Cobb County's 1995-1997 Consolidated Plan constitutes a strategic vision for housing and community development in the County. This summarizes that plan so that citizens in the community can have a quick overview of Cobb County's housing and community development problems; the 3-year broad goals strategies and actions proposed to deal with those problems; and the specific projects proposed for 1995-1997 to carry out this strategy.

Goals

The 1995-97 Cobb County goals are; (1) Standard Housing - Eliminate substandard housing for low-and moderate-income persons and families; (2) Affordable Housing - Increase access to affordable housing for very low-, other low-and moderate income persons and families; (3) Special Needs Housing - Assist in providing housing opportunities for non- homeless persons with special needs; (4) Housing for the Homeless - Address the housing and supportive service needs of homeless families and individuals; (5) Homeless Prevention - Take positive actions to prevent homelessness for the very low- and other low-income residents.

Action Plan

The Consolidated Plan also includes an action plan constituting an application for funds under three different HUD formula programs for a total of $ 3.4 million: Community Development Block program (CDBG), the Emergency Shelter Grants program (ESG), and the HOME investments Partnership Program. These funds will support the activities to be funded for the 1995 program year.

Citizen Participation

On October 18, 1994 Public Hearings of the Consolidated Plan were held in the main branch of the Cobb County Public Library. Many public service agencies attended the hearings and were able to raise questions and have their questions addressed in a public forum.

According to the U.S. Census, Cobb County's total population in 1990 was 447,745 which comprised 171,409 households. This marks a 50% increase from the 1980 population of 297,718. Most of the growth has been in the unincorporated county in recent years. Only 22% of Cobb's population (99,631 persons) reside in the cities. The other 78% live in unincorporated Cobb County.

In Cobb County, most households (87%) are white residents; Black households total 10 percent, Hispanic households account for two percent of the population, while Asian households represent 1%. (See Map 1 for percentages of minority population by census tract. This map also displays census tracts where more than 51 percent of the households have low or moderate incomes.)

The median income in Cobb County was $43,131 in 1989. East Cobb has the highest household median income of $65,858. The median income is adjusted annually by HUD and has increased from 1990 to 1993. As of April, 1994, the median household income for the Atlanta MSA was $48,700 for a household of four.

The following is an estimation of needs for housing and supportive services for the ensuing three-year period.

Housing

The number of housing units in Cobb County has increased from 113,271 units in 1980 to 189,872 year-round housing units in 1990, of which 171,288 are occupied. There are from 8,000 to 10,000 housing units that could benefit from improvements to correct current or incipient housing code violations; another 6,000 to 8,000 units need major energy renovations to make them compatible with current state energy codes. Seventy two percent of the existing substandard housing is suitable for repair or rehabilitation; however, low-income or elderly owners frequently cannot afford to make the needed repairs. Eighty three percent of low-income renters experience housing problems which could include living in substandard conditions, and/or a cost burden.

Homeless Needs

Approximately one percent of the Cobb County population is homeless on any given day. An estimated 4,913 homeless persons are living in Cobb County. The demand for shelter facilities (both emergency and transitional housing) and related services continues to increase as the resources remain limited. The need is particularly acute for families with children who are homeless, living in overcrowded conditions, or at risk of becoming homeless. From October 1993 through September, 1994, emergency and transitional shelters in Cobb County turned away 1080 requests for shelter due to insufficient shelter space.

Community Development Needs

Cobb County community development needs are to provide public facilities to upgrade and maintain viability of neighborhoods, provide resources needed to promote business creation and expansion to create jobs, assist homeless individuals and families by providing continuum of care services, and to provide capital funding for eligible public services. (See Map 2 for areas of unemployment in the County.)

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

Cobb County has a total of 913 public housing units. Of these, 804 are managed by the Marietta Housing Authority (MHA). This includes 150 units specifically designed for the elderly. The City of Acworth has 109 units of conventional public housing. MHA operates 81 efficiency units, 232 one bedroom units, 270 two bedroom units, 182 three bedroom units, 34 four bedroom units and 5 units with at least five bedrooms. MHA has 24 supportive housing units for non-housing persons with special needs. MHA has 664 Section 8 housing certificates and 118 vouchers, while the City of Marietta operates its own Section 8 program with 400 certificates and 45 vouchers.

Lead-based Paint

Cobb County has 60,893 units with incidence of lead-based paint, which accounts for almost one-third (32%) of all housing stock. Approximately 9,257 units are occupied by very low-income households and 28,786 units are occupied by other low-income households. The actual number of children with blood lead poisoning in the Georgia Urban County Consortium or the state of Georgia is not known. Georgia does not yet require all lead poisoning cases be reported, but it is in the process of implementing such a requirement.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

Cobb County proposes to reduce the negative impact of certain public policies which may hinder the process of increasing more affordable housing. Among these are restrictive building codes, burdensome Federal and State regulations (under current rules additional public housing grants are less likely as the percent of substandard units decline), lack of County policies to preserve affordable housing stock, limited partnerships with financial institutions and lack of emphasis on affordable housing community awareness and homebuyer education.

The strategic plan lays out a long-term strategy to deal with the housing and community development needs.

Priority Housing and Homeless Objectives

Standard Housing - Eliminate substandard housing for low- and moderate-income persons and families. Cobb County has aging housing stock, both owner-occupied and rental properties. Many of the older units are in need of repair; but they also tend to be occupied by those least able to pay for such repairs. Since Cobb County is a growth area, most middle-and upper-income people live in newer units. By and large, most of the substandard housing stock in Cobb County consist of rental units. The large number of very low-, and moderate-income renters with housing problems or severe cost burdens reflect the number of units which have unsuitable living conditions due to needed repairs, lack of plumbing or heating, or overcrowding.

Affordable Housing - Increase access to affordable housing for very low-, and moderate-income persons and families. The problem in Cobb County is that there simply are not enough rental units available in the $200 - 400 monthly rental price range. Large affordable rentals with 3-4 bedrooms, in particular, are sparse in Cobb County. At the same time, many apartment complexes are struggling to manage high vacancy rates. This mismatch in the market place results in overcrowding in some cases, deteriorating housing stock in others, and an increase in evictions and homelessness. Along with these problems Cobb County must also face obstacles ranging from general NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) attitudes regarding affordable housing to technical issues such as limited capacity of existing nonprofit housing developers.

Special Needs Housing - Assist in providing housing opportunities for non-homeless persons with special needs. Long-term and permanent facilities are needed for elderly, frail elderly, persons with mental illness, persons with developmental and physical disabilities, and those with alcohol or other drug addictions. Such facilities should include transitional housing, single room occupancy units, intermediate care, residential treatment/care facilities, and affordable single- and multi- family structures. Health and social services support should be made available with all supportive housing facilities and referrals to ensure wellness, full recovery and/or curtail recidivism.

Housing for the Homeless - Address the housing and supportive service needs of homeless families and individuals. The Cobb CDBG Office and local agencies will work closely with nonprofits which provide shelter and related services. Special efforts will be made for the most vulnerable of the homeless population: children, families with children, and persons with special needs who require services to achieve and maintain independent living. The objective of the programs is to assist families and individuals in making the transition to permanent housing and independent living. Even with homelessness as a priority, funding is too limited to meet the full demand for shelter and services.

Homelessness Prevention - Take positive actions to prevent homelessness for the very low- and other low-income residents. Cobb County will work with agencies to develop programs to keep people in their current housing. Such programs will include emergency grants to cover rent/mortgage and/or utilities for very low income households. The chief obstacles to preventing homelessness include limited resources for skills training and job placement initiatives, affordable child care, emergency assistance and effective advocacy for this target group.

Non-Housing Community Development Objectives

The following center and facilities are deemed necessary by Cobb County: construct four new senior centers at a cost of $2,600,000; renovation of four boys and girls clubs and construction of one and expansion of one childcare center for $375,000; park improvements for $650,000; construction of three neighborhood centers for $1,450,000, $500,000 for neighborhood heath centers, $3,450,000 for construction\renovation of job training centers, and $950,000 for one abused child center.

The following infrastructure improvements are planned for the years 1995-97 in Cobb County: flood drain improvements ($150,000), water improvements ($150,000), street improvements ($450,000), side walks ($360,000), sewer improvements ($600,000).

For the three year plan, Cobb County has identified needs for public service in the following ways: transportation services ($900,000), employment training ($75,000), fair housing counseling ($180,000), child care services ($150,000), health services ($105,000), and $2,350,000 in other public service needs.

The action plan lays out the proposed uses of the $3,349,489 million from three of the four formula grant programs, funds recaptured through "program income", and funds from local sources. Some 25 Projects are listed in the Plan, most of which are funded with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money.

The following is a table of all of the proposed activities in the Action Plan, how much money is allocated towards the activity and how many people it will help. The locations of these activities were reported as County-wide or unavailable.

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.