The City of Owensboro is the third largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Owensboro is located along the Ohio River 100 miles west of Louisville and forty-five miles east of Evansville, Indiana. Owensboro has a well diversified economy and serves as the retail, medical, recreational, entertainment, and employment center for much of northwest central Kentucky and south central Indiana.
The City of Owensboro's Consolidated Plan continues a twenty year tradition of concentrating federal and other community resources in neighborhoods located in the northern third of the community. The broad strategies and needs were first identified in the 1975 comprehensive plan for Owensboro and Daviess County. The City's 1995 Consolidated Plan simply expands upon the recommendations and strategies found in the 1991 Comprehensive Plan. A One-Year Action Plan is included in the Consolidated Plan and allocates Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) ($938,500) and HOME Investment Partnership Program ($556,250) funding to neighborhood capital improvements and housing programs.
The City of Owensboro has utilized a Citizens Advisory Committee on
Community Development since the inception of the CDBG program to recommend
community development and housing programs and strategies to the City
Commission. The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission (OMPC) through a
contractual agreement with the City administers all HUD funding. Insuring that
citizen participation requirements are met is part of the agreement. Two public
hearings were held after being advertised in the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer
newspaper. A thirty day comment period on the draft Consolidated Plan was
provided prior to the second hearing. Furthermore, the Associate Director of
Community Development sent to over fifty organizations or individuals a summary
of the Consolidated Plan and the entire One-Year Action Plan. Numerous
telephone conversations and or meetings were held with city agencies or
departments; as well as housing, financial, social service, neighborhood, and
human service providers or advocates. The Consolidated Plan was recommended for
City Commission approval at the April 19, 1995 public hearing by the Citizens
Advisory Committee and approved by the City Commission on May 2, 1995.
The City of Owensboro is classified as a class two city under the enabling laws of the Commonwealth. The Owensboro Metropolitan Statistical Area is the only one county statistical area in the southeast. The City's population in 1990 was 53,349 and the balance of Daviess County had a population of 33,690. These numbers represented a modest 1.4% population increase for the entire county since 1980 and the first decline in population for Owensboro (1.7%) in five decades. Improving economic conditions indicate that growth during the first half of the decade has reversed the stagnant growth experience during the 1980s. In 1995 the Daviess County population is estimated at 90,794. Minorities comprise slightly more than 6% of the City's population with blacks constituting 93% of the total minority population. Nearly 94% of the City's population is white. The elderly population (65 and older) is the fasting growing age cohort in the community. This group grew at a 20% rate during the 1980s.
Median family income in 1990 was $27,892 and by 1994 had climbed to $33,700
in the City. Forty-six percent (46%) of all households in Owensboro were low-
and moderate-income (less than 80% of median) in 1990. Minorities were twice as
likely to be classified as very low-income (incomes less than 50% of median)
households as were white households. There are no census tracts with minority
concentrations; however, three of the twenty tracts have minority populations at
two to five times the rate of the City's overall rate of 6%. The four census
tracts located in the northern third of the community and portions of three
other tracts contain the greatest concentrations of low-income and minority
households in the community.
Owensboro - Daviess County has a well diversified economy with the largest employer being Owensboro Mercy Health Systems, Inc. After a decade of decline, manufacturing employment has stabilized. The service and retail trade industries have increased the most during the past fifteen years and are projected to maintain this status into the next century. The 1990 Census reported an unemployment rate of nearly 8% in the City; however, recent data from KY's Labor Area Summary reports indicate a rate of 5%.
Decreasing the rate of unsound housing and increasing the rate of home ownership in our low- to moderate-income neighborhoods were the two greatest needs identified in the Consolidated Plan. Affordability of owner or renter units are not a significant problem in the community. The greatest cost burdens are for households with incomes that are 0-30% of the MFI regardless of tenure. Small family households have the greatest numeric need while large family households have the greatest percentage need among renters. Providers of assisted housing in the community indicate that waiting lists are short as is the time it takes for a family with a preference to receive rental assistance. Additional rent assistance does not appear warranted at this time.
In 1990 64% of all dwelling units were owner occupied in the City. Home ownership rates are the lowest in the northern third of the City. Minorities own their homes at a 35% rate while white households own at a 68% rate. Three bedroom units make up 75% of the owner market but only 25% of the rental market. Almost all (84%) the rental units in the community are within the corporate limits. Vacancy rates in 1990 were 1.4% for owner units and 6.8% for renter units with an overall rate of 3%. The rate in the northern third of the City was nearly 7%. While the Census indicates a substandard housing rate of less than 2%, data maintained by the OMPC reveals a rate of approximately 8% with nearly 80% of these deficient units concentrated in the northern third of the City. It is estimated that nearly 90% of these substandard units would be suitable for rehabilitation. The oldest housing in the community is in Owensboro with the highest concentrations in the northern third of the City. A wide variety of mortgage financing is available in the community. Average sales price for all units in 1990 was $60,190 with three bedroom units comprising most of the market. Sale prices in the northern third of Owensboro were one-third to two-thirds the average.
While existing data and knowledge indicate that housing in Owensboro is affordable to both renter and owner households, recent trends could alter the situation. Rents are increasing as vacancy rates decline and rental production has slowed in recent years. Furthermore, the owner market in terms of new production is geared toward housing in the $100,000 and up range. These circumstances over time could alter the affordability equation in the community.
Low-income renter households need a greater supply of standard affordable housing options while low-income owners need assistance in repairing their existing residences. Low-income buyers need an increase in the supply of standard affordable housing.
It is estimated that nearly 1,000 persons are served annually through the four homeless shelters in the community. Over 75% of the persons assisted are family households, while 9% are served through the youth shelter and the remainder are mostly single males. The two factors contributing the most to homelessness in the community involve alcohol/drug abuse (60%) and domestic violence (34%). Gaps in the continuum of care that have been identified include:
Strengths in the system include:
Twelve different providers manage 22 different housing sites or programs in Owensboro. A total of 2,222 units were receiving federal rent assistance in 1993. Since this time a 54-unit frail elderly project has been approved and is presently in the permitting stage. The Housing Authority of Owensboro (HAO) owns 614 public housing units and manages 265 Section 8 vouchers or certificates. The HAO is by far the largest provider of rent assisted housing in the community. The HAO plans to demolish four structures containing 16 units in the Rolling Heights project in order to decrease project density and provide for additional parking. The units will be replaced with new public housing units or existing Section 8 vouchers. No other units in the community are expected to be lost to the assisted housing inventory.
Over 50% of all assisted units are one-bedroom or smaller, while the elderly occupy 39% of all units and over 7% are occupied by handicapped households. Minorities occupy 15% of all units and nearly 78% of the total units are occupied by female headed households.
Following the advice of all other providers of assisted housing in the community, the Consolidated Plan used the HAO's waiting lists as an indicator of demand. The public housing waiting list was 100 and the Section 8 list was 75. Persons with a preference will usually receive assistance in 30 days while all others will be served within 30 to 60 days. The exception to this general rule are large family households which will have a longer wait for Section 8 housing due to low turnover rates and a shorter wait for public housing units.
Service providers for special needs populations indicated the following needs:
No significant barriers to affordable housing have been identified. In fact potential barriers in Owensboro were addressed long before HUD's recent interest in this subject. The comprehensive planning process identified possible problems and found solutions that have been implemented over the past two decades.
An Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing was completed and circulated to appropriate local organizations, the City Commission, and local financial institutions in the spring of 1994. The analysis did not identified any major impediments to fair housing choice in the community. Census data indicate that minorities are apparently able to choose housing throughout the city. Lending practices, once a loan application is made appear adequate. In the arena of public policy and programs no major problems are evident.
Current and past efforts need to be maintained and strengthened. Census, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and public policy data should continue to be evaluated as information becomes available or apparent problems arise. At this time there is no compelling reason to alter the community structure which try's to assure equal housing opportunities in the city.
Half of the housing units in Owensboro are estimated to have lead-based paint in them. There are 3,154 housing units occupied by very low-income families and 1,788 units occupied by low income families that may have a lead-based paint hazard in the community. Conversations with the Green River Area Health Department indicates that there has been only one case of elevated lead levels in a child over the past decade. Either there is an insignificant problem in the community, or the problem has not been identified. It would seem that if there were instances of lead-based paint poisoning in the community there would be a record. None exists.
Community Development needs identified in the Consolidated Plan included
public facility and infrastructure improvements in low- to moderate-income
neighborhoods. Additionally, the need for continued code enforcement and
planning were identified.
The principle goal of the City of Owensboro's Community Development program is to develop a strategy that will systematically eliminate blighting influences in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods. The priority needs associated with achieving this goal include:
The objectives concerning street improvements, corridor improvements and housing efforts have been incrementally addressed each year since the CD program's inception. Other objectives are periodically addressed as the need is made known and funds become available.
Broad objectives that will assist us in achieving our priority needs during the next five years include:
The over-all strategy of developing sound residential areas will hopefully assist in the reduction of poverty levels in the community. Increasing the supply of affordable rental units, reducing rates of housing deterioration and dilapidation, increasing home ownership rates, and aiding our homeless and persons with special needs should help reduce poverty rates. The exact impact these strategies may have are impossible to measure. For Owensboro efforts toward assisting persons in poverty is not a direct city responsibility. Numerous federal, state, and local programs and resources are directed at serving persons in poverty. None are funded through city programs or resources.
The process required of the city to prepare the CONSOLIDATED PLAN will assure the coordination of the city's housing efforts with the other agencies and groups that are directly responsible for providing services to persons below the poverty level. Consultation and the sharing of information among the various groups with the city have been excellent in the past and are expected to remain so in the future.
The resources available to the City of Owensboro during the next five years are discussed in two broad categories. Federal resources reasonable expected to be available to the City include Community Development Block Grant and HOME entitlement funds. The Owensboro Housing Authority will receive Comprehensive Grant Program, Section 8, and public housing operating subsidies during the period. Other funding sources include competitive grant programs (principally Emergency Shelter Grant and Supportive Housing), City funds, non-profit efforts, Kentucky's human resources and housing programs, lending programs and activities.
During the preparation of the CONSOLIDATED PLAN the Associate Director of
Community Development notifies over 50 different agencies, groups, and
individuals about the beginning of the CONSOLIDATED PLAN development process.
Included are all known providers of assisted housing, every bank,
builders/developers, public and private providers of health and mental health
services, all known homeless providers and/or advocates, social service
agencies, and providers of elderly services. Either at someone's request, or
more likely, the solicitation by the Associate Director numerous meetings,
telephone conversations, and exchange of data occur. This contact and exchange
of information and ideas assure the coordination of the city's efforts with
those of other groups in the community.
Owensboro's One-Year Action Plan allocates nearly $1.5 million in Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership funds. The CDBG funds are comprised of $831,000 of new funding, $100,000 of unobligated carryover, and $7,500 in program income. The City will receive a $387,000 HOME grant as a participating jurisdiction, $113,000 from the Commonwealth's HOME program, and the City will provide the match for the program (estimated at $56,000). Not including the funding for the planning and administration of these programs, the following projects will be funded:
All projects are located in the northern third of the City and within census tracts and/or block groups that are considered low- to moderate income per the 1990 Census. This area has been the same since the inception of the Community Development program in 1975 and altered only when census data reflects additional areas of low-income populations in the City.
Housing programs are administered by the Community Development Division of the OMPC while all other programs are coordinated through the OMPC with the various City departments that will implement the program (for this year the Street and Finance Departments are the main ones).
The City expects to assist between 40 and 50 households through the housing programs administered by the OMPC. The City will support any efforts by homeless or housing advocates to address any of the needs identified for our homeless or special needs populations. The Housing Authority of Owensboro will continue their family self-sufficiency program as well as continue improvements outlined in their Comprehensive Grant program. Numerous households will be served by state and federal agencies, non-profits, and lending institutions that are not accountable to the City.
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.
Leonard R. Matheny
Associate Director of Community Development
Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission
P.O. Box 732
Owensboro, Kentucky 42302-0732
(502) 687-8656
