The City of Palmdale is located within Los Angeles County, about 60 miles north of the City of Los Angeles.
The City of Palmdale's Consolidated Plan assesses the housing and community development needs of the residents of the City and develops a strategy to meet those needs over the next five years. The City's Plan provides a community description that includes both demographics and housing conditions. The action plan describes the activities for the coming year to be funded by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds estimated at $ 992,575.
During the preparation of the Consolidated Plan, the City consulted with
public and private agencies responsible for the provision of housing and social
services throughout community. Public hearings to prepare and to approve the
City's Consolidated Plan were held on March 23 and April 12, 1995. Notice of
the first hearing was published in the local newspaper and leaflets announcing
the hearing were mailed to 103 different organizations. Attached to the City's
Plan is a summary of comments made at the hearings and a list of sites where the
Plan was made available for public comment prior to the hearings. Before the
City adopted its Consolidated Plan, the City made available to citizens, public
agencies, and the members of the Antelope Valley Inter-Agency Council
information on the amount of CDBG financial assistance expected and the
estimated amount that is to benefit persons of low- and moderate-income. As the
Plan was being proposed, the City published a summary of the Plan in the
Antelope Valley Press and the Daily News. The City used its best efforts to
reach low and moderate-income persons, minorities, and non-English speaking
persons, persons with disabilities, and persons who live in low-income
neighborhoods, particularly within CDBG targeted areas for expenditure of CDBG
funds.
Palmdale is located in the Antelope Valley, a desert area at the
northeastern end of Los Angeles County. Palmdale is the fastest growing city in
Los Angeles County. Until recently, Palmdale was a small community serving
nearby Edwards Air Force Base and the aerospace industry that had grown up
around it. Between 1980 and 1990, the City's population increased 460% from
12,277 to 68,842 of which 67% were White, 22% Hispanic, 6% African-American, 4%
Asian, and .6% Native American. Between 1990 and 1995, the population increased
another 52% to 104,656 persons. An expanding stock of moderately priced single
family homes has made it possible for the majority of the City's residents, 71%,
to become homeowners. The rental housing stock increased faster than demand
with the result that, according to the Census, in 1990 rental vacancies had
risen to 15.9% of all rental units. In 1990 the median income in the City was
about 20% higher than the county wide median income. While the vast majority of
households are in the upper income categories, 19% of all households (12%
renters and 7% owners) earn less then 50% of median income (about $25,000 in
1995).
The vast majority of housing units in the City are less than 10 years old. In fact, 19,173 units, 65.3% of the City's housing stock, were built in the seven years between 1985 and 1992. In 1993, the City conducted a survey of housing conditions to determine the need for rehabilitation of the older housing stock. The survey found that there was a need for moderate rehabilitation of an estimated 8% (160) of the mobile homes, 12.7% (740) of the multi-family apartments, and 9% (1930) of the single family homes. Substantial rehabilitation was needed for 11% (410) of the multi-family apartments.
Despite the relatively low rents and high vacancy rates in the City's rental and ownership housing stock, 3.6 of the City's households are severely overcrowded and 42.1 of all City households are paying more than 35% of income for rent. There are four projects with Section 8 and other subsidies providing 85 senior units and 203 family units. All four have long waiting lists. There was no housing at all to meet the needs of families on AFDC (Aid to Families of Dependent Children) who or individuals with special needs who generally have incomes as low as $7,200 a year and need units that rent for no more that $ 250 per month.
The City's growth continued at a dizzying pace until 1992 when a recession in the California economy brought housing production to a stop in most of the Los Angeles basin. In 1993, the City had 31,400 housing units and a vacancy rate of 12.63%. In 1994, 1,212 new homes were sold in the City which had the strongest housing market in the Antelope Valley. In the 1994 winter quarter, 138 Palmdale homes were sold at an average price of $130,674. This price reflects a continuing decline from 1990 when the average home value was $ 159,957. In 1990, the median house price according to the census was $149,700. But by 1991 housing prices had begun to decline and between April 1991 and April 1992, the median price of all single family homes sold in Palmdale at $138,294. To qualify for a 90% loan at this purchase price, a family would have to earn $ 42,205.
High rent burden is a critical problem for extremely low income households who have annual incomes of only $10,000 to $15,000. About 19% of all City households are in the extremely low and low income category and 50% (2,081) of these households report that they are paying 50% or more of their income for rent or mortgage costs. Unemployment rates have not declined much in the past several years so the number of household in the lowest income categories will probably not decline over the next five years. In fact, proposed changes in welfare laws may make some of these households even poorer. Therefore about the same number of households, 1,200 to 1,500 extremely low-income and low income renter households and 900 owner households, are expected to need housing assistance over the next five years.
About 14% of the City's households are in the moderate-income category. Only 57 moderate-income renter households were severely rent-burdened while 422 owner households reported paying 50% or more of their income for housing. Over the next five years about 500 low-income households are expected to need housing assistance.
In 1994, the City's homeless program provided motel vouchers to 160 homeless families with 510 family members, 41 homeless individuals and four unaccompanied youth.
There are no public housing units in the City. In 1995, there were over 1,000 Palmdale households requesting Section 8 rental assistance as evidenced on the waiting list maintained by the Los Angeles County Housing Authority.
There are few governmental constraints on housing development in Palmdale. The one exception is the limited geographic area and low density permitted for multi-family development. However, at this time, rental vacancy rates are very high in the City and three is little or no demand for additional rental projects. The major barrier to the provision of affordable housing and homeless services in Palmdale is the perception that by building affordable housing the City will be drawing in very low income families rather than serving citizens within our community. By educating the public that the City residents have affordable housing needs and that there are extremely low income families currently living in the City, the City can help reduce these barriers. The problems that have received the most attention in the last several years have been plummeting home prices and foreclosures of homes HUD mortgages. Another barrier to affordable housing production is the lack of skilled nonprofit or even for-profit developers willing to develop very low income units.
There is no current data on fair housing practices in the City. The City is under contract with Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley that provides fair housing services available to City present or prospective residents.
Most of the housing units in the City were built between 1980 and the present. There are only 3,959 units likely to contain lead-based paint; 1,580 of these units are renter occupied and 2,379 are owner occupied. In Palmdale, in 1994, there was one case of lead-based paint reported in Census Tract 9106.
The City's community development needs include senior centers, street
improvements, health services, removal of architectural barriers to provide
access for persons with disabilities, and general planning.
This five-year Housing and Community Development Block Plan represents the
City's effort to balance programs to meet the housing needs of the City's low
income families and seniors with the need to offer home ownership assistance to
low and moderate income households and to revitalize deteriorating neighborhoods
and housing stock. The main financial resources available to the City to meet
the housing and community development objectives set forth in this Plan are the
CDBG and the tax increment funds generated by tax revenues from the City's
redevelopment areas. Twenty percent of tax increment funds must be spent on the
production or preservation of low and moderate income housing, the remaining 80%
may be spent on other community development objectives. Over the next five
years, the City expects to have $18 million in its Low Income Housing Set Aside.
The City does not allocate CDBG funds to Housing. CDBG funds are spent on
human services, public facilities and infrastructure improvements objectives
which are the funds allocated to housing come from the City Redevelopment Agency
Low Income Housing Set Aside funds, and in the case of Section 8 certificates
and vouchers, from the Los Angeles County Housing Authority.
The highest priority beneficiaries of Palmdale's housing programs are small and large households in the lowest two income groups -- low and extremely low. The City is planning a project-based rent subsidy program that will write down the rents in some existing units to make them more affordable to households with low and extremely low incomes.
Next in priority are low-income and extremely low income seniors and disabled persons. For home owners in this group whose homes need repairs for code compliance, as accessibility or both, the City has designed a Handy Worker grant program. For low and extremely low income seniors who need affordable rental housing, the City is planning the construction of senior housing project financed by tax increment funds.
The third priority is moderate income households who could afford a mortgage payment but do not have the money for a down payment. The City has designed a home ownership program that provides a 3-5% down payment loan to these households. A second program will use redevelopment monies to build affordable ownership units in the downtown area.
The City's community development priorities include senior centers, street improvements, health services, removal of architectural barriers to provide access for persons with disabilities, and general planning.
The City's anti-poverty strategy could be better characterized as an economic development strategy. The City's Department of Economic Development is aggressively pursuing new job opportunities for City residents. The City has a business recruiter who will work with staff to market the City of Palmdale. Palmdale has approved an incentive plan for businesses that will expand or relocate to the City. Traditional anti-poverty programs that provide income support and social services are largely the responsibility of county, State, Federal and nonprofit agencies. Housing assistance payments and subsidized rents are part of an anti-poverty strategy, because they help families and individuals maintain the stable housing they need in order to address other problems such as work and education.
In 1995-1996, the City will spend $ 988,00 in CDBG funds. For the following five years, the City has requested a Section 108 loan. This loan allows the City to borrow money for a current project and use its expected yearly allocation to repay the loan. The City has requested a loan of $4,000,000 from CDBG for its downtown revitalization project. The payments on this loan would be $455,00 for nine years.
The City has established a Development Advisory Board composed of all
departments involved in the development process. This body meets regularly to
ensure that the development process can proceed without duplication or
contradictory requirements. Housing programs are the responsibility of the
Housing Manager who will now have a five-person staff to assist in
implementation.
Total CDBG funding: $992,575
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction
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, and proposed HUD funded projects.
TABLE (without associated map) provides information about project(s).
