Greensboro, North Carolina's 1995 Consolidated Plan is a strategic vision for housing and community development. It is the result of neighborhood residents, advocates, planners, housing and service providers, and government leaders working together to identify and prioritize community needs. This document summarizes the plan so that citizens in the community can have a brief overview of the city's housing and community development problems, the 5-year goals proposed to address those problems, and the specific projects for carrying out the Consolidated Plan in 1995.
The Consolidated Plan includes a One-Year Action Plan for spending approximately $6 million of Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Emergency Shelter Grant, and nonfederal funds in 1995. These funds will be spent mainly on housing and social services.
The consolidated planning process has included a series of technical review committee meetings and public hearings before the Planning Board and City Council. Community input has been solicited through community meetings, neighborhood meetings, opportunities for submission of written comments and suggestions, and representation on the technical review committee and other advisory committees.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
Greensboro, located in north-central North Carolina, has experienced its largest population increase during the past three decades. The 1990 population was 183,521, of which 63.9 percent were white and 33.9 percent were African American. The elderly are the fastest growing population in the city. Greensboro mirrors the Nation in the incidence of poverty based on age, sex, race, and family structure. Poverty in Greensboro decreased slightly from 1980 to 1990, but 12 percent of the population fell below the poverty threshold in 1990. As of April 1, 1992, the poverty threshold for a family of four in the city was $13,921. The median family income (MFI) was $36,900 in 1990: 11.6 percent of households had extremely low incomes (0-30 percent MFI), 10.2 percent had very low incomes (31-50 percent MFI), 16.4 percent had low incomes (51-80 percent MFI), and 8.8 percent had moderate incomes (81-95 percent MFI). Twelve contiguous census tracts in eastern Greensboro have concentrations of low-income or minority households. Renters outnumber homeowners in most of these tracts.
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.
In 1990 there were 80,411 housing units in Greensboro, 93.2 percent of which were occupied. Rental units had a vacancy rate of 7.9 percent and owner-occupied units had a vacancy rate of 2.3 percent. Owner-occupied units were 53.7 percent of housing units and renter occupied units were 46.3 percent of the occupied housing supply. Greensboro's average rent in 1990 was $346 and the average value of an owner-occupied house was $104,579. Approximately 23 percent of owner-occupied units were valued at less than $60,000, and 19 percent were valued between $60,000 and $74,999.
Of the owner-occupied units, 77 percent had three or more bedrooms, 35 percent had two bedrooms, and 1 percent had one or fewer bedrooms. In contrast, 21 percent of rental units had three or more bedrooms, 51 percent had two bedrooms, and 28 percent had one or fewer bedrooms. In Greensboro, renters experienced more overcrowding (3.9 percent lived in units with more than one person per room) than did homeowners (.08 percent). The largest category of renters with overcrowding problems were large low-income households.
The housing stock of Greensboro is relatively new. Sixty-eight percent of all housing units were built between 1960 and 1980. Only 8 percent were built before 1940, and 24 percent were built between 1940 and 1959. The majority of older housing units were occupied by households with incomes below 80 percent of the median family income. The 1991 city inspection reports show that approximately 3.4 percent of all units were identified as substandard. More than three-fourths of all substandard housing were rental units.
Local housing reports cite a continuing need for affordable housing for Greensboro's low-income residents and those with special needs. An estimated 5,750 households, earning less than $10,000 per year pay 30 percent or more of their monthly earnings on housing expenses. The 1990 average rent in Greensboro, $346 per month, would create a rent burden for all extremely low-income residents, 45 percent of whom pay 50 percent or more of their monthly income on housing. Residents earning no more than $11,070 (the maximum extremely low income) could afford no more than $277 per month without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. However, the majority of rental units had a monthly cost of between $300 and $499 and are out of reach to that population. Only 23 percent of all owner-occupied units in Greensboro are affordable without subsidy to the 14,351 households earning $15,000 to $25,000 annually.
A one-night count of the homeless in Greensboro found 190 homeless persons. Of these 27 percent were in family groups, 73 percent were single adults, and 23 percent were unsheltered.
A 90-day count found 660 persons in need of housing and related human services. Of those 660, 640 had been served by either a shelter or an agency. Ninety-five percent sought housing in an emergency shelter. The majority of the 640 were of a minority group, male, and between the ages of 18 and 50. Twenty-eight percent of the 640 were members of homeless families and 71 percent were individuals. The 90-day count also identified 261 persons as "precariously housed."
Agencies who work closely with the homeless cite two distinct needs: transitional housing to assist homeless persons returning to independent living and non-traditional housing options, such as single room occupancy units and permanent beds in mental health facilities. The most pressing need for families that are precariously housed is housing units that are affordable to those with an annual income of $10,000 or less. Additional supportive services for the homeless and precariously housed are also needed, including day care assistance, job training, and health services.
GHA also has 825 Section 8 units, of which 55 percent are two-bedroom units, 14 percent are one-bedroom units, and 29 percent have three or more bedrooms. There are 1,959 families on the Section 8 waiting list. There are 1,434 additional subsidized housing units in Greensboro, 17 percent of which house the elderly, while 1.5 percent house persons with chronic mental disabilities, 1.5 percent house persons with physical disabilities, and 2.8 percent house persons with mental retardation.
There is a need for a variety of housing options for persons with HIV/AIDS, such as permanent long-term housing, temporary housing (until a permanent arrangement can be made), and medically assisted housing for highly symptomatic and near end-stage individuals. As of June 1994, 778 Greensboro residents were reported to have contracted AIDS. Based on estimates of the Centers for Disease Control, there are an additional 4,000-5,000 HIV positive individuals living in Guilford County, of which Greensboro is a part. By 1996 The Triad Health Project, which currently uses HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS) funds for temporary rental units, will be providing a 12-unit hospice residence and a 24-unit Section 811 apartment complex for persons with HIV/AIDS.
A 1987 census survey by the Greensboro Mental Health Association documented the housing needs of 261 mentally ill persons in a variety of residential settings. Of those 261, 180 were considered to be inappropriately housed and 81 were residing in night shelters. There is currently a housing waiting list of 200 persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities, and the waiting list for the primary provider of housing for persons with substance abuse problems is 6 weeks long. Halfway houses for women and adolescents are needed. A housing information and referral service for all types of special needs housing would make programs which serve special needs populations more accessible.
The city of Greensboro has identified three major local policies that hinder affordable housing development: (1) affordable housing design standards; (2) development fees; and, (3) current housing condemnation procedures. The city is actively working with nonprofit and for profit housing developers and citizens to lower these barriers. For example, the city is seeking to waive impact fees for developments that meet affordability standards and to speed up the process for condemnation of housing units.
Sixty-one percent of housing units in Greensboro were constructed before 1980, indicating that they might contain lead-based paint. For a period of 6 months in 1992 and 1993, 2.2 percent of the 1,372 children under the age of six who had lead screenings at the Guilford County Health Department had elevated lead blood levels. Lead abatement plans have been requested from property owners where children with elevated blood levels live. The Health Department has a lead-based paint education and training program, and if the State adopts a lead-based paint contractor certification program, the city will implement a comparable process for its housing rehabilitation programs.
Neighborhood safety and crime prevention, public facility and infrastructure improvement, historic preservation, enhanced neighborhood participation, environmental protection, and increased economic opportunity are all identified as community development needs. Assisting targeted areas is the top priority for most initiatives addressing these needs.
The city of Greensboro is the leader of the consolidated planning process. However, starting with the Enterprise Community planning process in the spring of 1994, the city more actively engaged the community in the decisionmaking process. A variety of individuals and organizations have been involved in the planning process, and the city is relying on partnerships with many organizations to implement its consolidated plan strategies.
The City of Greensboro Consolidated Plan centers on neighborhood-based initiatives, concentrating on target neighborhoods with the greatest socioeconomic needs. Focusing on target neighborhoods has allowed limited funding to be concentrated in ways that generate the greatest possible impact. A comprehensive approach to community development which stresses both physical improvements and economic opportunity is needed in Greensboro.
The major goals of the Greensboro community development program are:
Priority #1: Provide affordable rental units for large families, small single-parent families, and single individuals with very low incomes.
Priority #2: Provide supportive services and/or housing for special populations.
Priority #3: Encourage housing rehabilitation, repair, and continued maintenance of housing stock, particularly vacant or boarded up units.
Priority #4: Provide emergency assistance for persons threatened with homelessness.
Priority #5: Provide transitional housing with supportive services.
Priority #6: Increase the affordability of homeownership.
Priority #1: Provide adequate resources to complete commitments in existing target areas.
Priority #2: Increase neighborhood safety and reduce crime.
Priority #3: Continue support of neighborhood organization activity and active neighborhood participation in improvement efforts.
Priority #4: Encourage quality infill development on vacant land parcels in target neighborhoods.
Priority #5: Foster neighborhood self-help through the development of community resource centers.
Priority #6: Develop an ongoing partnership organization for neighborhood business development and employment networking.
Priority #7: Support Youthbuild and other efforts to link job training and high unemployment areas to employers.
Priority #8: Establish a revolving loan fund to create and expand small businesses.
Priority #9: Identify business corridor and area revitalization needs.
First tier priorities include: (1) addressing the needs of female-headed single-parent families and the general need for child care; (2) building programs for low-income youth; and (3) strengthening access of the uninsured to health care.
Second tier priorities include: (1) improving programs to help adults with basic educational deficiencies to enter the workforce; (2) strengthening in-home and respite care services for the low-income elderly and their families; and (3) provide targeted treatment programs for addicted mothers and other special populations, such as youth and the homeless.
The city will be relying on partnerships with several non-profit and government agencies to implement the strategies and projects of the Consolidated Plan.
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; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).
The City of Greensboro One-Year Action Plan outlines the proposed uses of approximately $6 million in funding from the Community Development Block Grant, HOME program, Emergency Shelter Grant, and local sources.
The housing and community development projects are concentrated in neighborhoods with high concentrations of minority and low-income residents and the human services projects tend to be planned for citywide implementation.
A sample of significant projects includes:
