Tallahassee is the county seat of Leon County and the capital of Florida. Leon County had population of 192,493 in 1990. This represents 74,962 households. It is an urban county surrounded by rural counties. The closest urban area is over 100 miles from the City limits.

As the seat of state government and the presence of two major state universities, the county has a large government employment base. In fact, almost 50% of the employment in the county is in the government sector. This high government employment has meant good news and bad news for the area. The good news is that local employment trends are somewhat resistant to downturns in the national economy. The bad news is that Florida is consistently ranked in the bottom-five nation-wide states in what it pays to employees.

Action Plan

The Tallahassee Consolidated Plan (CP) represents a strategic view for housing, community and economic development and homeless and other special needs populations. The Action Plan includes anticipated allocation of $5.319 million of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership Program, Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), program income, State Housing initiative Partnership and local Housing Trust Fund monies. These funds are allocated for housing, human services, community and economic development and public facilities based upon priorities established through the Consolidated Planning process.

Citizen Participation

The CP for Tallahassee, Florida, was developed in a public arena beginning on February 2, 1995. It was developed by the staff of the Department of Community Improvement, and included consultation with the various City departments, the Tallahassee Housing Authority, the Coalition for the Homeless (representing 22 agencies serving the homeless), citizen advisory councils and committees, over 20 social service agencies and input from the citizens and organizations of Tallahassee. The City has three citizen committees/councils which are responsible for identifying social service, housing and community and economic development needs of the community and providing recommendations on future direction. These citizen groups also make recommendations to the City Commission on funding of the various proposals presented in the areas of housing, community development, and human services. The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC), the Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) and the Housing Trust Committee (HTC) all provided substantial input to the development of the CP.

The public was invited to provide input on the CP Development process at four (4) public hearings. In addition, approximately 150 notices were mailed to interested parties announcing the public hearings and soliciting input. These meetings, as noticed, offered the public the opportunity to:

• Learn about the CP process,
• Obtain information on housing, homeless, community development, and human services assistance offered by the City.
• Identify special population groups in need of housing and housing assistance,
• Assist in the development of priorities for meeting the needs identified in the CP, and
• Make oral or written comments for consideration in the CP process.

The final notice for the 30-day comment period was published on May 5, 1995 in the Tallahassee Democrat and on May 11, 1995 in the Capital Outlook . The City Commission approved the CP for submittal on June 21, 1995.

Tallahassee, located among the rolling hills of northwest Florida is the center of the eight (8) county area known as the "Big Bend". Geographically, Tallahassee is close to both the Gulf of Mexico, only twenty (20) miles to the south, and to Georgia, fourteen (14) miles to the north.

The presence of the State Capital and two (2) major universities helps to shape the population as relatively young, well educated and affluent. The City of Tallahassee has experienced a population increase of 64% since 1980, increasing from 81,548 in 1980 to 133,731 in 1994. The majority of the City's growth can be attributed to numerous annexations during this time period. The racial composition is 68% white, 29% Afro- American and 3% Hispanic.

In 1990 the area median family income (AMFI) was $37,000, but by 1994 had risen to $40,400. The population of Tallahassee has increased over 50% from 1980 to 1990. During the same period the number of households below 50% of AMFI increased by 70% and the number below 80% of AMFI increased by 63%. Seven of the City's census tracts (25%) contain concentrations of racial/ ethnic minorities. These areas are in the inner core area of the City and the southwest quadrant.

Conditions

Government employment, particularly State employment, has historically been the stabilizing force on the local economy. Representing 41% of all employment it has helped keep unemployment rates low. Since 1970 unemployment rates have been below the national and state averages. The reported 1994 unemployment rate is 4%.

Housing Needs

Tallahassee has a need for affordable rental and ownership housing which must be addressed. The City had an aggressive annexation program during the early 1980's. Annexation has provided the City with a significant inventory of vacant land at the fringe of the City's urban area, thus not usually appropriate for the development of affordable housing. In the central urban area of the city there exists little or no inventory of vacant land for new development. Absent a program of acquisition and clearance, the construction of new affordable housing units in the central urban area of Tallahassee is very difficult. Therefore, a major need in Tallahassee is to preserve the existing housing stock. While the City doesn't have dedicated resources to provide income supplements and rent subsidies which are more traditionally the function of federal and state government, it can focus its resources on this preservation effort. At the same time, the City will pursue programs at the Federal and State level to provide rental subsidies in a manner consistent with the long- term interest of the City (i.e., Section 8, assisted housing through state and federal programs).

The ratio of owner to renter has slipped from over 60/40 home ownership in 1970 to just over 40/60 presently. This can be attributed to numerous factors including: 1) increased cost of construction and materials; 2) tighter financial restrictions; and 3) difficulty of first- time buyers in saving funds for down payment and closing cost. As an example of the increase in housing cost, the average price of a house in Tallahassee in 1986 was $79,402. That average is presently over $100,000. The median price of a home as of 1992 was $94,200. This especially causes adverse effects on the low-income household seeking ownership.

There is no clear evidence that the nature of Tallahassee's housing needs will significantly change over the next five years. Extremely low-income, elderly, homeless and other special needs populations are expected to place increasing demands on the market place. Absent a public effort to support provision of housing opportunities, the affordability issue will continue to require these groups to either pay a large share of their incomes to secure adequate housing, or to pay less to live in units of lesser quality.

Housing Market Conditions

Both population and number of housing units increased dramatically in Tallahassee from 1980 to 1990. 1990 Census results indicated population growth was greater than 50% (81,548 to 124,773) with a near 65% increase in housing units from 33,718 to 55,455. However the housing stock increased only 6% from 1990 to 1993. The population grew by 7% from 1990 to 1994 and now is 133,731 according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Housing production during the period 1980-1993 was cyclical. Examination of building permit data shows peak production in 1983-1984 followed by decline in 1985. Despite the drop in overall home-ownership rates, housing units for sale are available to some degree in all price ranges in Tallahassee. Current data provided by the Tallahassee Board of Realtors reflect an average selling price for all units sold in the previous 12 months of $100,865 and a median price of $94,200. For 1991 the average price was $98,173 with a median of $83,500. Pricing does reflect geographic characteristics, with pricing highest in the City's more "suburban" northeast corridor (median $105,750) and lowest in the central city area (median $48,000).

The estimated average monthly market rents were in the range of $241 to $465 for all units in 1988. An update of the survey was prepared in 1994 which estimates average rents presently to be in a range of $327 - $644 per month. What is important in reviewing this range, however, is the geographic and size characteristics of the units.

A large portion of the rental market in the City, particularly in the western section is oriented towards students at either Florida State or Florida A&M University. Further, over 50% of the units surveyed are one-bedroom units not ideally suited for family households which comprise more than 90% of the lower-income households requiring rental assistance. Vacancy data available from HUD and the updated Census data show overall vacancy at approximately 8.7%. However, the vacancy rate for very low-income households is considerably lower (in the range of 1 to 2 %).

Affordable Housing Needs

The population of Tallahassee has increased over 50% from 1980 to 1990. During the same period the number of households below 50% of AMFI increased by 70% and the number below 80% of AMFI increased by 63%. According to housing data the available affordable housing units as a percentage of the population has shown no significant increase. In the low-income category, only 22% of the available housing units are considered to be affordable. This indicates a need for over 2,400 affordable units for the extremely low- and low-income citizens of Tallahassee.

Cost burden is a continuing problem in the City. The following chart represents the categories with the greatest need.

Cost Burden Need

Homeless Needs

The City of Tallahassee's estimates of the homeless population, as calculated by the Tallahassee Coalition for the Homeless, are contained in the following table.

Tallahassee Homeless Population Estimates

Total	% of Total	1993 Actual	1993 Estimate	1995 Estimate
		405	605	694
Adult Males	67	271	405	465
Adult Females	19	77	115	132
Children	14	57	85	97
Single Adult Males	59	239	357	409
Single Adult Females	10	41	61	69
Total Persons in Families	32	130	194	222
Number of Families	N/A	43	65	74
Caucasian	52	211	315	361
Afro-American	45	182	272	312
City Resident less than 3 months	21	85	127	145
Homeless Less than 12 months (new homeless)	63	255	381	437

The capacity for emergency shelter in the city is only able to shelter about 32.5% of the homeless population. There is a critical shortage of emergency shelter space for families, women and children, with less than 25% being sheltered.

According to the 1993 survey the highest priority need reported by homeless families interviewed was job training or placement with nearly 200 positive responses.

Affordable permanent and/or transitional housing received the next highest level of responses with over 175 responses. The need for supportive housing, especially transitional housing with case management, is in critical demand with over 60% of those deemed in need not being served.

The other areas of need with high response rates are: Medical care, financial assistance, transportation, drug/alcohol treatment, and child care.

Homeless Agencies Capacity and Need

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

The Tallahassee Housing Authority (THA) was incorporated in 1946 and is operated as the local public housing agency (PHA) for the City of Tallahassee. As such, it is separate from the City of Tallahassee's government, although its five member Board of Directors is appointed by the City Commission.

Service providers for special needs populations indicate the following needs:

Non-Homeless Special Needs Population Housing Need

Barriers to Affordable Housing

The City of Tallahassee has made many efforts in the policy and regulatory areas to encourage the development of affordable housing. Even though the policies exist, there still seems to be a problem with the consistent adherence to the policies. The citizen's comments received during the development of the CP identified several areas of concern. In order to have a full understanding of the situation a review of the existing policies is necessary.

The comments made directed attention to the following areas:

• the permitting process needs to be streamlined
• better coordination of City departments in the development of affordable housing
• housing, planning and growth management need to be working toward the same goals
• the City should codify their policies in support of affordable housing, reduce time requirements, reduce fees, minimize regulations that do not affect health and safety and provide prioritized processing for affordable housing

Fair Housing

The Fair Housing Initiative has been focused on education and information. The City is currently preparing an analysis of fair housing in the City.

Lead-Based Paint

Statistically, the percentage of housing that may be contaminated with lead-based paint in the City of Tallahassee is very low. From a historical basis most houses built in Florida, especially north Florida, prior to 1940 were painted with turpentine-based mineral spirits added to base pigments made from zinc oxide and linseed oil, rather than lead-based paint. Also from a demographic and growth standpoint, it is estimated that from 1980 to 1990 in excess of 50% of Tallahassee's growth was due to in-migration. Statewide screening for lead levels of children covered by Medicaid, under six (6) years of age, is taking place in all 67 Florida counties. According to records from the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) Office of Environmental Health, of 213 children screened and 18 venous tested, none exhibited lead blood levels of 10ug/dl or higher.

Community Development Needs

Tallahassee is fortunate to have a low unemployment rate. Developing skills of the low- income to meet the challenges of a changing economy is vital. The challenge of stimulating growth in the community to provide meaningful employment is also a priority. Exhibited need is in the areas of Public services, public facilities, economic development and other human and support services.

Housing and Community Development Objectives and Priorities

The City has developed this plan to cover a five (5) year period. It is anticipated that the strategies expounded here will guide the City in housing, homeless, non-housing community development, and public support services beginning in 1995 and through 2000. The City of Tallahassee, consistent with HUD guidelines and local policy, proposes to pursue a comprehensive strategy to address its affordable housing, non-housing community development, homeless and support services needs.

Recognizing that these priorities will be influenced over time by certain factors including new data regarding needs, available resources, and costs the City has placed emphasis at this time on these priorities to guide appropriate investment strategies for the development of affordable housing, a continuum of care for the homeless, public support services, and community/economic development for low-and moderate income citizens. The following priorities were developed with heavy citizen input during the preparation of the CP. Without regards to ranking, these priorities are:

• Preserve the City's existing housing stock and reduce through rehabilitation and demolition the number of substandard housing units targeting especially the extremely low- and low-income, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
• Provide economic and other incentives to private and private, non-profit property owners to encourage production of affordable rental units, particularly for extremely low- income, low-income, moderate income, the elderly, and special needs households.
• Expand home-ownership opportunities, particularly for low-and moderate income households and first-time home-buyers.
• Support and endorse programs and efforts to avoid loss of subsidized rental housing to market rate rentals and other land uses.
• Support the expansion of the continuum of care for the homeless and those citizens threatened with homelessness with emphasis on shelter, employment training and placement, case management, and transitional housing.
• Refine established policies to support and coordinate the City's efforts in the provision of affordable housing.
• Continue to provide human services and other support services especially in targeteD areas and to residents who are in low- and moderate income categories.
• Continue the expansion of community and economic development in specific communities (i.e., Frenchtown, Bond and etc).

Housing Priorities

Objectives:

• Preserve and upgrade the City's existing housing stock, arrest further blight and deterioration in lower income neighborhoods and reduce through rehabilitation the number of substandard housing units.
• Expand home-ownership opportunities, particularly for low-and moderate income households and first-time home buyers through public/private partnerships.
• Increase the production of affordable housing units especially for the extremely low, low, and moderate income residents. Also included will be the elderly and other citizens with special needs.
• Further fair housing opportunities and eliminate unlawful discrimination in housing through enforcement of the City ordinance.

To address the homeless conditions in Tallahassee, the City, the Coalition and many other dedicated agencies have worked to establish the Tallahassee Homeless Assistance Continuum of Care. The agency intent is for agency coordination, cooperation and communication to increase under the Tallahassee Homeless Assistance Continuum of Care.

Priority housing and supportive services needs of:

• Elderly
• Frail Elderly
• People who have disabilities
• mental
• physical
• developmental
• Persons with alcohol and other drug addictions
• Persons with AIDS and families

The City of Tallahassee will support special needs agencies in their attempts to access federal and private funding for housing. As enumerated in the previous section most individuals with special needs/disabilities are income eligible for affordable housing programs. The City encourages individuals with special needs to make use of the various programs available for affordable housing and has served this population through the programs. In particular, the City expects to serve a large number of low-income elderly through the emergency repair and rehabilitation programs..

Non-Housing Community Development Priorities

The primary objective of the City is the development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment as well as expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. Priorities have been established in the areas of Public services, public facilities, economic development and other human and support services.

Anti-poverty Strategy

The City's Department of Community Improvement prepared an Annual Needs Assessment and Strategic Action Plan for Human Services. Both documents were approved by the City Commission on August 19, 1993. These documents constitute this City's anti-poverty strategy. Parts of these documents which apply to housing, homeless, non-housing community development and public services are incorporated into the CP.

Housing and Community Development Resources

Within the City Numerous agencies, including federal, state and local government agencies provide services to the community. The primary federal resources include CDBG, HOME, ESG and supportive funds for the Tallahassee Housing Authority. Resources from the state include SHIP funds for housing and various programs for assistance to low-income citizens. Private programs include over 35 not-for-profit agencies, lending institutions and other community development agencies.

Coordination of Strategic Plan

The primary responsibility for the implementation of the strategic plan is with the City of Tallahassee, Department of Community Improvement. A variety of public and private agencies are involved in the administration and implementation of certain plan components.

Description of Key Projects

Location

Roughly 75% of the projects are located in the Non-Housing Community development Target Areas. The Target areas are:

Southeast and Surrounding Neighborhoods (census tracts 3, 10.01, and 10.02); South side and Surrounding Neighborhoods (the neighborhood generally known as the Bond community in census tracts 11.01 and 12.); and Frenchtown and Surrounding Neighborhoods.

Housing Goals

Goals include 20 full rehabilitations, 10 emergency rehabilitations, 150 emergency repairs, 125 down payment and closing cost assistance, 10 self help new constructions, 10 acquisition/rehabs, 3 energy demonstrations new construction, 36 energy retrofits and approximately 52 special needs units.

Maps

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).