Rockland County is a triangular shaped county located in the Hudson River Valley of the State of New York. It is located approximately 25 miles northwest of the City of New York. The County was transferred from a rural County in the 1940's and 1950's to a suburban County in the 1960's and 1970's. In the 1980's and 1990's it has matured into a County which is highly developed.

The County has several levels of government. The county is presided over by a County Executive and a 21 member Legislature. There are five towns and 19 villages within the County.

Action Plan

This Consolidated Plan purports to present a long-term plan for the County and its participating communities over the next five years and includes a one year action plan to spend approximately $3.3 million in C.D.B.G., HOME and ESG funds. Almost one half of these funds will be spent for housing and the other half for infrastructure improvements including, youth centers, public works and some planning studies.

Citizen Participation

From the outset, the Rockland County Office of Community Development was designated as the coordinator of the development for the Consolidated Plan.

Public input was sought by using the following methods:

1. A series of public hearings (23) were held in every participating community and one county-wide meeting.
2. Consultations were held with fourteen County agencies who provide a variety of social needs.
3. Over 50 not-for-profits were surveyed or met with to receive their input.

Generally, the public hearings were not well attended and no written or other comments were received on our draft plan during the public comment period.

After a substantial growth period in the 1960's and 1970's, the County had additional population growth of 2.3% in the 1980's to 265,475 in the 1990 census. Of these 83.9% were white, 10.0% were black, Asians were 4.1%, and Native Americans were approximately .1%. Hispanics made up 6.7% of the population. The number and per cent of minorities increased somewhat during the 1980's.

A shift in the median age of the population was experienced in the 1980's and continues today with the median age increasing each year in the County.

Both median household income and median family income increased in the County during the 1980's. Asians had the highest median income, whites were second and blacks had the lowest median income among racial groups. Hispanics (all races) had higher median income than blacks and less than whites.

Several low-income concentrations exist in the county. The Village of Haverstraw has approximately 51% Hispanic, the Village of Spring Valley has 45% blacks and the Monsey area of the Town of Ramapo has a large amount of Hasidic Jews.

Conditions

The economy of the County is generally "flat". Unemployment has shown no great increase or decrease. Many Rocklanders work outside the County and commute to Westchester County, New Jersey or New York City to their employment. The County has developed almost all developable lands but some undeveloped areas exist in the northern and western portion of the County.

Housing Needs

As indicated in previous years' Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategies (CHAS), several main housing needs were identified by our consultations and study as follows:

1. Increased need for rental supplements for very low income residents of all age groups and family sizes.
2. Increasing the opportunities of low income families for home ownership.
3. Rehabilitation of existing single family housing particularly for senior citizens in the County.

Our short term and long term plans will attempt to address these needs. Prospects for greater assistance for need one above are not great, however, needs two and three have a better chance of being addressed.

The homeless of the county are not great in numbers and generally are well served in their housing and other needs. Improvement is needed for the single homeless who currently do not have substantial housing resources available to them. Assistance in the form of several small shelters in three or four areas of the County may solve this problem.

Housing Market Conditions

The County of Rockland has 88,624 housing units. Of these, 69% are owner occupied and 27% are rental units. Vacancy rates in the county hover between 2% to 4%.

During the 1980's the county experienced a drop in rental units mostly due to a number of conversions of rental housing to condo's or co-ops. No substantial increase in rental housing is expected in the foreseeable future. The single family home market continues to grow but most housing currently being built is being sold above the median value of houses currently in the County.

Affordable Housing Needs

Much of the single-family housing built in the last few years is beyond the price range of lower- income households. Very low rates of multifamily housing construction have resulted in decreased vacancy rates. Little multifamily construction is planned for the near future and rents are likely to continue to rise faster than incomes.

Households with incomes at or below 50 percent of median family income (MFI) have the greatest housing cost burden. They need rental assistance and affordable housing options, and owners need rehabilitation assistance. Low-income first time home buyers need down payment assistance, credit counseling, and home maintenance training.

Homeless Needs

The number of homeless, as defined by H.U.D., are not great in Rockland. Those homeless families or victims of domestic violence are well served in the housing and other needs.

Homeless teens/youth have social programs to assist them and assistance to create one or two "safe houses" for housing those youth is available. Single homeless do not have a formal "shelter" program in the County and this is currently our greatest imminent need in the County. Creation of such a shelter or shelters will be the biggest challenge in the foreseeable future.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

Rockland County has 2,498 units of housing assisted by Federal funding. An additional 114 units of public housing are operated without federal assistance.

These units are generally well maintained and operated but rehabilitation of some units is always needed. There are some prospects for additional units being constructed in the near future.

Section 8 programs in the County provide assistance to an additional 1,708 households using vouchers or certificates. Waiting lists are extremely long with no relief in sight.

Some HOME Program monies have been used to increase the number of subsidized units available, but this can not meet current needs.

Waiting lists in the County total over 5,000 people, and typical waits are four or five years for assistance.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

The barriers to affordable housing fall into several categories as follows:

1. High Cost - Developable land in the county is very scarce. The vast majority of the County that is buildable is already built upon with single family residences. The remaining land is at a premium and the cost is extremely high. In an open market place a developer is better served to build upscale housing and get a bigger profit per unit than building more moderate housing at a low profit per unit. Once the land is secured, the cost of development in this area is high. Infrastructure costs imposed on builders (roads, sewers, utilities) generally cost $20,000 per unit. If the average cost of land ($30,000) is added, the cost of a buildable lot starts at $50,000.
2. Zoning - Most zoning in the county calls for a 25,000 square foot parcel. Some of the older villages permit smaller lot sizes but are fully developed. Most municipalities are not interested in smaller lot sizes and are in fact increasing required lot sizes to 30,000 and 40,000 square feet. Some of the reasoning is based on environmental and density concerns.
3. Not in My Back Yard - Rockland County experienced New York City residents emptying out into Rockland in the 1960's and 1970's, in what is commonly known as "white flight". Proposals for "affordable housing" bring visions of "others" moving in to the County, which is why residents left the City to start with. While those opposing affordable housing are not great in number, they are very vocal and it is hard for elected officials who must seek re-election to stand up to those persons.
4. High Taxes - Rockland has high property tax rates. It is not unusual to have a yearly tax bill in excess of $5,000. Most of this is used to support our fine schools, but it makes it difficult to "afford" a home here in the county. It is also driving our elderly out of the County after they retire.

It has been shown, in limited cases, that these problems can be overcome, but this is difficult.

Fair Housing

The County funded a study of fair housing needs in the County in 1991. That report showed several areas of particular need, including more "affordable housing", greater rental assistance, and more leadership in the political arena.

No court orders, consent decrease or H.U.D. imposed sanctions exist in the County.

Lead-Based Paint

The reported incidents of lead paint poisoning have increased slightly in the County namely due to better detection and testing of pre-school children in the County required by State Law.

A disproportionate number of those diagnosed are from low-income households, and the problem is not pandemic.

Community Development Needs

The County is blessed with a wide variety of social programs provided by either government or local not-for-profits.

Requests for funding continue to flow in for both funds to support existing services and places to house these services.

Other infrastructure needs (roads, sewers, Community Centers) are also high on the list for requests for funding.

Housing and Community Development Objectives and Priorities

The Housing and Community Development objectives and priorities have not changed much over the past several years nor are expected to change in the future. They are:

1. Expand the supply of affordable housing using first time home buyers programs, rehab of existing housing, creation of additional units of rental housing for the elderly and other special needs groups.
2. Continue to offer a wide variety of services and programs to those in need.
3. To continue infrastructure improvements to foster better living conditions.
4. To seek to increase economic development to provide jobs for the unemployed or underemployed.

Housing Priorities

Priorities for affordable housing include increasing the supply of affordable housing and reducing housing cost burdens for low-income households, improving the living environments of lower income residents, assisting public housing residents to become more self-sufficient, increasing housing choice for low-income and minority residents, and addressing the unique needs of large families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.

Priorities for homelessness alleviation include providing adequate emergency shelter, ensuring transitional and permanent housing alternatives for homeless persons, creating supportive services for homeless persons not capable of independent living, and providing support networks and services to persons at risk of homelessness.

The priority for non-homeless persons with special needs is supportive housing or housing linked to supportive services for the frail elderly, persons with HIV/AIDS, and other persons with special needs.

Non-Housing Community Development Priorities

Over the next five years we will attempt to continue to support infrastructure improvements particularly those in our older Villages. These will include but not be limited to community centers, roads, sewers and other public works projects, support of youth programs and other worthy causes.

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Rockland County recognizes the need to prioritize anti-poverty programs over the next few years, and intends to continue supporting existing programs. A number of social service organizations administer programs such as Head Start, assistance for families in crisis, subsidized child care, Job Training Partnership Act activities, job training and self-sufficiency programs for public housing residents, and housing and mortgage counseling.

Housing and Community Development Resources

The primary Federal resources available to the County are the C.D.B.G., HOME and ESG programs. Some State funding , as well as locally generated monies will be leveraged with these funds.

The County has many not-for-profits who provide a large number of services and assistance to those in need.

The private sector is also anticipated to continue its efforts in these areas.

Coordination of Strategic Plan

The County government and its many agencies and in particular the Community Development Office will be the main coordination point.

Working with our not-for-profit social agencies, we believe that we will be able to reach our goals.

Description of Key Projects

Rockland County's One Year Action Plan will expend $3.237 million in C.D.B.G., HOME and ESG funds. Some of the projects are as follows:

1. $540,000 to support two affordable first time home buyers programs.
2. $900,000 to support the creation of two new community centers.
3. $180,000 in handicapped accessibility projects.
4. $300,000 for Tenant Based Assistance particularly to assist the homeless.
5. $330,000 of loans for first time home buyers.
6. $150,000 for homeowner rehab loans.
7. $85,000 to support local homeless shelters and to prevent homelessness.

Locations

Virtually all the funding, except for the handicapped accessibility, are targeted for programs in areas that have 30% or more of low/mod income residents. Locations include the Villages of Spring Valley, Haverstraw, Nyack, Kaser, Hillburn and the Towns of Stony Point, Clarkstown and Orangetown.

Housing Goals

It is anticipated that these funds will assist 60 first time home buyers, support 20 homeowner rehabilitations, assist 100 homeless individuals, and help 100 tenant households pay their rent by increasing the supply of affordable housing in the County.

Maps

In addition to this summary of Rockland County's Consolidated Plan, a number of maps have been developed to illustrate the basic geography and demographics of the County, as well as the locations of activities that are being assisted with the HUD funding sources identified in the Consolidated Plan.

MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.

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, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.