Located between Boston and Worcester, Framingham, Massachusetts, is the largest community in the area of the State known as Metrowest. A regional center of services and employment, the town includes widely diverse land uses, from suburban office parks to older industrial facilities. Framingham is the largest town in Massachusetts to maintain the town meeting form of government.
To implement its Consolidated Plan in 1995, Framingham anticipates having $741,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $367,000 in HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds, $376,000 in Emergency Shelter Grant funds, and other Federal and State funds.
The Planning Department circulated a questionnaire to approximately 30 local
and State government, social service, anti-poverty, and housing agencies to
identify needs and collect program suggestions. Service agencies were invited to
a planning session in November 1994, and a public hearing followed within a
week. The draft plan was made available to the public in March 1995. A final
public hearing was held on March 30, 1995, and comments were sought through
April 19, 1995.
Framingham's total population remained stable over the past decade, but the
proportion of seniors and minorities is increasing. The largest minority,
Hispanics, more than doubled in number during the past decade, representing 8
percent of the town's 64,989 persons in 1990. The median family income (MFI) for
the metropolitan area is $49,265. Of the 25,123 Framingham households in 1990,
19 percent were very low-income (0-50 percent of MFI); 11 percent were
low-income (51-80 percent of MFI); and 7 percent were moderate-income (81-95
percent of MFI).
More than 9,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Framingham since 1985; however, the number of service jobs has increased, and they now account for half of all jobs in the town. The average service sector wage, $26,165, is about 60 percent of the average manufacturing wage. Unemployment doubled from 1985 to 1993, reaching 5.6 percent.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines housing problems as overcrowding, physical deficiency of the unit, or payment of more than 30 percent of income on housing expenses. According to the latter definition, among renters in Framingham, 66 percent of very low-income households, 70 percent of low-income households, and 45 percent of moderate-income households have housing problems. Among homeowners, the same is true for 54 percent of very low-income households, 37 percent of low-income households, and 43 percent of moderate-income households.
In 1990 there were 11,608 rental units in the town, of which more than 80 percent had 2 bedrooms or fewer. There were 13,494 owner-occupied units in 1990, of which more than 80 percent had 3 or more bedrooms.
Half of Framingham's housing units were built between 1950 and 1970, and a quarter of them since 1970. The number of housing units increased by 7 percent during the 1980s, mostly due to construction of single-family homes. In addition, during the 1980s, 250 subsidized housing units were built. Housing sale prices and rents dropped significantly during the 1980s and are now rising slowly.
About one in eight ownership units and about one in five rental units are estimated to be substandard. Given current economic conditions, deterioration of the town's housing stock is expected to continue. The rental stock is divided into fairly new units on the north side of town and older, smaller units with problems on the south side of town. (Many of these older units were originally developed as inexpensive housing for industrial workers in the area.) Rental prices in the southern area, averaging from $450 for an efficiency to $975 for a four-bedroom unit, are $50 to $100 lower than in the northern area. Rental prices have dropped and vacancy rates have increased since the 1990 census.
Of the 5,065 very low-income households in Framingham, 3,636 are renters. Of these renters 40 percent are elderly households, over half of whom pay 30 percent or more of their income on housing. Overall, 64 percent of very low-income renters and over 50 percent of very low-income homeowners pay at least 30 percent of their gross income for housing expenses.
Out of the 2,721 low-income households in the town, 60 percent are renters. Sixty-three percent of low-income renters and 36 percent of homeowners pay 30 percent or more of their income on housing.
An increase in homelessness during the 1980s and early 1990s has made it a significant social service and housing issue. The 1990 census identified 92 homeless persons in shelters and none in the streets; however, local homeless providers are aware of several other locations where homeless people stay. There are 46 family units and 35 single beds in Framingham shelters, and 98 units of transitional housing. Cuts in State programs have reduced the resources available to prevent homelessness. Contact with providers indicates that at least 300 families are at risk of homelessness in Framingham.
Through Section 8 and the Massachusetts Housing Voucher Program, 698 low-income households receive tenant-based assistance. As of October 1993, there were 2,500 households on a waiting list for the Section 8 program. Of these, 579 households were paying more than half of their incomes for housing costs, and 318 were living in overcrowded conditions. Due to changes in State policy, the State rental assistance program is decreasing the number of households assisted. This change may increase the likelihood of homelessness for some people.
The Framingham Housing Authority owns and manages 499 units of public housing for families. There are 3,000 households on a waiting list for these units. The agency also manages 671 units of housing for seniors, with a waiting list of 125 households.
As a reaction to large-scale multifamily development in the early 1970s, Framingham virtually ended multifamily development in 1974. New development is limited to single-family detached housing and to limited construction or conversion to two-family housing. There are more stringent requirements for parking spaces placed on multifamily development. Sidewalk and curb requirements are also extremely strict and increase the costs of new housing.
The State of Massachusetts has an "anti-snob zoning" policy to facilitate the construction of affordable housing in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is for low- and moderate-income persons. This policy was supplemented by the 1990 Local Initiative program, which encourages locally controlled efforts to produce low-cost housing. To counter the negative effects of existing barriers to affordable housing, the Planning Department intends to support zoning that allows mixed-use development in business districts, review infrastructure requirements for new housing development, implement a policy that encourages the preservation of open space, and adopt cluster zoning for new housing development.
The Planning Department followed HUD-recommended procedures to estimate the number of low-income housing units that may have lead-based paint. The town estimates that 4,146 contaminated units are occupied by lower income households.
While the overall population has dropped slightly, the population of persons over the age of 74 has increased significantly. People in this age group frequently need assistance to live at home or may need congregate housing. The town's Council on Aging estimates that 650 elderly and 228 frail elderly households in Framingham need some form of supportive housing. Also in need of housing assistance are 175 persons with mental illness, 120 persons with developmental disabilities, 260 persons with physical disabilities, 200 persons with substance addictions, and 75 persons with HIV/AIDS.
Framingham surveyed more than 100 local agencies to assess the non-housing
community development needs of the town. One-third of those surveyed responded.
A theme that emerged from the survey was the sense that the problems of
low-income people are becoming pervasive, and reductions of funding at all
levels exacerbates serious existing issues. Identified needs fell into a number
of major areas, including public facilities, infrastructure, improving
accessibility for persons with disabilities, economic development, historic
preservation, public services, fair housing, and planning. There were also
concerns for the needs of children, families, the elderly, veterans, persons
with disabilities, and linguistic minorities.
Framingham is marshalling resources to achieve the goals of providing decent housing, creating and sustaining suitable living environments, and expanding economic opportunities for its citizens.
The needs assessment process identified the following groups as requiring the most assistance and the areas in which assistance is needed:
The priorities for addressing homelessness in Framingham include:
The Planning Department has identified the following as non-housing community development needs:
The town's anti-poverty strategy will focus on encouraging housing providers to enroll their clients in the maximum number of self-improvement programs and identifying possible changes in town services that could increase the opportunities for low-income people to become self-sufficient.
In addition to CDBG funds, Framingham can access funding from other Federal sources, including the HOME Program, Emergency Shelter grants, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, as well as Section 202 and Section 8 rental assistance funds. State-leveraged funds may also be available for the town's Consolidated Plan.
Although there is some fragmentation, coordination of housing services is reasonably good. The town works closely with State agencies, the Framingham Housing Authority, the Framingham Land Trust, and other housing agencies that are responsible for key areas of service. The town will also assist nonprofit housing developers seeking to provide new housing. Other current collaborative efforts include the Framingham Fair Housing Committee, made up of representatives of private business, social service agencies, and local government agencies, and the Homeless Task Force, an ad hoc group of service providers and concerned citizens that advocates policy changes and new efforts to help homeless people.
The Planning Department strives through its grant administration to encourage providers to work more closely together. In implementing the Consolidated Plan, the department will seek a more coherent and proactive housing policy for the town and will review subdivision regulations. The Planning Department will work with other agencies in the town to increase awareness of lead paint hazards, including testing for lead poisoning, among clients of all programs.
The Framingham Housing Authority will undergo a long-term process of
examining its vision and promoting resident involvement in policy and in
management. The agency will improve its operations and the condition of its
properties and will increase its ability to develop new housing. Finally, the
town is considering the creation of a Framingham Housing Partnership, which
would coordinate housing activities, provide technical assistance to housing
groups, encourage redesign of programs, and close gaps in service delivery.
During the first year of the Consolidated Plan, Framingham will allocate the following levels of funding to these key projects:
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).
