The Sarasota Office of Housing and Community Development has been designated to be the lead agency responsible for overseeing the development of the plan and the lead entity responsible for determining all of the significant aspects of the process by which the consolidated plan was developed.
In compliance with statutory requirements, the plan also includes a summary of the citizen participation process, including a process for the submission of public comments, the public comments themselves, and efforts made to broaden public participation in the development of the consolidated plan. The actual citizen participation plan is attached to this document.
The Consolidated Plan includes statistical and analytical information in order to provide an overall picture of the housing and community development needs of the County. The needs information that is included as part of the plan was included in order to support the consolidated strategies that have been prepared as priorities for allocating resources.
The following list identifies all of the agencies, groups, and organizations that were used as sources in the process of developing the Consolidated Plan. All relevant social service providers within the jurisdiction were contacted and in many instances data was requested that was used to prepare the plan. In some cases, printed material was used and data was taken for inclusion in the plan. The Consortium made every effort possible to include all information provided by the agencies that were contacted.
The Sarasota Consortium is one part of a complex institutional structure that includes other public sector agencies, private sector partners, and non-profit organizations. Each member of this institutional structure plays an important part in the implementation of the consolidated planning and community development needs of Sarasota County.
The public sector entities that will participate in the implementation of the strategies as well as those non-profit organizations that will participate are listed as participants in the Agency Participation section above.
The Sarasota Consortium has been fortunate to find willing and enthusiastic lending institutions that participate in the implementation of our affordable housing programs. The most successful of these is the Downpayment Assistance Program which offers a silent second mortgage to conventional first mortgages offered by local lenders. The lender underwrites the mortgages and the downpayment funds are offered to the borrower at the time of closing. A total of 25 lenders currently participate in the program. The names of the participating institutions follows:
| BANKS & MORTGAGE COMPANIES | TELEPHONE | FACSIMILE |
|---|---|---|
| Am-South (formerly Fortune Bank) | 941-923-1451 | 941- 927-3793 |
| BancBoston Mortgage Corporation | 941-364-5250 | 941- 953-3226 |
| Barnett Bank of Southwest Florida | 941-951-4675 | 941- 951-3859 941-951-3423 |
| Citizens Federal | 941-957-0373 941-923-1491 913-493-1578 |
941-625-1304* 941-922-8534 941-957-0375 941-493-2786 |
| CTX Mortgage | 941-955-1007 | 941-955-7437 |
Crossland Mortgage | 941-923-1634 941-493-9080 |
941-365-2330 941-496-9406 |
| First of America (formerly Presidential) | 941-379-1200 | 941-927-0469 |
| First Nationwide Bank | 941-377-6055 | 941-378-1472 |
| First Union | 941-361-5740 941-426-1161 |
941-361-4957 941-361-5771 |
| Granger Mortgage | 941-355-1940 | 941-751-1071 |
| Gulf West Financial Corporation | 941-924-5200 | 941-922-5050 |
| Market Street Mortgage | 941-954-8880 | 941-954-0809 |
| Mortgage Trust Company | 941-925-1990 | 941-923-6854 |
| NBD Bank | 941-484-0461 941-493-0129 941-366-1736 | 941-485-1715 941-365-0572 |
| NationsBanc Mortgage | 941-954-7935 | 941-954-7972 |
| Northern Trust Bank | 941-957-3660 | 941-485-5195 |
| Northwest Mortgage | 941-923-8939 941-745-1994 | 941-923-1381 |
| Osprey Mortgage Company | 941-484-1867 | 941-484-3573 |
| PNC Mortgage | 941-951-6848 | 941-289-4806* |
| Sentinel Mortgage Company | 941-365-5626 941-746-2929 |
941-952-0657 |
| SouthShore Mortgage Company | 941-426-9555 | 941-426-4121 |
| South Trust Bank | 941-361-2096 | 941-361-2060 |
| Sun Bank | 941-951-3020 | 941-925-9330* 941-951-3043 |
| Sun Coast Mortgage | 941-485-2508 | 941-484-0055 |
Currently, Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota have two separate entities that administer public housing programs. Sarasota County administers HUD Section 8 certificate and voucher programs exclusively. Sarasota County runs this program as a public housing agency and the Board of County Commissioners acts as the Board of the Agency. Under this organizational system, all hiring, procurement, and contracting is handled by those organizational entities in Sarasota County Government that are administratively responsible for them throughout County Government. There is no separate system for those functions that is handled outside of County Government.
The City of Sarasota Housing Authority, on the other hand, is constituted as
a Public Housing Authority and an entity separate from the City of Sarasota.
They are governed by an appointed Board and they conduct all procurement,
contracting and hiring independently.
Sarasota County is located on Florida's west coast immediately south of the Tampa Bay region. The County is bordered on the north by Manatee County, by Desoto County to the east, and Charlotte County to the south. The County's incorporated municipalities include the Cities of Sarasota, North Port, Venice, and a portion of the Town of Longboat Key. The City of Sarasota is the County's largest incorporated city and is located in the northwest corner of the County.
The County, like most of south Florida, has become a popular tourist and retirement destination. Sarasota County's greatest natural assets are climate and geography. The beaches on the western coast of the County have drawn winter visitors and residents to the area from all over the world.
In 1930, Sarasota County's population was 12,000. At that time, the heart of the social and economic center of the County was in the City of Sarasota. The entire County experienced phenomenal population growth after World War II, and by 1950 the County's population had more than doubled to equal 28,827. By 1960 the population had reached 76,895 and by 1970 had grown to 120,413. By 1980, the population was 202,251 and the 1990 Census placed the County's population at 277,776. The 1995 population estimate that is being used by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research, (BEBR), University of Florida, shows a current total county wide population of 301,900.
The City of Sarasota experienced corresponding growth during this period. In 1930 the City's population was 8,398. By 1950, it was 18,896 and by 1980 had reached 48,868. In 1990, the official Census placed the City's population at 50,961, and the current BEBR estimate for 1995 places the City of Sarasota's population at 54,027.
While early growth in the County was centered in and around the City of Sarasota, the vast majority of growth since 1980 has occurred in the Urban County. As a result, while the City of Sarasota grew 4 percent during the period between 1980 and 1990, the Urban County grew by 48 percent. The Urban County's growth was 97 percent of the new growth of the County.
The percentage of the County population located within the City of Sarasota has decreased over the past 50 years. The percentage of County residents residing in the City has decreased from 69 percent in 1940 to 18 percent in 1995. This trend is projected to continue.
In the 1990 census, a total of 125,493 households were located in the County; 22,882 of these households are located in the City of Sarasota. It is projected that by the year 2000, the number of households will equal 149,680.
As a popular retirement area, the County is now home to a large concentration of elderly. In the 1993 publication, Florida County Comparisons published by the Florida Department of Commerce, Sarasota County has the fourth largest population of residents ages 65 and over in the state of Florida. The 1992 figures, taken from the Florida Executive Office of the Governor, State Data Center, show a total of 91,913 residents age 65 and over for a total of 32%. Today, 32 percent of the County's population is over 65 years of age in comparison to 18 percent for the State of Florida as a whole. Fifty- four percent of the people in the County are over 45 years in age. The population of the City of Sarasota is somewhat younger. However, the percentage of persons over 65 years of age living in the City also exceeds the statewide percentage.
The housing needs assessment determined that single family housing is the predominant type of housing in the County, the unincorporated areas of the County, and in each one of the municipalities in the County. The lack of multi-family housing is particularly noticeable in the City of North Port. The number of housing units expected to be available in 1995 in the total county equals 172,598. The total construction need, including units needed to replace substandard units in the unincorporated areas of the County is anticipated to be 17,496 in the year 2000, 11606 in the year 2005,10643 in the year 2010, and 9,396 in 2015. The Consolidated Plan further defines need by income and special needs categories.
In a cursory evaluation of needs conducted by the Sarasota Coalition for the Homeless in early 1995, it was determined that the following populations and subpopulations in Sarasota were in need of temporary shelter and transitional living with supportive services: a) the chronic mentally ill; b) intact families; c) families with male parent heads of households; and d) those with medical needs. The Consolidated Plan offers an inventory, by agencies and providers, of services provided, numbers of clients served, relevant waiting lists and estimated need figures.
The Barriers to Affordable Housing Section consists of a report that was sent to the Florida Housing Finance Agency and reviews the established policies and procedures, ordinances and land development regulations, the local government comprehensive plan, and recommends to the Board of County Commissioners specific initiatives to encourage or facilitate affordable housing while protecting the ability of the property to appreciate in value.
According to the Sarasota County Health Department, the results of a current statewide survey have not been released on the incidence of lead poisoning in children. The survey conducted was of 2,000 randomly chosen two-year old children. Each county was accounted for in this survey, and the number of children randomly chosen from each county was based on that particular county's population.
The Sarasota County Health Department agreed with our reported 1994 CHAS findings that Sarasota County has a low incidence of lead- based paint problems. This is probably due to the vast majority of Sarasota County's housing was built after 1950.
As stated in last year's CHAS plan, the National Center of Lead Safe Housing believes that residences with the greatest potential risk for lead-based paint hazards were built prior to 1940 that are occupied by very low income renters.
All of the programs that are administered by the Office of Housing and Community Development are designed to reduce the number of poverty level families in Sarasota County. We are anticipating and will take advantage of any opportunities to apply for additional HUD Section 8 funds and will fulfill all HUD requirements to administer the required Family Self Sufficiency Program. The Family Self Sufficiency Program requirement will represent a natural link between subsidized housing programs that are currently being implemented and the extremely successful Downpayment Assistance Program that has been implemented since 1991. The purpose of this program is to make homeownership opportunities available to extremely low income, low income and middle income residents and we are constantly looking for opportunities to extend this program to the lowest income group possible. Another program the Board of County Commissioners approved for the implementation of affordable housing is single family owner occupied rehabilitation using HOME funds and SHIP funds. The more flexible SHIP guidelines have greatly enhanced the ability to serve the residents of the County under both of these programs.
The non-housing community Development Plan includes an assessment of the work that is to be done by the Consortium in the two target areas, the laurel and Newtown communities. The proposed activities that will be undertaken in the Laurel Community include: improvements to roads and intersections, additional sidewalks, improved storm water drainage, and, possibly, the addition of utility services. In Newtown, it has been determined that public improvements throughout the area are in a general state of deterioration and that the area needs to be upgraded with fire hydrants and the drainage system needs to continue to be upgraded. The long term objective of the plan is to revitalize the neighborhoods throughout the Newtown area. It is proposed that we hire an engineer to develop water line construction documents for future construction. Immediate activities also include: placement of sidewalks near the elementary school; completion of the medical/dental center at the elementary school; demolition of vacant, dilapidated homes; completion of park facilities at the Newtown Estates Park; construction of a vocational training center on 27th street in partnership with Goodwill Industries; and the widening of Tuttle Avenue.
In addition, the Central Avenue Storefront Rehabilitation Program has been created to assist the owners of commercial buildings on Central Avenue and neighboring streets to rehabilitate buildings by offering below market rate loans for the revitalization.
The nine strategies included in the Strategic Plan of the Consortium will be
coordinated by the Office of Housing and Community Development on behalf of the
Consortium, local lenders, local contractors, section 8 rental staff, non-profit
agencies, and neighborhood organizations working toward economic development
improvements. The strategic plan proposes to increase homeownership
opportunities for all income groups, rehabilitate owner occupied homes for
extremely low, low, moderate, and middle income families, increase rental
subsidies for the low-income, rehabilitate rental units for all income
categories, provide additional units for special needs populations, increase the
capacity of non-profit organizations, increase homeless services, support the
redevelopment of neighborhoods, and use CDBG funds for local non-profits.
The key projects to be undertaken within the next year are: the Commercial Revitalization of Central Avenue, Program Administration of the CDBG program, the acquisition of a parking lot for the Human Services Center, Program Delivery for the rehabilitation of affordable housing, the purchase of property for redevelopment of single family housing, downpayment assistance, a set aside for CHDO's, Housing rehabilitation, and the administration of the HOME program.
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; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
