The Consolidated Plan for the Township of Irvington has been prepared in response to a new consolidated process developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for four of its formula grant programs: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). The new Consolidated Plan regulations replace all HUD planning and application requirements with a single submission that will satisfy the minimum statutory requirements for participation in the four programs.
Although the Township participates only in the CDBG program and HOME program at this time, it is required to prepare and submit a consolidated plan for HUD approval in order to receive community development funds.
The Consolidated Plan is intended to serve the following functions: 1) A planning document for the Township, which builds upon a citizen participation process; 2) An application for federal funds under HUD's formula grant programs; 3) A strategy to be followed in carrying out HUD programs, and; 4) An action plan that provides a basis for assessing performance.
In the Consolidated Plan Irvington has: 1) described its housing needs and market conditions; 2) prepared a housing and homeless needs assessment 3) set out a five year strategy plan that establishes priorities for meeting those needs; 4) established a one-year action plan that outlines the intended use of resources; and 5) identified resources anticipated to be available.
Federal regulations require that this summary be published in one or more local, general circulation newspapers. This summary describes the purpose of the strategy, priorities of the plan, type and location of activities and location of the complete document. Citizens have 30 days to review the document and submit comments. Citizens' comments on the plan should be submitted to the Irvington Department of Community Development and Planning, Civic Square, Irvington, N.J. 07111. All citizen comments will be considered in preparing the final consolidated plan. A summary of these comments or views, and a summary of any comments or views not accepted and the reasons therefor, will be attached to the final Consolidated Plan.
Copies of the draft Consolidated Plan are available for inspection and review at the Office of Community Development and Planning in the Irvington Municipal Building and at the Irvington Public Library and its 16th Street branch. A limited number of copies of the plan are available at no charge for review by interested parties.
The Consolidated Plan is organized into five main parts: 1) Consultation and Citizen Participation Process; 2) Housing Market Analysis (a narrative on the people and housing in Irvington); 3) Housing and Homeless Needs Assessment; 4) Strategic Plan (the five year long-range plan); 5) Action Plan (a listing of short- term activities for the forthcoming year). Below is a summary of each of these sections.
A. Consultation and Citizen Participation Process
As part of the Plan development process public meetings were held on Monday, March 20, 1995 at 1:00 P.M. and at 7 P.M. in the Irvington Municipal Building. A third Public Hearing will be held on Monday, April 24, 1995 at the Municipal Building. The purposes of these public meetings were to obtain the views of citizens, public officials and agencies and other interested parties regarding the housing and community development needs and strategy of the jurisdiction.The development of the Consolidated Plan involved consultation with those agencies involved in delivering housing and housing services within the Township. Meetings and discussions were held between the staff of the Office of Community Development and Planning, the Township Engineer, the Township Office of Local Assistance, the Township Board of Health, the Township Housing Authority, the Essex County Division of Community Development and other relevant agencies.
In addition there were meetings conducted with local block associations and appropriate non-profit public service agencies regarding the housing needs of children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, homeless persons.
B. Housing Market Analysis
The Housing Market Analysis section provides a portrait of the Township by describing the housing market, needs and resources available to address those needs. There are four principal types of information contained in the Housing Market Analysis: 1) Community Description (overview and discussion of housing supply); 2) Public and assisted housing inventory; 3) Homeless and Special Need Facilities and Services; and 4) Barriers to Affordable Housing.The Community Description section contains a part on Background and Trends and a part on Demographics/Low-Income and Racial/Ethnic Concentrations. The Background and Trends portion is an overview of the Township and presents an overall picture of the community. Locational, historical and population growth factors are highlighted. The Demographics/Low-Income and Racial/Ethnic Concentrations section discusses general population and household data by race, ethnicity, age and income. Trends are identified by comparing 1980 and 1990 Census information.
"Areas of racial/ethnic minority concentration" and "areas of low income concentration" are given a local definition. These areas are identified in the narrative and on maps included with the document.
This section summarizes the general housing market and inventory conditions based upon census data and information provided by HUD in its Data Book.
There are 674 public housing units in the Township. Information is included about the Section 8 Rental Assistance Program as administered in the Township by the Irvington Housing Authority office and the N.J. Department of Community Affairs.
An Inventory of Facilities and Services for the Homeless and Persons Threatened with Homelessness is included as is an Inventory of Supportive Housing for Non-Homeless Persons with Special Needs.
This section discusses those factors that affect the cost and production of affordable housing such as building codes, property taxes, permit delays, land use regulations, development standards and infrastructure financing.
C. Housing & Homeless Needs Assessment
The Housing Assistance Needs section discusses current needs for housing assistance by income, tenure and for different family categories. It reviews the extent to which cost burden and overcrowding are being experienced by owners and renters and reviews the extent that any racial or ethnic group has a greater need for any income category, family type, or tenure type, in comparison to the needs of that category as a whole. Narratives, charts and tables are included for: 1) Households by Type, Tenure and Income Group; 2) Units Affordable to Households with Incomes of less than 30%, 50% or 80% HUD Adjusted Median Family Income (HAMFI); 3) Housing Units by Age of Unit, Tenure and Affordability Group; 4) Family Type Distribution of Low Income Owner and Rental Households and Those Having Housing Problems; 5) Housing Needs of Owner/Rental Households by Total Income and Minority Households, and; 6) Incidence of Overcrowded Households by Tenure and Income Group.The Homeless Needs section provides narratives and estimates on the needs of sheltered and unsheltered Homeless, subpopulations and needs of persons threatened with homelessness. The third sub-part describes populations with Other Special Needs - Other than Homeless and describes their need for supportive housing.
An assessment of lead-based paint hazards, including an estimate of units occupied by low-income and very low-income households is also included.
D. Strategic Plan
In this section, the Township establishes priorities for assisting low-income residents in obtaining affordable housing based on an analysis of Irvington's needs and market and inventory described in the Housing Market Analysis and Housing and Homeless Needs chapters. The Township also sets forth the strategy to be followed and the actions to be taken over the five-year period of the plan to address the needs of the homeless and those with other special needs.This section also describes the Township's priority non-housing community development needs by Community Development Block Grant eligibility category, reflecting the needs for each type of activity.
The Consolidated Plan also describes the Township's strategies to ameliorate negative effects of policies that act as barriers to affordable housing. The plan outlines the actions to be undertaken to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards, and describes how lead-based paint hazard reduction will be integrated into housing policies and programs.
This section also identifies the institutional structure through which the Township will carry out its housing strategy. The plan describes each organization's role and responsibilities in carrying out the strategy, including implementation of specific programs, and discusses the relationships among the organizations. The plan assesses the capacity of the institutional structure to carry out the Township's housing strategies and describes the actions to be taken to strengthen, coordinate, and integrate the institutional structure. Finally, the plan describes its activities to enhance coordination between public and assisted housing providers and private and governmental health, mental health, and service agencies.
E. Action Plan
In this chapter the Consolidated Plan lists, by level of government and by private sources, all resources and programs expected to be available to the Township for use in carrying out its housing and community development activities. Each entry includes a short description of the program or resources.This section constitutes the annual plan of the five-year Consolidated Plan. It sets forth a description of activities for the use of funds that are expected to become available during the coming Federal fiscal year, determines goals for individuals and households to be served, and describes the implementation plan and geographic location of the activities to be undertaken. The formula allocation for the Township from the Community Development Block Grant program is $1,353,000 and $470,000 in HOME Investment Partnership funds.
In this section, the Township also describes the actions it intends to take to address underserved needs, foster and maintain affordable housing, reduce the number of poverty level families, to develop its institutional structure and to reduce lead-based paint hazards during the forthcoming year.
The preliminary draft allocation for projects for FY 1995 is as follows:
HOME Program:
| New Construction Assistance | $150,000 |
| Housing Rehabilitation | 150,000 |
| Homebuyers Assistance | 52,500 |
| CHDO (acquisition, rehabilitation, sale) | 70,500 |
| Administration | 47,000 |
| HOME Program Total | $470,000 |
| Public Works | |
|---|---|
| Shade Tree Replacement | $ 6,200 |
| Recreation Facility Improvements | |
| Target Area Playground | 10,000 |
| Irvington Housing Authority | |
| Facility Site Improvements | 25,000 |
| Community Room Renovations | 25,000 |
| Slum Clearance | |
| Target Area Demolition | 90,000 |
| Emergency Fencing/Boardup | 120,000 |
| Target Area Rodent Control | 50,000 |
| Fire Equipment | |
| Breathing Apparatus | 10,000 |
| Housing Preservation | |
| Rehabilitation Grants | 200,000 |
| Emergency Grants | 20,000 |
| Rehabilitation Services (S/W) | 70,000 |
| Rehabilitation Services (F/B) | 30,000 |
| Rehabilitation Services (O/E) | 5,000 |
| Relocation Payments | 10,000 |
| Public Services | |
| Augmented Police (S/W) | 180,000 |
| Augmented Police (F/B) | 76,500 |
| Crime Awareness Program | 16,000 |
| Senior Center (S/W) | 45,000 |
| Senior Center (F/B) | 16,000 |
| Senior Center (O/E) | 12,000 |
| Library Service (16th Ave.) | 18,000 |
| Irvington Counseling Service | 7,500 |
| Bridge Youth Counseling | 7,500 |
| Association for Retarded Citizens | 5,000 |
| Economic Development | |
| Economic Development Committee | 1,000 |
| Commercial AntiGraffiti Program | 20,000 |
| Contingencies | 10,000 |
| General Administration | |
| Administration (S/W) | 130,000 |
| Administration (F/B) | 40,000 |
| Administration (S/W) | 20,000 |
| Planning (S/W) | 34,600 |
| Planning (F/B) | 10,800 |
| Planning (S/W) | 30,000 |
| Citizen Participation | 5,000 |
| CDBG Program Total | $1,356,100 |
Sources of Funds
| F.Y. HOME Program | $ 470,000 |
| F.Y. 1995 CDBG Entitlement Program | 1,353,000 |
| Program Income | 3,100 |
| TOTAL Resources | $1,826,100 |
F. Monitoring
In this section the plan describes the standard and procedures that the Township will use to monitor activities carried out in furtherance of the plan and will use to ensure long-term compliance with requirements of the programs involved.
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, and proposed HUD funded projects.
