The City of Cape Coral is located in southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. It was origionally designed as a retirement community in the late 1950's and 1960's however, it has grown to become a homogenious City of over 87,000 persons. The economic base of the community is service and construction activities. The Consolidated Plan was preparaed to address the affordable housing needs ,supportative housing needs and community development needs of the low and moderate income persons of the City.
The Cape Coral Consolidated Plan provides a overall vision for community develoment and it outlines a strategy to address that vision. The Action Plan is the One-Year Plan for the allocation of $617,000 Community Development Block Grant 1995 Entitlement funds and the reallocation of unused previous years funds. These funds will be allocated to housing, communtiy development, and economic development activities.
The City adopted a Citizens Participation Plan as part of the Consolidated Plan which provides for the establishment of a Citizens Advisory Board (CAB-CDBG) to review and make recommendations regarding the City's CDBG Program and other housing and community development related issues. The CAB-CDBG held five (5) public meetings and three (3) public hearings regarding the Consolidated Plan and the allocation of the CDBG Program funds. The City Council provided discuission at two (2) meetings and held one (1) public hearing adopting the Consolidated Plan and the One-Year Action Plan. Infortmation was solicited through correspondance and telephone regarding the Plan. Copies of the Plan was available for public review and comment for a period of thirty (30) days and adopted on July 31, 1995 by Council.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
The City of Cape Coral is located on the southwest coast of Florida. It is the second largest city in land area (116 square miles) in the state and the largest city in population on the Florida west coast south of Tampa with a 1990 population of 74,991. The 1995 estimated population of the City is 87,173 persons. The City is one of the fastest growing in the nation with a increase of 134 percent between 1980 and 1990. The majority of Cape Coral's population is white while the minority population only represents 4.2 percent of the population. The largest minority population in the City is Hispanic with 3.1 percent of the population. The minority population of the City is scattered throughout the City.
The 1990 Census shows a total of 29,749 households in the City. Of that total 96 percent are white, .8 percent are Black, 3.1 percent are Hispanic .2 percent Native American, and .1 percent are Asain or Pacific Islander. The City's minority population has a higher percentage of low income households. The Black households have 22 percent low income rate, the Hispanic households have 22 percent low income rate and the Native American 32 percent low income rate. In comparason the white households have a 11 percent low income rate.
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.
The City has experienced rapid growth in the 1970's and the 1980's however, in the 1990's this growth has slowed somewhat due to national and local economic conditions. The City's population is getting younger. In 1970 the median age was 52.5 years, in 1980 the median age was 50 years, and in 1990 the median age was 39.9 years. With the change in the composition of the City's population the Community Development needs are changing. There are a significant number of handicapped and elderly persons in the City. Cape Coral is primarly a bedroom community but the need for expanding the economic base, infrastructure (sewer, water, recreation facilities, and social service programs), and housing are creating a burden on the residential property owners.
The age of the housing stock in the City is relatively young. The oldest houses in the City only date back to the late 1950's. Over 70 percent of the housing stock has been constructed since 1980.
Only 391 housing units have been identified in the 1990 Census as substandard. However, no surveys have been done to verify these numbers. It is suspected that this number is very conservative based on the recent requests for rehabilitation assistance. According to the 1990 Census the most prevelant factor for substandard housing in the City is overcrowding.
The affordable housing needs in the City can be demonstrated by two factors the high incidence of overcrowding in single family units and rental units and the fact that the City's economic base is in the service industry which historically has low wages. The 1990 Census shows the average cost of a home in the City was $91,900 and the average rent was $438 per month.
Households with extremely low income have 77 percent with any housing problems, low income households have 73 percent with any houising problems and moderate income households have 61 percent with any housing problems. They need rental assistance, affordable housing options and rehabilitation assistance. Low income first time home buyers need down payment assistance, credit counseling and mortage reduction assistance.
The major need identified is that of locating agencies which service the homeless and persons threatned with homeless within Cape Coral. The transitional needs also include shelters for women and childern who are experienceing homeless. A need also exists for supportive housing for non-homeless with special needs such as the frail elderly and persons with disabilities.
Service providers have identified special housing needs for the elderly and persons with mental and physical disabilities.
A total of 4,014 housing units were constructed prior to 1980. Of these units it is estimated that 2,146 units have the potential for lead based paint hazards. Two cases of lead posioning have been identified in Cape Coral by local health agencies. The agencies have speculated that a major source of contamination is from perevious homes occupied in areas with a higher concentration of units with lead based paint hazards.
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Cape Coral is a relatively young city. Therefore, the community development needs are centered on providing infrastructure and services to meet the demands of a growing city. The needs include affordable housing opportunities, services to the low and moderate income persons and those with special needs, facilities which serve pesons with special needs, and economic development programs which will increase the financial viability of the citizens of the community.
The over all goal of the Consolidated Plan is to provide decent housing opportunities, create suitable living environments, and expand economic opportunities which principally benefit low and moderate income persons. To accomplish this the Plan brings together the needs and resources available in a coordinated housing and community development strategy.
The first objective is to provide an additonal eight units of affordable housing for ownership each year for a total of forty additional units over the five year plan. The second objective is to rehabilate twelve existing homes owned and occupied by extremely low, low or moderate income families each year for a total of sixty units. A third objective is to provide an additional twenty units of elderly rental units within the next five years. A fourth objective is to provide an additional ten units of housing for persons with special needs. The fifth objective is to provide ten units of transitional housing during the next five years. And the sixth objective is to provide a ten bed juvenile half-way home within the next five years.
The housing priorities identified in the Plan are: additional units with affordable rents to aleviate overcrowding; elderly rental units of affordable housing; and for ownership the availability of affordable units for persons with cost burdens of greater than fifty percent of their income.
Priority homeless needs identified in the Plan are outreach assessment for families, individuals, and persons with special needs; emergancy shelters for families; and transitional shelters for families and individuals.
The high priority non-housing community development needs identified in the Plan are: Public Facilities, child care and youth centers; Infrastructure Improvements, sidewalk improvements; Public Service , senior services, handicapped services, youth services, transportation services, substance abuse services, employment training, crime awareness, and child care services; and Economic Development Needs such as micro busineses and technical assistance.
The goal of the Cape Coral Consolidated Plan Anti-Poverty strategy is to reduce the number of poverty level families through economic development, affordable housing and service programs coordinated by various entities throughout the City. Other anti-poverty efforts need to provide persons the opportunity to overcome personal and social barriors to gain control of their lives.
The coordination of the activities undertaken in the development of the Consolidated Plan has been with affordable housing providers, local governments, public and assisted housing providers, health care agencies, mental health organizations, service providers, transportation providers, economic development agencies, employment agencies and the private sector. The City coordinates its programs with the State of Florida, Lee County and the City of Fort Myers.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
$135,000 for Public Facility projects such as social service facilities, senior center rennovation, and handicapped accessable recreation facility improvements;
$222,000 in housing related programs for home ownership and housing rehabilation activities; and
$179,000 for economic development activities including a revolving loan and a business incubator programs.
Most of the activities are run out of offices or buildings located throughout the City and the services are generally available city-wide. Some of the service providers offices are located outside the City however, they do provide services to residents of the City, Two senior center facilities improvements are proposed for improvements, and two recreation facilities located in areas which meet the income requirements for area benefit.
The lead agencies for the projects are City departments or divisions, non-profit service providers, and non-profit housing development agencies.
Housing goals for the first year of the Consolidated Plan include the addition of at least eight additional units of affordable housing, the rehabilitation of twelve homeowner units, and the retaining of the 256 Section 8 certificates.
R. Carl Rubalcava
Planning Department
P.O. Box 150027
Cape Coral, FL 33915
(813) 574-0552
U.S. HUD contact: Linda Shively, State Program Coordinator
