The City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida is the largest City in Broward County. It is well-known for its beaches and marinas, and is known as the "Venice of America " because of its extensive canal system. Downtown Fort Lauderdale is home to the regional, international and corporate headquarters of some of the world's most prestigious companies. Among those are Alamo Rent A Car, Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, and Basic Foods International. Also located in downtown Fort Lauderdale are campuses of Broward Community College and Florida Atlantic University, as well as the City's new Riverwalk recreational area, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Science and Discovery, the Opera Guild, the Museum of Art and Parker Playhouse.
The City of Fort Lauderdale Consolidated Plan for 1995 is a comprehensive strategy to address housing, economic, and community development needs. The plan includes activities to create jobs and new businesses; provide job training; increase access to social services; create affordable housing opportunities; and install infrastructure to support new community revitalization activities. Federal funding to support these activities is provided by: $861,000 from the HOME Investment Partnership program; $104,000 from the Emergency Shelter Grant program; $2,615 from the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program; and $2,891,000 from the Community Development Block Grant Program.
The City has taken aggressive measures to solicit citizen participation in the identification of community and economic development needs and in planning strategies to address those needs. A comprehensive planning exercise took place in 1988 in the development of the Northwest Neighborhood Improvement District Safe Neighborhood Plan. The Safe Neighborhood Plan targets strategies to the northwest quadrant of the City over a 20-year period. More recently, another comprehensive planning exercise took place in 1994 in developing an Federal Empowerment Zone application, which builds on the needs and strategies identified in the Safe Neighborhood Plan, to update and add strategies for City revitalization efforts. Finally, a survey was conducted in 1995 among Civic Associations, churches, and social service providers to identify needs and strategies for community and economic revitalization.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
The City of Fort Lauderdale has a very active downtown employment center. According to the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), approximately 65,000 people work within a three-mile radius of downtown Fort Lauderdale, with the average commute time within a three-mile radius of 10 minutes and 15 miles of 30 minutes. The DDA estimates that there are over 6,000 businesses located within a three-mile radius of downtown Fort Lauderdale, with 29.1% involved in providing personal services, 14.7% in retail merchandising and 21.1% in manufacturing. There has been a substantial growth in employment, occurring largely over the past 10 years.
According to an analysis prepared by the Broward Economic Development Council, it is projected that by 1998 there will be 45,854 businesses in Broward County. However, 43% of these are estimated to service businesses, which typically offer lower pay and benefits than manufacturing or technical jobs. Another 20% is expected to be retail businesses, which also are typically low-paying. Currently, 53% of the workforce is employed either in retail trade or service industry jobs. It is important that new industries be encouraged and established, in order to create higher-paying jobs for City residents. An adequate supply of affordable, standard housing must also be maintained, so that people can leave near where they work.
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 of Fort Lauderdale is a developed urban area, with very little vacant, buildable land available for residential development. According to census data during the decade between 1970-1980, the City of Fort Lauderdale's housing stock grew at an average rate of 2% per year. This trend stopped by 1980. According to the City's Comprehensive Planning Report prepared in December, 1987, during 1980-85 the City's population decreased by an average of 1.3% annually. The rate of decline was expected to continue at that same rate until 1989, when the population would again begin to increase at the rate of .225% per year until the City achieves build-out. However, the decline in population continued, according to the 1990 census population count. The increase in population was expected to be achieved by the institution of new policies which would permit higher density multi-family and mixed-use developments in and around the Central Business District. The Comprehensive Plan discusses two major shifts in the City's housing stock: (1) a decline in the number of middle income families and the number of middle-range housing units; and (2) a decline in homeownership. From 1970-80, 7 of 11 middle class census tracts experienced a decline in the number of middle income families, and 3 census tracts experienced a decline in the number of middle range housing units. In 1980, approximately 58% of the housing stock was owner-occupied. By 1990, the number of middle income census tracts had dropped to 10, and the percentage of homeowners to 54%. According to the City's Comprehensive Plan 1.2% of single-family units have been lost since 1980 and multi-family units have increased by 10.5%. The 1990 census lists the rental vacancy rate as 11.5% and the for sale vacancy rate at 3.5%.
As part of its comprehensive planning efforts, the City undertook an extensive study of its northwest quadrant in 1989, which found that for that sector of the City, approximately 25% of the area was vacant, residential parcels. In addition, the study found that approximately 25% of all the structures in the quadrant were substandard. Many of these structures are boarded-up, and have been for several years. There are over 9,400 structures in the northwest quadrant. If 25% of them are substandard, that represents 2,350 units which need either rehabilitation or demolition and replacement. If the City were to try to meet this need, just in the northwest quadrant, over the next 5 years, 470 units per year would need to be either rehabilitated or replaced. Unfortunately, the federal and state housing funds available to the City are not sufficient to meet this need. Moreover, two of the other three quadrants of the City are experiencing slight to moderate decline, and contain structures which need assistance. While the northwest quadrant has been and will continue to be a priority for assistance, other City neighborhoods cannot be ignored. The health of the City is dependent upon the health of all of its neighborhoods.
Lower income and minority populations are located primarily in the northwest quadrant of the City, in the area the City has designated as its Safe Neighborhoods District, the Northwest Neighborhood Improvement District (District). This area contains a high proportion of the City's substandard housing. While only 8% of the City's housing units are located in the District, 20% of the code violations and 36% of the condemnations occurred there in 1987. It is estimated that at least 25% of the structures in the District are substandard. This area is targeted for concentrated neighborhood revitalization activities, including rehabilitation of renter and owner-occupied housing, demolition of substandard structures beyond repair, construction of new infill housing, facilitation of the transfer of abandoned properties, public housing improvements and implementation of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) techniques to reduce crime and increase safety for neighborhood residents. Five strong homeowners associations operate in this area, and are active supporters of owner-occupied rehabilitation, infill housing, and rental rehabilitation programs.
The greatest affordable housing need in the City is for affordable units for very low-income large families. There is a shortage of units with 4 or more bedrooms and most of those are seasonal rentals in high rent areas. However, all very low-income households have affordable housing needs. Even a very low-income one person household could not afford the average-priced efficiency in the City, priced at $433. The need for affordable rental units for extremely low-income households is a top priority for assistance. However, developing this type of unit requires deep public subsidies, since the level of rents affordable to this income group will not support private sector investments in rental property. Gross rents would not cover debt and operating expenses.
There is also a need for subsidized rehabilitation assistance to homeowners, as well as a need for affordable for-sale housing. While some low-income homeowners may have housing needs, extremely low- and very low-income homeowners have the greatest needs. According to the 1990 Census, 3,538 (9.4%) of the City's homeowners earned less than 30% of the median income, with 2,171 (62%) paying more than 30% of their income for housing, and 1627 (46%) paying more than 50% of their income for housing. In fact, 2,666 (40%) of the City's very low-income homeowners pay more than 50% of their income for housing. A total of 1,618 of these homeowners (61%) earn less than 30% of the area median. The current median income for this area is $43,100, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Therefore, 30% of the median is $12,930. If 1,618 homeowners earning less than $12,930 are paying 50% or more of their income for housing, then at a maximum, these households are left with only $513 per month for all other non-housing expenses. Clearly, it would be very difficult for homeowners in this category to manage to finance even routine maintenance and repairs for their homes, either through savings or bank financing. There is clearly a need for subsidized rehabilitation assistance for homeowners in this category. It is reasonable to assume that a high level of these units would need rehabilitation assistance, but even if we assume only 50% need repairs, there are not enough federal and state resources to address this need. If the City were to try to address this need over a 5 year period, 162 units would have to be rehabilitated each year.
There is also a need for affordable for-sale houses in the City. The current median income for the Ft. Lauderdale area, established by HUD in February, 1995, is $43,100. This places the income limits for very low-income 4 person households (50% or less of area median) at $21,550 and low-income (80% or less of median) at $34,500. Affordable for-sale housing is defined as paying no more than 30% of gross income for principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Based on the above income limits, the average affordable monthly mortgage payment, including utilities, taxes and insurance, could not exceed $539 for very low-income households and $863 for low-income households. The median value of owner-occupied housing in the City is $99,000. Taxes on this property would be approximately $60 per month, assuming homestead exemption. Insurance costs are currently running high, due to Hurricane Andrew. Property owners must now get windstorm insurance, in addition to flood and hazard insurance. Insurance on this property are estimated to be $75 per month, leaving $404 for principal and interest for very low-income households and $728 for low-income households. Assuming a 30-year mortgage at 8.5% interest, a very low-income household could afford to purchase a $52,500 house, and a low-income household, a $94,700 house. These prices are affordable to low and very-low income households. However, there are few low income households who can save enough to pay for downpayment and closing costs. If homeownership is to become a reality for lower-income households, assistance will be needed for closing costs and downpayment for both new and existing homes, and incentives must be provided to affordable housing developers to construct homes for-sale in this price range. The City has established a purchase assistance program to address this need.
The 1995 Broward County Homeless Survey, conducted by the Broward Coalition for the Homeless, Inc., identified 5,106 homeless persons county-wide, with 2,826 in the City of Fort Lauderdale. This is more than ten times the number identified by the 1990 Census for homeless visible in street locations, which is listed as 236. The Broward County census was developed with the cooperation of volunteers, and 45 agencies and governmental units who counted and gathered information about the homeless in the County during a 24-hour period. The volunteers interviewed homeless persons to determine length of homelessness and other basic information. When a homeless individual failed to respond, physical information was recorded.
The typical homeless person in the County has the following characteristics, according to the survey:
The Coalition believes that the number of persons in homeless families, 462, may have been undercounted, since the Broward County School District classified 900 students as homeless. The Coalition will try to address this problem in the 1996 survey.
Part of the rental housing need is met by the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale (HACFL), which operates 888 public housing units, and 1,370 Section 8 Assisted housing units. Construction of new units is not likely, unless Congress enacts legislation specifically for the construction of such deep subsidy units. In addition, substantially more Section 8 funding is needed to be provided by the federal government to help communities such as Fort Lauderdale meet its very low income renter need. Currently, the Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority only receives about 15 new certificates each year. Priority is given to those applicants who are displaced by government actions; those who pay more than fifty percent (50%) of their income for rent; and those who are living in extreme substandard housing.
One of the most costly barriers to the public sector's development of affordable housing is the Florida eminent domain law, which makes acquisition by local governments a burdensome, time consuming and extremely costly process. The City is attempting to undertake future development through friendly acquisition processes as opposed to the eminent domain process.
As part of its efforts to create affordable housing opportunities, the City has developed an Affordable Housing Incentive Plan. The Plan proposes two specific initiatives which will be implemented over the next 18 months. The first incentive is formal adoption of a policy to provide infrastructure support for affordable housing developments on a case-by-case basis. The City has already provided this type of support for three affordable housing development projects: City View, a 130-unit townhouse development project; Regal Trace, a 408-unit rental project; and Dorsey Heights, a 35-unit single-family infill housing project. Adoption of the policy would formalize the process. The second initiative is adoption of an affordable housing incentive ordinance which will incorporate various incentives to encourage and reduce the cost of the development of affordable housing. A series of 5 workshops will be held over the next 10 months to discuss various issues that could be translated into affordable housing incentives. The workshops will be designed to educate both the public and private sector, with presentations from knowledgeable professionals in the housing field.
The City encourages the support of fair housing and has in place a fair housing plan which includes advertising on public access TV, radio, and in local newspapers, and has scheduled a workshop on fair housing for the summer of 1996. The City is not under any court orders or HUD sanctions. There are no discriminatory aspects of local policies, including zoning, permitting and code enforcement. Therefore, no corrective actions are required. While a fair housing study for Broward County was undertaken prior to 1990, the information contained in that analysis is outdated. A new analysis of the impediments to fair housing will be conducted by a private consultant during the 1995-96 program year.
The City has estimated the number of housing units within the City that are occupied by low-income families or very low-income families that contain lead-based paint hazards, based on data gleaned from the 1990 U.S. Census, and information provided by HUD on its Lead-Based Paint Notification Handouts. The handout states that about three out of four pre-1978 buildings have lead-based paint. The Census identifies 75,076 housing units in the City built prior to 1980, with 13,758 of the units vacant, 34,266 owner-occupied (95% of all owner-occupied units) and 27,052 renter-occupied (89% of all renter-occupied units). Also, the Census identifies 1,902 very low- and low-income owner-occupied households in the City (5% of all owner-occupied units) and 6,639 very low- and low-income renter-occupied households in the City (22% of all renter-occupied households). If it is assumed that the same percentages of very low- and low-income owner- and renter-occupied households that occupy all units can be used to estimate the number of such households occupying structures built prior to 1980, then 1,713 very low- and low-income owner-occupied households and 5,951 very low- and low-income renter-occupied households may be effected by lead-based paint hazards.
In order to help the City identify pressing community development needs, the City conducted a citizen survey. One of the questions the survey participants were asked was: if you could only change on thing for your neighborhood or for the people you serve, what would you want that one thing to be? Of the fifty responses, 30% discussed scenarios relating to crime prevention and neighborhood safety issues, including development of a safer environment, neighborhood concern for one another, elimination of drug houses in residential neighborhoods, elimination of cut through traffic, increased police presence and requests to empower the neighborhoods to work more closely with City officials and City staff to improve the infrastructure and public safety in the area. In fact, 24% of the responses requested infrastructure and other physical improvements, including drainage, landscaping, strict code enforcement and quick follow-up, street repairs, sidewalks, sewer lines and better buffering between residential and commercial areas. The remaining 46% desired affordable housing, homeless assistance, increased social services, increased job opportunities, training and placement, and recreational improvements. Clearly, the overwhelming desires were for safe and aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods.
One of the components of the City of Fort Lauderdale's Planning and Economic Development Department is the Community Development Division (CDD). The CDD is responsible for the design, development and implementation of federal and state grant programs for housing and community development. The CDD has a housing delivery section which is responsible for administering housing programs, including rehabilitation and new single-family construction. The section is composed of a program manager, two construction specialists, and two financial aides, who review all applications for assistance and inspect all phases of construction. Staff is adept in all aspects of program management and has the knowledge and ability to assure program success.
The Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority (HACLF) is another key player in the housing delivery system. It is responsible for managing and maintaining public housing units, administering the Section 8 Existing Program and other federal programs available to public housing authorities. The FLHA, through a subsidiary organization, also has the capacity to issue bonds for housing development. The Executive Director of FLHA provides strong leadership and has a very capable staff to implement the programs.
The Broward County Human Services Division operates the Homeless Case Management Program, which provides transitional shelter and support services for homeless families, as well as grant programs for AIDS/HIV assistance, including Ryan White and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs. The staff is experienced, capable and responsive to the needs of families and individuals experiencing homelessness and/or AIDS/HIV problems.
The Broward County and Florida Housing Finance Agencies are responsible for administering state bond programs for single-family and multi-family housing. They have a highly capable staff, providing assistance to facilitate the delivery of affordable housing.
The CDD will be working with Community Housing Development Organizations under its HOME program to develop affordable housing, as well as other nonprofit organizations in the design, development and implementation of affordable housing. The CDD maintains close contact with local nonprofits in order to be responsive to community needs.
The City has approached local lenders to garner financial support and technical assistance for housing and economic development. Several lenders have been very receptive. The City intends to develop a relationship with the financial community which will function as a consortium, a housing trust fund, or other funding mechanisms to support the development of affordable housing and to provide support for economic development activities, including small business loans.
The City is also actively working with for-profit developers to construct
infill housing for low- and moderate-income homebuyers. To support this effort,
the City provides purchase assistance and infrastructure support to new
developments.
The vision that served as the basis for revitalizing the targeted area is:
To use Community Partnerships to develop integrated programs which create jobs and increase the opportunities for obtaining those jobs, while residing in standard, affordable housing in a safe, attractive and secure environment.
This comprehensive statement synthesizes the input received from the surveys and at the community workshops. Residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations and community leaders clearly painted this vision for the nominated area. Repeatedly the vision for the future was described as: prosperous, safe, clean, beautiful, secure, friendly, economically stable, rising property values, bustling economic base, cohesive and active.
The Housing and Homeless Needs Section of the CONPLAN identifies high priority needs for:
The majority of jobs available in Broward County are in the service or retail trade sectors (61%), as can be seen by the charts at the end of this section. These jobs are typically semi-skilled or unskilled, and the wages are lower than for typical manufacturing or skilled and professional jobs. While these service and retail jobs are necessary in the City's tourist -based economy, it is in the City's interest to try to attract better paying jobs to the City. In order to try to accomplish this, the City established an Economic Development Department, which actively recruits new businesses. However, it is also necessary to retain and expand existing businesses, particularly in distressed neighborhoods.
The City recognizes the need for economic revitalization in its neighborhoods, and has undertaken an aggressive approach to creating and retaining jobs for low and moderate income persons. To date, the City has renovated a closed school for use as a job training and creation facility. The facility currently houses 6 tenants, and has created 64 jobs. In addition, 7 acres have been assembled for reuse as a commercial site. Planned construction includes a major anchor, such as a grocery store, and will create 250-300 jobs when completed. The City is also developing plans for a new commerce park, which will be the site of new light manufacturing and warehouse businesses. The jobs created will be for lower income persons, and hopefully will serve as a new employment center for area residents. The City also has a facade treatment program, to assist area businesses, and is instituting a business loan program. It is hoped that the loan program funds can leverage private sector funds, so that many more businesses may be assisted with this program. The City will also be funding an alternative to school suspension program, designed to decrease the number of dropouts, since a high school education is key to future economic success. Finally, the City has a State-approved Enterprise Zone program to encourage development of businesses in the zone and employment of residents of the zone. The City will continue to explore ways to use its federal dollars in partnership with other local agencies, to increase job opportunities for lower income persons.
The City receives CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPWA entitlement grants annually. In addition, the City receives annual revenue from the State of Florida from the SHIP program. These funds are leveraged with private sector financing to create affordable housing and new business opportunities.
The City has many partners in the implementation of its Strategic Plan,
including private financial institutions, other public agencies, nonprofit
organizations and involved citizens. Both public and private partners are very
active in the provision of housing and economic development programs.
The Consolidated Plan envisions providing job training for public housing tenants through the Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority's Step-Up program. This activity meets the statutory goal of alleviating economic distress. Resources available to support this program include CDBG funding over the next three years.
The Consolidated Plan envisions providing increased access to existing social service programs by providing information and outreach for homeless persons and persons with HIV/AIDS. These activities meet the statutory goal of expansion and improvement of the quantity and quality of community services. Resources anticipated to be available include HOPWA funds, HOME funds, and CDBG funds.
The Consolidated Plan incorporates City efforts to provide affordable housing opportunities through various programs. Existing housing will be assisted by rehabilitation programs for both renter- and owner-occupied units. New homeownership opportunities will continue to be provided through the City of Fort Lauderdale's Infill Housing, Purchase Assistance and Housing Recovery programs. Very low-income homebuyers will be given new opportunities through the Habitat for Humanity and Housing Authority/City Infill Housing programs. Persons with HIV/AIDS and homeless persons will receive shelter and support services, and additional Section 8 Emergency Vouchers will be used to assist homeless families and persons with HIV/AIDS.
A proposed new transitional shelter will provide homeless persons with a place to live and a proposed assessment center will evaluate needs of homeless persons and coordinate existing homeless services. Homeless prevention activities will be addressed through the City's Emergency Relocation Assistance Program, which provides funds for tenants displaced through code enforcement activities.
While infrastructure and economic development projects are primarily located in the City's Northwest quadrant, all housing activities are available city-wide.
The City's Community Development Division is the lead agency for all of its Consolidated Plan programs.
For the 1995 year, nine households will be assisted through the purchase assistance program; 44 households will be assisted through owner-occupied rehabilitation; 5 households through replacement housing; 3 households through the large family rental project; 20 rental units will be rehabilitated; 30 new houses will be constructed for owner-occupancy; 10 boarded-up homes will be recovered and sold to new homeowners; 160 homeless will be provided emergency shelter daily; and over 1,000 AIDS clients will be provided housing assistance.
