The village of Arlington Heights, Illinois, is the largest municipality in the northwest corridor of the Chicago metropolitan area. Proximity to Chicago, O'Hare Airport, and immediate access to major highways make it an appealing community for new and expanding businesses. It is an upper middle-class community with a healthy economic environment.
The Consolidated Plan includes a One-Year Action Plan for spending approximately $647,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and other funds in 1995. Those funds will be spent mainly on housing rehabilitation and services to special needs populations.
The Consolidated Plan is the result of citizen input and consultation with housing and service providers and other local governments. The process included a series of meetings with interested groups and agencies and two public hearings. Notices of the public hearing and public comment periods were published in local newspapers.
With 75,460 residents, Arlington Heights is the largest municipality in the northwest corridor of the Chicago metropolitan area. The average resident age is 32, while one-quarter of the village's population is under 18, and 10 percent are over 65. The population over age 65 has increased rapidly over the past decade. Arlington Heights is 93 percent white and 7 percent minority. Asian or Pacific Islanders (3.7 percent of total population) and Hispanics (2.6 percent of total population) are the two largest minority groups. Single-person households are 24 percent of all households in Arlington Heights.
Per capita income in Arlington Heights is $22,864, and median family income is $60,587. For the purposes of this plan, the median family income (MFI) for the Chicago PMSA ($47,600) is used to calculate poverty statistics. Of all Arlington Heights households, 12.7 percent are extremely low-income (0-30 percent of MFI), 12.3 percent are low income (30-50 percent of MFI), and 24.8 percent are moderate-income (50-80 percent of MFI).
Arlington Heights enjoys a strong economic climate with an unemployment rate of only 2.7 percent. Its location places it in a good position to encourage business expansion and attract new businesses. The village has been aggressive in maintaining its roads, drainage system, public buildings, fire facilities, and other infrastructure and facilities required to provide basic services.
High-priority housing needs include multifamily housing rehabilitation, housing assistance for the increasing elderly population, emergency financial assistance for rent or mortgage payments, increased homeownership opportunities for low-income households, and permanent supportive housing for persons with special needs. Of all groups, Hispanics are most likely to experience income and housing problems.
Of the 30,428 housing units in Arlington Heights, 69 percent are owner-occupied, 26 percent are renter-occupied, and 5 percent are vacant. The vacancy rate for rental units is over seven times greater than for owner-occupied units. According to the 1990 census, the median value of owner-occupied units was $168,900, a 70-percent increase from 1980. The 1993 median home price was $185,000 and the median rent was $655 a month. The village has experienced moderate growth in the housing stock over the last few years. More housing units have been rehabilitated than have been constructed; yet the supply of affordable housing has not changed much over the past decade.
Sixty-nine percent of housing units in Arlington Heights were built between 1950 and 1979, with only 3.9 percent built before 1940. Because the majority of the housing stock is less than 40 years old, the village expects that there will not be many structural problems (inadequate foundations, electrical systems, or plumbing) in the next 5 years. Of all rental households, 29 percent live in one-bedroom units, 23 percent live in two-bedroom units, and only 0.4 percent live in three-bedroom units. Although only 1 percent of the Arlington Heights housing units are estimated to be overcrowded (more than 1.5 persons per room), this figure has nearly quadrupled since 1980.
Due to increasing housing costs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for extremely low-, low-, and moderate-income households to rent or own housing in Arlington Heights. Forty-nine percent of renters in the village make less than 80 percent of the area median income. Of the extremely low- and low-income households in the village, five out of seven renters and four out of seven owners experience a cost burden (they pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing). Less than 6 percent of owner-occupied housing in the village is affordable to lower income households.
According to the 1990 census, there were 19 homeless persons in Arlington Heights on April 1, 1990. The census estimated that 90 percent of those persons were in emergency shelters. The village does not have its own count of the homeless population, but it has studied data supplied by Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), which is the organization serving the majority of homeless persons in the area. Out of the 630 persons served by PADS shelters in 1994, 33 were attributed to Arlington Heights. Of the 630 persons served, 64 percent were male, 25 percent were female, and 10 percent were children under age 10. PADS estimates that 75 percent of their clients are chronically homeless persons with special needs.
Six shelters are operated in the village by PADS and other providers, with a capacity for up to 150 homeless persons per evening. Local service providers cite the following as short-term needs of the homeless: employment, health and legal counseling, housing, rehabilitation, and support for children.
The Cook County Housing Authority (CCHA) operates 118 one-bedroom public housing units for the elderly in Arlington Heights. The units are relatively new and are well-maintained. All units are occupied, with a turnover rate typically about 10 percent. As of June 1994, CCHA determined that there were more units accessible to the disabled than there were applicants for such units under their jurisdiction.
CCHA administers 94 Section 8 certificates (60 for families and 34 for the elderly/disabled) and 22 Section 8 vouchers (7 for families and 15 for the elderly/disabled) in Arlington Heights. Other assisted housing includes an 80-unit apartment building for the elderly built with Section 202 funds, a 110-unit apartment building for the elderly and 80 family townhouses built with Section 8 New Construction funds, and 212 apartment units of various sizes rehabilitated with funding from HUD's Rental Rehabilitation Program.
There are no facilities in Arlington Heights that exclusively serve persons with HIV/AIDS or their families. However, under the Americans With Disabilities Act, persons with AIDS are considered to be disabled and can qualify for housing for the disabled. Between 1982 and fall 1994, 31 cases of AIDS had been reported in the village. Of those, 24 have died, but local health officials estimate that the number of HIV-infected persons is four times the number of reported AIDS cases.
Most housing for persons with disabilities consists of private homes that have been adapted to the needs of the disabled and public or assisted housing. All of the public and assisted housing buildings have units designated for the disabled. Substantial waiting lists (2 to 7 years) exist for these units.
The following are barriers to affordable housing:
Only 4 percent of the housing units in Arlington Heights might contain lead-based paint and only 5 percent of those units are occupied by extremely low-income renters. These numbers are very low in relation to the village's housing stock as a whole; however, Arlington Heights is aware of the health risks involved and has programs to address this need.
Existing senior centers, teen centers, fire stations, and parking facilities have deteriorated over time. Improvements, expansions, or new construction of such facilities are needed, especially to accommodate village growth. The village has consistently maintained its basic infrastructure and expects to continue doing so. Public services to meet a variety of needs, retaining the existing job base, providing accessibility for the disabled in public buildings, and more planning and coordination efforts are other community development needs.
Housing activites are primary in Arlington Heights' Consolidated Plan. Infrastructure, public facilities, and economic development are also listed as high priorities. About 70 percent of CDBG dollars will be spent on "bricks and mortar" programs that produce physical results.
Objective #1: To preserve, maintain, and improve the community's existing housing stock; to reduce the cost burden of housing for low and moderate-income families; and to provide a wide range of options in terms of housing choices for all persons in the community. Proposed actions include providing low-cost loans for single- and multifamily housing rehabilitation, starting a first-time homebuyers program, and matching low-income elderly persons to share housing.
Objective #2: To ensure that every person in the community has basic shelter every night; to enable homeless persons eventually to obtain permanent housing; and to ensure that housing options are available to all persons, including those with special needs. Proposed actions include providing transitional housing for homeless families and providing supportive housing for persons with special needs.
Objective #1: To ensure that facilities serving the social, recreational, health, family, and other needs of persons in the community are provided, maintained, and available for use by all residents. Proposed actions include acquisition and remodeling of a teen center; physically improving senior centers; maintaining streets, sewers, and water systems; and removing asbestos from public buildings.
Objective #2: To prevent homelessness and poverty, enhance the quality of life, and provide stability for families and all residents through provision of recreation, health, transportation, family, social, and other opportunities. Proposed actions include provision of activities and counseling for youth, funding of travel subsidies for the elderly and disabled, aiding family stability through child care, funding health care subsidies for low-income persons, and providing job training.
Objective #3: To ensure that every citizen, including those with disabilities, has access to all public buildings and facilities in the village of Arlington Heights.
Objective #4: To sustain and improve the economic viability of the business community, to enhance the vitality of all business areas, and to retain and create new employment opportunities for area residents. Proposed actions include maintaining infrastructure necessary for industrial and commercial businesses, increasing the use of signage downtown, and providing technical assistance to businesses.
Objective #5: To ensure that strategies, goals, and programs of the community are responsive to community needs, are well-designed, and are coordinated with other community organizations for the most effective delivery of service.
Although Arlington Heights does not have specific areas of highly concentrated poverty, it is a goal of the village to preserve and create more affordable housing opportunities for persons with incomes below the poverty level. It is also the village's intent to assist and coordinate projects to serve low-income persons -- such as programs for the elderly, the homeless, youth, crime victims, and those in need of medical services.
Arlington Heights will be relying primarily on CBBG funds to carry out its Consolidated Plan. Other Federal and State resources will be investigated and pursued where appropriate. Private resources will be leveraged with CDBG funds when possible.
The village is planning a series of steps to enhance coordination between public and private groups: a series of public meetings and hearings to facilitate communication among citizens, community organizations, private institutions, and the village; annual meetings among the village, financial institutions, services providers, and housing providers to coordinate housing programs; and biannual meetings for Cook County and northwestern suburban governments to discuss regional needs and strategies.
The Department of Planning and Community Development will administer CDBG funds and monitor each CDBG subgrantee. Subgrantees will include other government agencies and several nonprofits.
The One-Year Action Plan outlines the proposed uses of $647,000 in CDBG, estimated program income, and HUD First-Time Homebuyers Program funds. An unspecified amount of local funds will be used for action plan activities.
Most of the One-Year Action Plan programs and projects are available to the entire geographic area of the village, but many are targeted to persons with incomes below the poverty line and/or specific populations, such as the elderly or children.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
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.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within another of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 9 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
Nora Vogt, Planner
Department of Planning and Community Development
Village of Arlington Heights
33 S. Arlington Heights Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Phone #708-577-5672
Fax #708-590-7832
(No internet address available)
BBS I.D. is Nora Vogt
