Located in the southeast corner of Minnesota, the city of Rochester is 90 miles from Minneapolis and about 50 miles from La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is home to the Mayo Clinic, which treats patients from around the world.
Rochester is requesting $600,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the first year of the Consolidated Plan. This funding will be augmented with $5,000 of city program income and will be used to finance 18 housing and community development projects. Emphasis is on housing rehabilitation.
During July 1994, advertisements were placed in local newspapers notifying interested persons and agencies that Rochester was accepting applications for activities to be supported under the CDBG program. Persons of low and moderate incomes and residents of blighted neighborhoods were especially encouraged to participate.
A total of 16 projects were submitted, totaling $993,000 in requests for
assistance. Then the city held two public hearings regarding the use of CDBG
funds and based its final selections on information gathered during the
hearings.
With a population of 70,000, Rochester is one of the State's five largest cities. Its citizens have a median age of 31.5 years, with 11 percent of all citizens being over the age of 65. Although the number of minorities doubled in the past decade, minorities still comprise a relatively small portion of the population. In 1990 Asian Americans made up 4 percent of the population, Native Americans 3 percent, and African Americans 1 percent.
Poverty is unevenly distributed in Olmsted County, where Rochester is
located. Most poor people live in the city. Although one study places the
poverty rate in Olmsted County at a relatively low 7 percent, this figure
translates into 7,115 people. Most vulnerable are children, female-headed
households, and the elderly. Defining poverty as "a household having an
income below 51 percent of the area median", Olmsted County can count 17
percent of its population among the poor.
In the most recent housing study to focus on Olmsted County, which included Rochester, lack of affordable housing was identified as the most critical issue. According to the 1990 census, Olmsted County and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area had the highest median home prices in the State. The Olmsted County Assessor's Office reported that the average sales price of a single-family home rose from $67,347 in 1980 to $89,137 in 1992. However, the average sales price dropped to $85,000 in 1993, reflecting economic conditions across the United States.
Rents also increased significantly in Rochester and Olmsted County, with median rents for a one-bedroom apartment rising from $235 in 1980 to $400 in 1990. Over 34 percent of all renters in Rochester pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing. The HUD- determined fair market rent of $522 for a two-bedroom apartment in Rochester is the second highest in the State. A total of 10,000 rental units are available to all income levels in this community.
There is a particularly heavy concentration of people living in mobile homes, with more than 2,100 units being occupied in 1990. An estimated 35 percent of low-income households live in mobile homes.
Reported vacancy rates are 10 percent. This unexpectedly high vacancy rate may be exist because the city does not have any sort of rental rehabilitation program, which would normally encourage property maintenance.
The high cost of housing in Olmsted County creates an undue burden for single-parent households. One-fourth of female-headed households pay more than 50 percent of their monthly income for housing. The vast majority of low-income persons in this community are not receiving housing assistance of any kind, even though their incomes and family sizes qualify them for housing assistance.
High rents in Rochester impose financial difficulties on extremely low-income renters (0-30 percent median family income). The greatest burden is on young renters within this group. A parallel situation exists for homeowners within this income category. Among the extremely low-income group, minorities fare much worse than whites, with high proportions of African American, Asian American, and Native American households earning less than $15,000. Overall, the majority of this group is the working poor whose jobs do not generate enough money.
Rochester gives high priority to helping the homeless find shelter and create a viable future for themselves. Local government agencies and nonprofit groups provide emergency shelters and transitional housing.
The nonprofit Dorothy Day House accommodates about 1,600 guests a year, sending overflow to the local Salvation Army. The Women's Shelter and the International House give women and children temporary quarters. The Von Wald Shelter and OMNIA Family Services house youths at risk, while the Cronin Homes lodge homeless, chronic alcoholics. The Salvation Army also manages four apartments and seven HUD Dollar Homes which provide transitional living and counseling services to families.
A shortage of transitional housing presents a problem. Extremely low-income persons living in shelters have few options because the Section 8 waiting list for the existing 20 units is several years long.
Between 1980 and 1990, the number of subsidized units in Olmsted County more than doubled from 795 to 1,650 homes. However, subsidized units account for only a minor portion of the area's housing stock. While few of these units are available to single-parent households, nearly 40 percent are set aside for the elderly.
Three public housing complexes within Rochester provide 89 living units, with 9 of these reserved for the disabled. Owned by the Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (OCHRA), the buildings are generally leased. OCHRA also owns 20 single family houses in the Public Housing Scattered Sites program. These homes were purchased in 1992 and 1993. The Family Self Sufficiency Program, a joint effort of Olmsted County Community Action Program, OCHRA, and Southeastern Minnesota Private Industry Council, provides rental assistance to individual households through certificates and vouchers for up to 5 years.
The three public housing complexes in Rochester are designed as townhouses. There are 50 two-bedroom units, 26 three-bedroom units, and 4 four-bedroom units. OCHRA selects residents and re-examines their needs each year. It is responsible for annual inspections, lease and occupancy compliance, and maintenance of units.
Currently 540 households are on a waiting list for assistance from OCHRA. Although the length of the wait varies by program, either Section 8 or public housing, 2 to 4 years is typical.
Until recently, the Rochester Housing Authority provided rental assistance, public housing, first-time homebuyer mortgages, and money to renovate homes of extremely low-, low-, and moderate-income persons. The Rochester Housing Authority disbanded at the close of 1994, transferring all of its funding and activities to the existing Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. This consolidation allows all programs, except CDBG rehabilitation projects, to be administered on a countywide basis.
The Southeastern Minnesota Housing Network has been working with residents of HUD Title II and Title IV properties under the Housing Preservation Project. Three projects, totaling 410 units, are eligible for this program.
Currently, Rochester does not believe its approved policies create barriers to affordable housing. A new zoning ordinance was approved in 1992. It has provisions that allow cluster developments, shorten the time required for the procedure to develop, and allow different styles of housing. In addition, regulations that allow zero lot line housing are in effect.
The high cost and limited availability of land in the city interfere with the supply of affordable housing. The existing Land Use Plan expresses a desire for a range of densities and development styles in newly developed areas to provide flexibility in housing development, promote the development of affordable housing, ensure the plan can be responsive to changing conditions, and integrate multifamily uses into the fabric of neighborhood life. A new land use plan is under review for completion in 1996.
Rochester works to educate its public housing and rental assistance residents about potential lead-based paint hazards. The Lead Abatement Laws in Minnesota are under revision. In the future testing of the property will be required whenever a high blood-lead level is found in a child of 6 years or younger. None of the city's public housing complexes have been tested for lead-based paint because all were built after 1978.
More than 10,000 persons living in Rochester are over the age of 60, many of them frail and 75 years or older. Nearly 250 are waiting for assisted or public housing, and many more pay over 30 percent of their income for housing.
About 600 victims of domestic violence -- women and children -- needed shelter last year. There are 300 persons with severe mental illness who need supportive housing. At any given time, there are typically one or two HIV-infected persons who need housing, but because the Southern Minnesota AIDS project does not have a housing program in Rochester, the Shelter Plus Care Program accommodates them.
Although housing dominates Rochester's list of needs, the city is working to
enhance the overall community for low-income persons. Advocacy programs and
employment opportunities for the mentally disabled are given high priority. CDBG
funds also help ARC Olmsted, a nonprofit agency that works with mentally
disturbed persons. Child care, family services, and youth programs are also
underway.
Rochester will continue to work with nonprofit agencies to implement programs that address the needs of extremely low- and low-income persons.
Improving the quality of low-income housing is a high priority. Rehabilitation programs offered through the housing authority and Rochester/Olmsted Community Housing Partnership will help to repair and upgrade existing homes and to lower energy costs through improved efficiency. These programs are expected to be of particular advantage to the elderly.
Rochester will promote home ownership among low- and moderate-income households with first-time homebuyer assistance. For the lowest income households, the city will provide education about home ownership and work with Habitat for Humanity to provide homes.
Nonhousing priorities include: child-care payments, advocacy programs for mentally or physically handicapped persons, assistance with food programs, youth programs, removal of slums, and building improvements for public facilities where such services are provided.
Rochester will continue to work with nonprofits to implement programs that help eradicate poverty. Advertisements and solicitations for applications for CDBG activities are part of this strategy.
The CDBG Administrator for the city of Rochester monitors all recipients of
CDBG funding. Coordination of all nonprofit and public housing activities will
be accomplished through the Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority
for Rochester and the surrounding communities.
Rochester lists 18 projects which will be accomplished with CDBG funds, totaling $600,000 during this first year of the Consolidated Plan. Among the major allocations are:
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 depicts Neighborhood Segments 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).
