to stimulate additional private investment in the City's housing and neighborhoods.-The City of El Monte proposes twenty CDBG and five HOME funded projects to serve the needs of residents. These projects include:
Fair Housing Council of San Gabriel Valley (CDBG) ($45,000): To continue contracting services for compliance relative to Title VIII, regarding fair housing and discrimination.
Gunderson/Nissan Dealership (CDBG) ($ 1,500,000): For the construction of a 30,000 square foot auto dealership with a showroom and service building. (80 people).
The mission of the City of El Monte Community Development Department is to actively maintain, improve and develop quality neighborhoods and housing opportunities throughout the City of El Monte. The City has identified affordable housing and nonhousing areas to pursue. The Citys strategy is to utilize federal, state and local funding sources to operate a number of programs to assist extremely low- low-, moderate and middle income households. In an effort to maximize available funding, the City of El Monte will continue meeting with public and other assisted housing providers and private and governmental health, mental health, and service agencies to Coordinate the use of all available resources to maximize effectiveness for needy El Monte residents.
The Community Development Department, which is in charge of housing production in the City, will continue to coordinate housing projects with various institutions which affect its five-year strategy. Numerous projects require the need to involve private developers, as well as non-profit developers, in order to enhance affordable housing in the City. In addition, areas such as special needs programs and services will be coordinated With affordable housing projects to ensure that all resources are utilized in meeting the Departmenes affordable"housing production . goals. The Community Development Department along with the Redevelopment Agency through their special governmental structure can adequately utilize all sources of funding and work with private developers, as well as non-profit developers, to help realize its housing goals. The Redevelopment Agency is able to establish and implement agreements with developers and provide gap financing, construction financing, and in the near future second deeds of trust for-first time homebuyers programs. This is coupled with the Community Development Department's implementation of rehabilitation programs and monitoring and coordination of Section 8 rental subsidies.
The current five year strategy incorporates all funding sources: federal, state, local, tax increment and private developer financing. These funds create single and multiple family housing, as well as senior housing and other identified special needs construction. The types of housing which will receive the greatest level of City advocacy will be housing for the elderly, handicapped, special needs populations and low-income families. The Community Development staff, primarily the Community Development Manager, will focus on all of these new construction, rehabilitation and special needs housing issues.
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.
For further information about the City of El Monte's Consolidated Plan, contact Tranda Drumwright at 818/580-2077.
