Goldsboro is located in Wayne County in North Carolina's southeastern plain region. Interstate Highway US 70 links the city to other areas such as the Research Triangle and the northern Piedmont areas to the west and the coastal resort areas in the east. The city is home to Johnson Air Force Base, which provides a number of jobs for the community but does not dominate the community and its economy. The presence of this base makes the number of rental units (about 60 percent of the total) unusually high for an eastern North Carolina city.
The city also is home to two major State mental institutions -- Cherry Hospital and the O'Berry Center. These two centers are major employers for the community and contribute to the city's population growth trends.
This Consolidated Plan calls for the expenditure of $650,000 of Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for housing rehabilitation, home ownership assistance, demolition and clearance, job creation, and public services. It proposes to use $409,000 in HOME funds for homeownership assistance, housing rehabilitation, and community housing development organization assistance.
So that citizens and community organizations could have meaningful opportunities to participate in identifying housing and other community needs and to help design the Consolidated Plan, Goldsboro's planning process included the following:
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
The population of Goldsboro has doubled in the past 20 years. The city estimates that 47,000 people now live in Goldsboro. About half of the population is white, 48 percent is black.
Median family income (MFI) in Goldsboro is $31,600, which is 66 percent of the national median income. A majority of black families have low incomes. Approximately 42 percent of black households have incomes less than 50 percent of the area MFI and another 19 percent have low incomes from 51 to 80 percent of median. In 1992, the unemployment rate for blacks in Goldsboro was 8.2 percent compared to 6.5 percent for the total population.
Those between 24 and 34 years of age make up the largest age group in the city's population. Twenty-nine percent of Goldsboro's population 25 years and older do not have a high school education. Goldsboro's older population is increasing in both numbers and percentage of the total population. In 1990, there were 7,539 people age 55 or older.
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.
Meetings with the public and the city's partner agencies unfolded housing needs including:
The 1990 census counted 14,345 housing units in Goldsboro. Of these, 8,033 were rental units and 5,390 were owner-occupied units. Just over half of all units had three or more bedrooms.
Nearly 60 percent, or 8,033 units, of the city's housing stock is rental. Most likely, this is due to a high proportion of military personnel who live in the city just a few years and don't want to buy homes. A recent inventory of apartment units indicated that average rent was $468, plus approximately $100 for utilities.
The 1990 census identified 922 vacant units, making the vacancy rate less than 7 percent. Of this total, 383 were units for rent, 82 were for sale, and 457 were classified as "other."
Many low- and very low-income families are blocked from homeownership. The Board of Realtors estimates that the average price of a home is $81,800. A family earning the median yearly income of $31,600 can only afford a home costing $72,000. Moderate-income families making 80 percent of the MFI can afford a $55,000 home. Very low-income families making 50 percent of the MFI could afford only a $31,000 home.
The majority of very low-income families, including 3 or 4 elderly owners, are living in substandard housing and are experiencing excessive cost burdens (paying more than 30 percent of income for housing).
Families with 51-80 percent of median are mainly renters. While problems of housing conditions and cost burden are not as great for this group, about one-third of them have both substandard housing and excessive cost burden.
About 17 percent of moderate-income families (81-95 percent of MFI) experience substandard housing conditions, and 12 percent have excessive cost burdens.
It is estimated that there are 123 homeless persons in Goldsboro, including 14 families, 9 youth, and 86 single adults. Almost one-third have special needs related to chemical abuse, and one-quarter have needs due to domestic violence. In addition, Goldsboro has three major population groups that are threatened with homelessness:
The city has 22 organizations providing support services and shelter to homeless people. Of those organizations, a significant majority providing housing for the homeless classify themselves as shelters. Most shelters do not provide facilities to meet the special needs of families with small children. Only a small amount of the housing available is classified as transitional. Almost three out of four organizations provide "day" services only.
Based on information provided by CHAS and "point-in-time" surveys conducted in March 1995, the city has identified several priority homeless needs including:
The city estimates that 425 people in Wayne County are infected with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Wayne County had the highest per capita deaths from AIDS of any county in the State. Of the current load of 56, the County Health Department reports that 6 are homeless because they have very low incomes. The Health Department places these people in shelters.
Goldsboro has 1,405 public housing units. Of this total, 1,225 units are owned and operated by the Goldsboro Housing Authority (GHA). The Eastern North Carolina Housing Authority (ENCHA) operates 180 public housing units.
The GHA's current vacancy rate is about 1.0 percent and has averaged 2.7 percent the past year. ENCHA's current vacancy rate is nearly 4.0 percent, with an average of 2.0 percent during the past year. Currently, 217 families are on waiting lists for public housing units.
The following lists the type of public housing the 217 households are waiting for by bedroom size:
The city also has 829 public assisted units. The GHA manages 201 Section 8 certificates and 36 vouchers. There are 593 assisted units in 7 rental housing projects. A total of 104 households are waiting for Section 8 housing. The majority of these (86) are waiting for 2- and 3-bedroom households.
A total of 321 eligible households are waiting for public and assisted housing. This represents a nearly 75-percent increase of the list reported in the 1994 CHAS, even though 44 assisted units were added to the stock during the interim period.
Goldsboro's zoning, land development regulations, and building codes do not appear to present significant barriers to affordable housing. Real estate brokers and builders stress that approving loans with the housing construction/rehabilitation process is important. They believe that more affordable units would be built if builders could be assured that a buyer will be available at the end of construction.
Lenders, builders, and real estate brokers believe buyers need to be educated on such things as knowing how much they can spend for a home, how to work with a broker to locate a home, the costs of owning a home, and maintenance responsibilities.
The city plans to sponsor periodic homeownership training classes in public housing development and lower income neighborhoods. With the help of Wayne Uplift Resource Association, the city will also provide a list of resources available in Goldsboro and disseminate the information to local nonprofit agencies, the health department, human services agencies, homeless shelters, and other places where lower income persons may come for services.
During meetings with community groups and real estate professionals, the city learned that discrimination did play a role in preventing some families from acquiring housing. It will examine how to effectively use Fair Housing and Non-Discrimination Policies to reduce barriers by maintaining a dialog with real estate brokers, builders, landlords, and lenders.
Because of a lack of accurate information on how many houses occupied by low- and moderate-income families are contaminated with lead-based paint, Goldsboro assumes that any unit built before 1980 has the possibility of containing some level of lead-based paint. Sixty percent of the 11,106 units built before 1980 are rental units. Because the number of renters among low- and very low-income families is high, the city assumes that these households are the most likely to be subject to lead-based paint hazards.
To ensure lead-based paint hazards are found and abated in units built before 1980, the city will inform residents of the following:
The city has identified several high priority community development needs. Many of these programs are ongoing and money is needed to continue the programs. Approximately $70,000 is needed to cover the cost for transportation services for low- and very low- income people. Another $250,000 is needed to continue providing substance abuse services, $150,000 for youth services, and $375,000 for neighborhood facilities. The city would like to allocate $500,000 for commercial-industrial rehabilitation, $150,000 for other businesses, and $150,000 for technical assistance.
Some of the specific needs that organizations identified at a meeting sponsored by the city include:
The consolidated planning process included participants from all agencies in a series of forums designed to identify needs and opportunities. Some of the agencies included the Economic Development Commission, the Employment Security Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, the Police Department, and the Goldsboro Housing Authority. Questionnaires completed by the agencies supplemented published data included in the plan and provided valuable information in identifying strategic objectives.
Goldsboro's Strategic Plan addresses three goals of the consolidated planning process:
Priority 1: Rehabilitate substandard owner- and renter-occupied housing, particularly those occupied by low-income elderly and families. To accomplish this, the city will:
Priority 2: Encourage more homeownership for low- and moderate-income families by:
Priority 3: Increase the supply of transitional and permanent housing for the homeless by:
Priority 1: Unemployment rates are nearly double in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of low-income people. The city wants to increase small business and job opportunities for them in the next 5 years by:
Priority 2: Establish after school and summer enrichment programs. The city plans over the next 5 years to:
Goldsboro is committed to reducing the number of families living below the poverty level. The city will work to move families out of poverty to self-sufficiency by using nonprofit agencies such as the Wayne Uplift Resource Center, which helps coordinate public services for welfare families; and WAGES, a community action agency that helps unemployed people find jobs and high school dropouts earn their diplomas. The city also plans to encourage the local school system and community college to support adult basic education programs.
Goldsboro will allocate $250,000 throughout the next 5 years to agencies that work to help low-income families become more self-sufficient or provide education and job programs designed to break the cycle of poverty.
Several resources will be considered or used to promote community and economic development: SBA loans, HUD Section 108 loans, donation of city-owned vacant lots to nonprofit organizations for affordable home sites, and other public and private funds to leverage CDBG and HOME funds.
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 project(s) from a street level vantage point; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).
