The DuPage County Consortium includes DuPage County and the cities of Aurora, Naperville and Wheaton, identified separately due to their entitlement status. The county is located in northeastern Illinois, 20 miles west of the city of Chicago. Although once a bedroom community for Chicago, it is now a mature suburban area with industrial, commercial and residential developments.
This Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) is designed to integrate efforts of federal programs focused on the housing and community development needs of low and moderate income residents. These programs include the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG). Administered by the DuPage County Community Development Commission (CDC), the programs are regulated as separate but interrelated resources. Beginning in 1995, all program years begin July 1.
In October, 1994 a special half-day workshop was held at a local college to
inform public and private stakeholder organizations of the consolidated process
and to solicit their views on various issues. The concerns raised here provided
the basis for the CDC's review of CDBG, HOME and ESG programs. Workshop
attendees were also encouraged to meet with CDC staff to obtain information on
specific issues. In addition, three stages of public hearings were required by
the CDC for ConPlan activities: stage one was held early in the process to gain
citizen input; stage two was held for all projects seeking CDBG funding; and
stage three included the public hearing on the draft ConPlan before final action
by the County Board. Local newspapers carried public notices of the hearings
and special notice was sent to entities who had previously contacted the CDC
about its programs. For site-specific projects in stage two, clients that would
be most affected by the proposed activity were also notified.
The DuPage County Consortium has a population of over 900,000, having increased by 20 percent between 1980 and 1990. The area is generally affluent, maintaining a 2.5 percent poverty rate and almost 600,000 jobs in a diverse employment basis.
This population increase has resulted in several shifts in the community's
composition. Household size has diminished from 3.7 persons in 1960 to 2.8 in
1990. Single persons comprised 9 percent of the population in 1970, compared to
20 percent in 1990. The age distribution also changed, with an increase in
those 65 years and older by almost 50 percent but a rise in the 17 years and
under sector by only 10 percent. In addition, the minority population grew by
over 54,000 persons between 1980 and 1990; approximately 23,000 were Hispanic,
20,000 were Asian/Pacific Islander and 10,000 were Black.
In areas where land is available, growth is still relatively rapid. In more established communities with less developable land, housing stock and infrastructure are aging but is usually in good condition. Housing costs continue to rise in virtually all areas of the consortium, although median income seems to rise at a rate consistent with housing prices. Problems lie in the very low, low and moderate income groups, of which approximately 84,000 households experience housing problems.
Of the total households in 1990, 30 percent have incomes 0 to 95 percent of the median family income. The extremely low income sector produces 0 to 30 percent of the MFI, and often pays 50 percent or more toward housing. Elderly owners and renters comprise the majority here.
Of the households producing incomes between 31 and 95 percent of the MFI, 54 percent encounter housing problems. Proportionately fewer suffer severe burdens, but cost burden remains the dominant issue. Overcrowding, particularly for large families, also plagues this group of mostly non-elderly owners.
Minority populations have disproportionate numbers of low-income persons. Blacks and Hispanics are the least likely in the Consortium area to be homeowners. Much of this disparity in homeownership could be related to the lower average incomes of minorities, but it is important to sustain efforts assuring equal access to housing opportunities.
The DuPage Consortium area has approximately 349,200 year-round housing units, of which about 93 percent are occupied. About 74 percent of the total households are owner-occupied and 26 percent are renter-occupied. Vacancy rate for rental units is at 7.9 percent and for sale units at 1.49 percent. When comparing owner and rental units there is a substantial difference in the availability of three-bedroom units and larger - 81 percent of owner units have three or more bedrooms but only 15 percent of rental units do. Large families seeking rental housing have a particularly difficult time in finding a unit to accommodate their needs. This fact is verified by the difficulty that large-family Section 8 Certificate and Voucher holders encounter while locating a unit.
Overall the condition of the housing stock in the Consortium is good because most is relatively new and has been well maintained. The majority of housing quality problems are scattered throughout the area, not concentrated in one or two locales. However, there are several older suburbs in the area with significant numbers of deteriorating units. To prevent deterioration and stabilize declining neighborhoods, local governments are encouraged to address housing quality on a neighborhood basis.
The median price for a single-family home in 1994 was shown by Chicago Title and Trust to be $163,300, 19 percent higher than the 1990 census figure of $137,000. First time home buyers paid a median price of $126,500, far out of reach for households with low or very low incomes. The average rent for a one-bedroom unit in DuPage County is $625, for a two-bedroom unit, $721 and for a three-bedroom unit, $917.
Highest priority for addressing affordable housing needs is on renter households with a cost burden of 30 percent and above, households in residences with physical defects and households in overcrowded units. High priority is also placed on owner housing for both current homeowners and first time home buyers.
A race distribution in shelters was noted as 77 percent White, 15 percent Black, 6 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Other. Of the total homeless population 54 percent fall within the 18 to 39 age group and almost 15 percent are 17 years of age or younger. It is also noted that substance abuse and mental illness are significant contributors to homelessness. Information contained herein deals primarily with needs of the sheltered homeless as there is very little information about the unsheltered homeless in DuPage County.
A 1992 Strategic Housing Plan for DuPage County identified the four most important needs as: 1) housing for single individuals (such as single room occupancy) and transitional housing for families trying to get back on their feet; 2) transitional housing for families trying to get back on their feet; 3) support services for homeless persons (including employment, budget and substance abuse counseling; and 4) permanent affordable housing.
Although the DuPage Housing Authority (DHA) has no public housing units, the Consortium has 687 units available through the Aurora Housing Authority (AHA). Two complexes are devoted to senior and handicapped housing, four are multi-family sites and 70 are scattered. AHA recently received approval for the conversion of an elderly complex in which 60 0-bedroom units will be converted into 40 1-bedroom units, resulting in a net loss of 20 units from the existing housing inventory.
In addition to AHA's public housing inventory, there are 3,572 units receiving rental assistance in the Consortium area. There are 401 units of Section 202, 1,623 units of Section 8 and 1,548 units of Section 236. Section 236 units are eligible for prepayment and potentially opting out of the program in the next few years. Of the 569 pre-1994 units none have prepaid. Because of the incentives provided by the Low-income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990, it is not anticipated that other Section 236 projects will prepay. The situation is being monitored.
The DHA has a total of 1,538 units of rental assistance, 1,154 of which are Section 8 units. DHA also maintains 25 units of rental assistance funded by the HOME program that are being used as part of the Family Self Sufficiency Program. As of October, 1993, there were 18 vouchers and 104 Section 8 certificates not in use. AHA offers 623 units of rental assistance.
Barriers can be divided into those influenced by government regulation and those based on private market factors. Government influences include the shortage of programs and resources for reducing excessive rent or mortgage burdens, even though every effort is made to capture all available federal and state funds.
Local government factors include restrictive and uncoordinated zoning, subdivision and building approval processes, as well as a lack of incentives to build affordable housing. High property taxes and fees (including impact fees), insufficient public transportation, federal labor standards and undesirable locations for affordable housing also contribute to the situation.
Private market issues include: 1) a lack of innovative approaches to the finance and development of affordable housing programs; 2) little coordination or pooling of financial sources; and 3) little financial motivation to develop affordable housing programs. These problems are exacerbated by high financing and mortgage rates for developers, high rents and move-in costs, high land prices and high labor costs.
The CDC continues to implement municipal and County fair housing actions and zoning ordinances consistent with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and requires marketing plans for all of its funded housing projects. The City of Aurora and DuPage County have collected data for an impediments study, and Aurora maintains a Human Resources Board to hear complaints on fair housing and other equal opportunity issues. The DuPage Fair Housing Network was created to promote an awareness of fair housing concerns, and DuPage Fair Housing conferences were held in 1994 and 1995. In addition, the Housing Resource Unit of the DuPage County Division of Human Services has provided advocacy, information and tenant-landlord mediation to over 3,600 households.
The Consortium area has potentially 60,000 lower income households at some risk of exposure to lead-based paint hazards. Although this is only an estimate based on national averages, it suggests a significant problem. A study will acquire locally specific data; subsequently a public information program will be developed in cooperation with local governments and pertinent agencies. Currently several communities maintain ongoing inspections to encourage the maintenance of existing housing, and guidelines for the testing and reduction of lead hazards will be incorporated into these programs.
Community Development needs are currently focused on infrastructure
improvements, particularly for flood drainage, sanitary sewers and asbestos
removal. High priority is also placed on neighborhood, health and other public
facilities.
Over the past several years, project selection criteria have been used to assure that activities undertaken with these monies focus, to the greatest extent possible, on the priorities of the program. In very general terms these priorities are to increase the availability of affordable housing and to help residents attain self-sufficiency.
Priorities for affordable housing include increasing the number of affordable rental units (particularly for the elderly), expanding opportunities for homeownership and increasing single-room occupancy units.
The priority for homelessness alleviation is the support and expansion of outreach assessment, emergency shelters, permanent housing and transitional housing.
Priorities for non-homeless persons with special needs are the provision of neighborhood and health facilities for the elderly and frail elderly, developmentally and physically disabled, mentally ill, persons with HIV/AIDS and single custodial parents.
Priorities for mixed-use areas include acquisition and improvement of non-housing facilities for health or social services, neighborhood recreation, senior citizen services, etc., and handicapped accessibility to public structures.
Priorities for economic development are relatively low due to the overall affluence of Consortium area residents.
Priorities for other community development activities include the development and implementation of neighborhood strategy area (NSA) plans (all of these strategies must be related to or contain an affordable housing component), public works projects in low-income neighborhoods and countywide planning activities.
The social service and housing agencies of the DuPage Consortium area have developed an anti-poverty strategy that will:
Within the DuPage Consortium area 13 federal, 13 state and six local government programs help to support the projects of the Community Development Commission. In addition, private loan funds, corporate investments, private nonprofit foundations and volunteer effort and contributions endorse these efforts. The major federal funding resources include the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnerships Act (HOME) and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG). State programs include the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Housing Linked Deposit and Housing Partnership, Emergency Food and Shelter, Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILA), Domestic Violence and Youth Homeless Programs. Locally based programs involve the Homestead Exemption for Senior Citizens, Real Estate Tax Deferral for Senior Citizens, Real Estate Transfer Tax Rebates for Illinois HOME Program Participants and first time home buyer assistance (Aurora).
The ConPlan process is the focus of this effort, directed by the
DuPage County Development Department staff with CDC Executive Committee in the
lead policy role. All public and private organizations are integrated into the
ConPlan process because of their influence on the programming of federal and
other dollars. The selection process for CDBG, HOME and ESG funding also
emphasizes coordination with other agencies as a condition of being considered
for funding.
The DuPage Consortium One-Year Action Plan outlines the proposed use of approximately $6 million in CDBG, HOME and ESG funds. These monies will be spent in the following projects:
The DuPage Community Development Commission and the DuPage HOME Advisory Group advocate greater locational choice in the development of affordable housing in the DuPage Consortium area. Thus the criteria used to select projects for funding have been designed to encourage affordable housing outside of existing affordable and low-income housing concentration. Both housing and non-housing projects of the ConPlan are distributed in no particular pattern, except to provide the best possible use of funding for affordable housing for the low-income residents of the Consortium area.
The ConPlan does not set specific production goals. However, it is anticipated that annual production will be at a rate similar to previous years. For example, 200 low-income (0 to 80 percent MFI) residents were placed in rental housing; 326 homeowners were assisted, 44 of whom were first time home buyers; shelter was provided for nine homeless families; and support was offered to nine non-homeless individuals with special needs. This resulted in the maintenance or provision of permanent housing for 544 low-income households of the Consortium area. This does not include hundreds of homeless persons or "at risk" persons for whom assistance was also provided.
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).
MAP 6 depicts neighborhood streets and proposed HUD funded projects, as described in the table under MAP 5.
