Best known for the home of President Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, has seen two major transitions in the past half-century. First, the county, a long-settled agricultural area with defined and prosperous small urban centers, became a highly developed suburban area dominated by one employer, the IBM Corporation. The second change, still in progress, saw the steady development process falter when IBM began major downsizing in 1994. The direct and indirect results of this ongoing economic change have included the loss of 11,000 manufacturing jobs, a quadrupling in bankruptcies, and reports of a 50-percent drop in some retail areas.
This plan covers all Dutchess County municipalities that are members of the Dutchess County Urban County Consortium. They include all the Dutchess County municipalities except the city of Poughkeepsie (which submitted its own Consolidated Plan), the town of LaGrange, and the village of Red Hook. The plan describes housing and community development needs, a strategic plan for dealing with those needs, and a one-year action plan using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that total approximately $1.8 million and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds of $785,000.
The Department of Planning and Development of Dutchess County is the lead agency for community development activities. The department began implementing its citizen participation plan by contacting an extensive mailing list of nonprofit agencies, community groups, elected officials, local media, and others, and keeping them apprised of the process. A special effort was made to stay in contact with elected officials and social service agencies, and to reach out to public housing tenants.
The department met with the Dutchess County Homeless/Special Needs Housing Planning Consortium twice to review its Consolidated Plan priorities. It held two public hearings, the first before beginning the plan process and the second after the draft plan was prepared. Citizens were able to view the draft plan at local government sites. About 20 officials and citizens attended the second hearing; their specific comments in many cases led to changes in the plan.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
Between 1980 and 1990, the population of Dutchess County's CDBG Consortium increased by 7.1 percent to 215,550, a slower increase than in past decades. The number of households increased twice as quickly, and average household size dropped to 2.46 persons. The population of the two cities, Beacon and Poughkeepsie, changed very little, while some smaller municipalities saw substantial increases.
Both cities and several villages showed more than half of their population having low incomes, defined as at or below 80 percent of the median income for the county. Unlike the county, these areas do not have typical urban social problems. However, there are significant social problems, particularly within families, in the more suburban areas.
The county's population is 91 percent white. However, about 35 percent of Poughkeepsie residents and about 20 percent of Beacon's are members of racial minorities. No other municipality is less than 90 percent white.
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.
Three quarters of all households in the consortium's area are owners, although 59 percent of households rent in the city of Poughkeepsie. Multifamily rentals and mobile home parks are concentrated in the county's western municipalities. Most of the county's landscape is dominated by single family homes on large lots and is not served by central water and sewer facilities.
During the 1980s, the cost of a single-family home doubled, and for the first time a median-income family in Dutchess County could not afford a median-value house; the slight decline in the 1990s still leaves homeownership out of reach for many residents. Rents have stabilized since 1992, but the quantity of rental property affordable to lower-income people is still small. In addition, some pressure on housing costs is felt from nearby higher cost areas, such as Westchester County.
Among the homeowners in the county, about 30 percent are considered to be low- or moderate-income because they have incomes below 95 percent of median income in the county. Of these, 6 percent (3,398 households), are considered extremely low-income, as they fall below 30 percent of the median. Of these extremely low-income homeowner households, only 81 percent pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing costs.
Fifty-six percent of renters have incomes below the moderate income level. Sixteen percent (2,990 households) are extremely low-income. Of these extremely low-income renters, 61 percent spend more than half of their income on housing costs.
About 28 percent of households in the county have some kind of housing problem, such as physical deficiencies in the property, overcrowding, or a need to pay more than 30 percent of income for housing costs. Thirty-six percent of all rental households indicate housing problems. Overcrowding is a significant problem only for large families, 20 percent are reported to be overcrowded. However, doubling-up of families appears to be on the increase.
Income, rather than race, appears to be the main indicator of likely housing problems. African-American families experience less problems proportionately than does the general population. Every Hispanic household reporting, on the other hand, shows housing problems.
The Department of Planning and Development estimates that there are 200 homeless persons in the county, and there is some risk that this number will increase. On the other hand, there have been fewer requests for assistance lately, and one shelter recently closed due to low occupancy. There are considered to be no involuntarily unsheltered individuals in the county.
A survey of homeless individuals found that about three-quarters of them had a substance abuse problem, in addition to a number of overlapping health problems.
The one shelter for victims of domestic violence is turning away an average of five families each day. The United Way reported that 500 women sought shelter from domestic violence in 1993, and two-thirds were turned away. Half of all murders in 1989 were attributed to domestic violence.
Eight nonprofit organizations and three county agencies provide services to the homeless. They provide about 40 beds and 20 family units of emergency shelter, and 60 beds and 70 units of transitional housing, designed to assist re-entry into the community. In addition, eight agencies provide other assistance.
There are substantial waiting lists and essentially no vacancies in all of the assisted housing in the county. Assisted housing is provided by several jurisdictions and a variety of Federal and State programs; overlap between programs makes a count difficult, but one list shows about 5,000 units throughout the county. Most are in sound condition; no loss of units is expected, nor are many new units expected.
There are 2,000 persons on the county's waiting list for subsidized housing and 600 on the list for the city of Poughkeepsie.
Almost all Dutchess County municipalities have zoning and subdivision ordinances in place, which tend to reinforce existing land uses, rather than the development of affordable housing. Most of the land zoned for affordable housing has been used for this purpose already. The county Planing Department advocates flexible road standards, since those requirements in most municipalities currently add significant costs to housing development.
Overall, the county expects that almost none of the 6,800 units of affordable housing needed in the county by the year 2000 will be built, because of the cumulative impact of regulatory barriers.
The county has completed an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice, and will affirmatively promote fair housing.
County Health Department records indicate lead-poisoned children in 586 county households; two-thirds were in the cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie. Over 45,000 housing units in the whole county are estimated to contain lead-based paint.
Almost three out of five elderly households in the county are considered to be low-income, and about one in five are extremely low-income. County staff have observed serious deficiencies in the homes of low-income elderly persons, and believe homelessness is a possible outcome unless corrective measures are taken.
In 1992, 616 cases of child abuse and/or neglect were reported. Neglect or abuse of elderly persons and adult women is also believed to be a common, though usually unreported occurence.
The social health of communities is seen as a critical need, one which can be helped by neighborhood/family centers, elder care, child care, youth services, and health services. Public safety, particularly in the cities, is seen as a major issue. Preservation of the historic resources of the county is also considered important, as is the need to increase and diversify recreational space.
Given the economic situation in the county, education, especially basic skills improvement, is critical. The county will also support economic development activities. Provision of additional water and sewer service could also encourage economic growth. Other infrastructure needs include flood drainage and street and sidewalk improvements.
The county has chosen to develop a 3-year plan, with a focus on making decent housing available, providing a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities.
The Department of Planning and Community Development seeks proposals for activities with HOME program funds. In order to evaluate and rank them, it has established five housing priorities:
Another important area is public housing. The Housing Authorities of the cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie are creating opportunities for the residents of their public housing to become more involved in the management of these properties.
For several years, county priorities have been set by the Community Development Council, composed of seven local officials. Each municipality conducts its own selection process for its proposals for CDBG funds.
The highest level priorities for which funding will be provided during the 3-year plan period include:
Other priorities identified as lower level priorities for distribution of CDBG funds include increasing the supply of affordable housing, providing special needs housing, and providing services to populations with special needs.
The county plans to continue health care, housing, and social service programs intended to increase living standards of low-income households, including income supplement programs; the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program; and a family self-sufficiency program provided to some families receiving Federal housing subsidies.
The Department of Planning and Development, as lead agency, coordinates its housing rehabilitation with rental assistance providers, and attempts to coordinate services by county agencies with those of nonprofit organizations.
A formal cooperation agreement between the county and the local town, village, and city governments has created an Urban County Consortium for the purposes of obtaining funding through the Federal CDBG program. The County Department of Planning and Development coordinates the process; municipalities determine their own needs and apply for funds competitively to the consortium. The city of Beacon, and 19 of the 20 towns and 7 of the 8 villages in the county are in the consortium. The city of Poughkeepsie submitted a separate Consolidated Plan.
For purposes of HOME funds, the county and all the municipalities, except the Town of La Grange but including the city of Poughkeepsie, have formed a HOME Consortium, also coordinated by the Department. The Consolidated Plan, therefore, reflects a slightly different geographical area depending on which type of activity is addressed.
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 county lists 42 proposed uses of HUD funds of different types during the first year of the plan including:
