The Erie County CDBG consortium is made up of 34 municipalities with diverse characteristics and needs. The Erie County Dept. of Environment and Planning (DEP) administers the CDBG and Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) on behalf of the Consortium communities. DEP also administers the HOME Consortium funds which also includes the Town of Hamburg, and the Villages of Blasdell and Hamburg. For further information pertaining to the Town of Hamburg, and the Villages of Blasdell and Hamburg Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), see the Town of Hamburg's HOME page. DEP, serving as lead agency for the preparation of the Consolidated Plan, met and consulted with residents of the consortium communities, Federal, State, County, and local governmental and economic development agencies, community based organizations, and social service providers to identify needs and develop strategies to address those needs which are outlined in this Consolidated Plan. A coordinating committee representing the consortium members, community based agencies, public housing authorities, a local bank, and governmental agencies reviewed and approved the Consolidated Plan.

The Citizen Participation Plan is one element of the Consolidated Plan which places a renewed emphasis on public involvement to ensure that the needs of low and moderate income residents are being addressed with these Federal funds. During this program year 1995-96, the plan calls for five community forums which will be held in various locations in the consortium communities. A survey will also be conducted in low and moderate income neighborhoods to allow residents an opportunity for additional input in identifying their needs. Moreover, as in the past, each municipality will hold a public hearing to obtain views from their respective residents regarding which types of projects should be submitted for funding by the Urban County. This information will be used to further refine this year's Consolidated Plan and the Action Plan for the next program year.

According to the 1990 Census, 22.2% of the households in the Erie County HOME Consortium are experiencing housing problems. The most severe housing problems are affordability and living in substandard housing and overcrowded conditions. Housing problems are shared by households in all of the low income categories with extremely low income households experiencing the most serious problems.

There has been a steady increase in the number of persons and families that are homeless in Erie County with housing availability and affordability contributing to the steady increase along with lack of supportive services. Women and children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.

This Consolidated Plan also describes the need for housing and supportive services for the special needs population which includes the frail elderly, physically and developmentally disabled persons, persons with alcohol and other drug addictions and persons with Aids and related diseases.

The Erie County Community Development and HOME Consortiums must jointly address the special housing and revitalization needs in three diverse community settings: 1) the traditional older City neighborhoods such as in Lackawanna, Lancaster, Depew, and Tonawanda, where the greatest concentrations of low income households, minorities and other target population reside in older housing in need of rehabilitation, and neighborhoods requiring upgrading of aging commercial areas, infrastructure and public facilities built before the evolution of today's modern construction and accessibility standards; 2) the suburban neighborhoods such as Hamburg, Lancaster, West Seneca and the Villages of Angola, Akron, Blasdell, North Collins, East Aurora, and Orchard Park, where low income and aging populations are more diffused throughout less dense development and subdivision which need housing improvements, more affordable units, inadequate infrastructure and public facility improvement, enlargement and/or replacement to meet capacity and accessibility requirements; and 3) the rural hamlet and agricultural areas such as Alden, Aurora, Clarence, Eden, Elma, Farnham, Holland, Gowanda, and Springville where the low income, elderly and special needs population are scattered over a large sparsely developed area but with great needs for housing improvements, community facilities and infrastructure and public services especially transportation to critical life-sustaining services in the central City of Buffalo.

All through the Urban County, municipalities must not only revitalize their housing, neighborhoods and community facilities but also strengthen their economic base. The major needs are to protect existing jobs, and to facilitate the creation of new jobs to replace those lost due to the decline of manufacturing in Erie County. Emphasis is needed in the non-manufacturing sectors which employ the greatest numbers of low-income persons including minorities and female heads of household.

The resources available to implement the Consolidated Plan include both private and Federal, state, and local public funds. Over the next five years, an estimated $22 million in CDBG funds, $6 million in HOME funds, and $500 thousand in Emergency Shelter Grant money will be available from Federal sources. $300 thousand in NYS Affordable Housing Corp. funds, Urban Development Corp. and Department of Transportation Loans/Grants, along with capital and operating budget funds from NY State sources; and a significant amount of local funding from local development authorities, county and municipal capital and operating budgets and user fees/program income sources.

The Strategic Plan's overall goals are to provide decent housing, establish and maintain a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunities. These goals will be addressed by meeting the following Urban County objectives in compliance with the National Objectives of activities benefitting low and moderate income persons and/or preventing or eliminating slums or blight:

Housing

• increasing the supply of both existing and new affordable housing for owners and renters;
• promoting homeownership for first time homebuyers, including low income families in public and assisted housing;
• encouraging housing choices for racial and ethnic groups and those exposed to lead-based paint hazards;
• developing plans to assist the homeless, prevent homelessness and provide supportive housing for non-homeless special needs populations;

Living Environment

• retaining and upgrading urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods by providing improved and accessible public facilities and services;
• improving public infrastructure, utilities and transportation in both capacity and level of service, while protecting the County environment and natural resources;
• enhancing existing and adding new public services delivered efficiently and effectively at the community level;
• improving community health and welfare by minimizing or eliminating exposure to hazards such as lead-based paint, asbestos and radon gas through code enforcement and rehabilitation;
• keeping the public and governments informed and involved in decisions affecting the County's living and social environment.

Economic Development

• providing economic opportunities to more people in the belief that the County's needs are tied to the ability of residents to obtain and hold jobs with a liveable wage;
• retain existing and create new jobs by improving infrastructure for industrial sites, remediating existing sites contaminated with hazardous wastes for redevelopment, assisting municipalities in providing handicapped access to places of employment, facilities and programs, and providing capital through loans to assist business growth.

The Erie County Consortium, Town of West Seneca and Town of Hamburg have established the following objectives for the utilization of their 1995-96 Community Development Block Grant, HOME, and ESG funds: to expand job opportunities, improve housing conditions, improve living standards and assist the homeless. The principal beneficiaries of these programs must be low and moderate income persons.

Erie County/West Seneca CDBG Urban County Consortium

Erie County CDBG grant of $3,352,000 combined with the West Seneca CDBG grant of $321,000, has traditionally had the following allocations: 27% to community projects, 27% to housing activities, 27% to economic development projects and 19% to planning and administration. The draft Consolidated Plan (CP) proposes retaining the 27% for housing activities in the Consortium and West Seneca and 19% for planning and administration. However, after review of the economic development needs and submitted community projects it is proposed that $350,000 be reallocated from economic development to community projects to fund eight additional projects for a total of twenty projects in 1995-96.

The CP proposes funding twenty projects that were evaluated and ranked by the Project Selection Committee (PSC). $1,352,642 will fund various public facilities improvements, projects to assist the municipalities with bringing facilities into compliance with ADA, purchase of and/or improvements to senior centers and various public service activities. The projects and funding amounts are detailed in the Action Plan, Section V in the CP.

The Erie County Housing Program will continue to fund the low interest homeowner Rehabilitation Loan Program (RLP), Rental Rehabilitation (RR) program and Emergency Housing Program. The County program will also fund the housing counseling program through the Housing Assistance Center (HAC) and fair housing activities through Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (HOME). Housing program delivery services are funded through CDBG. If any demolition or relocation activities are needed, they will also be funded.

The West Seneca housing funds will be used for housing program delivery, the Paint Program and West Seneca RLP and RR programs.

The CP includes the following Erie County Economic Development projects that will address Urban County needs: Funds will be used to develop industrial parks and provide infrastructure to industrial sites; loans to municipalities to carry out necessary accessibility improvements called for by the Americans with Disabilities Act; Brownfield Site Preparation involving the remediation of industrial sites which have not been redeveloped due to higher site preparation cost thus offering an alternative to new build or greenfield sites; and Business Loan Funds to provide additional capital to firms which will create new jobs.

HOME Consortium

The Erie County/West Seneca/Hamburg - HOME grant of $1,132,000 will be used for the following activities. Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO), RLP for Erie County, CHDO, Rental Housing production, Erie County first time home buyer assistance for new and existing homes, and first time home buyer assistance for new homes in Hamburg.

Emergency Shelter Grant

The Emergency Shelter Grant of $116,000 will be funding the following homeless assistance projects: Cazenovia Manor reconstruction, HAC Homeless Prevention Program, Homespace Corporation furnishings and supplemental staffing, operational costs for Women for Human Rights and Dignity, Inc. facilities, and furnishings for the YWCA's Transitional Housing Program.

Maps

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 for Northern Erie County.

MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels for Southern Erie County.

MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels for Northern Erie County.

MAP 6 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels for Southern Erie County.

MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects for Central Erie County; in addition a table provides information about the project(s).

MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects for Buffalo, as described in the table under MAP 7.