Located in central Ohio, Franklin County faces problems associated with its urban communities and its smaller, suburban regions. It is composed of 11 cities, 13 villages and 17 townships. The largest city is Columbus, Ohio's State capital.

The combination of urban and suburban influences in the region have forced the county to implement a wide-ranging and diversified plan to address its housing and community development needs. Although Columbus has implemented its own Consolidated Plan, the city is an integral part of Franklin County and cannot be overlooked in the county plan. This plan reflects the city's impact on the county.

Action Plan

The Consolidated Plan for Franklin County has a budget of $3.2 million. Of that, $2.4 million comes from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $730,000 is from HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Program funds, and $88,000 is from Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds.

Citizen Participation

The development of the Consolidated Plan for Franklin County involved a joint planning process coordinated by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and the participation of various individuals and organizations interested in affordable-housing policy in central Ohio.

A 37-member planning committee analyzed data, developed a shared vision, set goals, and outlined specific strategies to address affordable housing issues in the area. Technical support was provided by the staff of the Columbus Development and Human Services Departments, MORPC, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and the Community Shelter Board. With this assistance, the committee incorporated contributions from surveys and focus groups that were used to broaden public participation. These included:

• 60 respondents to a survey regarding the validity of the issues and goals from the previous plan.
• 70 attendees of the 8 focus groups that commented on survey results.
• 13 lenders who identified lender-affordable housing products.
• 22 for-profit and 14 non-profit developers and 21 social service agencies that assessed affordable housing-development capacity.

Notices of two public meetings concerning the Consolidated Plan were mailed to 300 interested residents and community organizations. Additional notices were published in local newspapers.

Franklin County and Columbus have experienced similar social trends, including a moderate population growth, an increasingly aged population, a decline in household size, and the dispersion of the population throughout the county. There has been significant economic growth as the economy, particularly in Columbus, shifts from manufacturing to service- sector jobs. The median family income is $42,000.

Between 1980 and 1990, the population of Columbus grew by 68,039 and in 1992 was estimated at 644,905. The population of Franklin County outside of Columbus grew by 24,266, and in 1992 was estimated at 328,479. Both figures reflect an 8 percent increase since 1980.

There are differences in income and racial characteristics between Columbus and the rest of Franklin County. Columbus is divided by the older, industrial area and newer sections annexed in 1950. The poverty rate in the older area of Columbus was 29.1 percent in 1990, and 9.1 percent in the newer sections, while it was 4.9 percent in the county. In 1994, 12 percent of the county's population was considered very low-income, 14 percent was considered low-income, and 8 percent was considered moderate-income.

In 1994, 52 percent of the African American population lived in the older section of Columbus, 40.7 percent lived in the newer section of Columbus, and 6.6 percent lived outside of Columbus. Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Hispanics also had more representation in Columbus than in Franklin County as a whole.

Conditions

The economic vitality and population growth in Franklin County contradict regional trends. While housing development has kept pace with the continued growth, it is becoming increasingly difficult for lower income families to find affordable housing.

Furthermore, the strength of the economy is not reflected evenly throughout the county.

The growing demand for service-sector workers along the rapidly developing I-270 outerbelt has been the impetus for building affordable housing in Franklin County. But the lack of adequate public transportation and other supportive services for low-income households has impeded the growth of housing.

Market Conditions

Of the 405,418 housing units counted in the 1990 census in Franklin County, 278,084 were located in Columbus and 127,334 were outside of the city. More than 70 percent of the occupied units were owner occupied. The older section of Columbus was one area with a low percentage of owner-occupied units. Renter-occupied units in the county increased by 1.5 percent (from 26.2 to 27.6 percent) between 1980 and 1990. The median home value in the county was significantly lower in Columbus ($65,400) than in suburban Franklin County ($102,675).

In 1990, 3,624 units in suburban Franklin County were considered substandard, and 67 units were boarded up. According to MORPC, approximately 18 percent of the substandard units were not suitable for rehabilitation. A 1991 survey of housing estimated that there were 500 severely deteriorated housing units in the county.

Affordable Housing Needs

Also found in the 1990 census was that most low-income households -- the majority of which were African American -- were disproportionately concentrated in the older section of Columbus. There were 11,750 low-income rental housing units in the older area, compared to 4,550 in the newer area and 1,800 in Franklin County. Among homeowners, there were 16,072 low-income housing units in the old city compared to 6,329 in the new city and 4,782 units in Franklin County.

The Consolidated Plan has noted the following affordable housing needs:

• 45,000 of the renter households that are considered very low-income have a housing cost burden. That is, the household pays more than 30 percent of its income for rent and utilities. Most of these households (86 percent) are in Columbus.
• 26,000 of the renter households that are considered very low-income have a severe cost burden. That is, the household pays more 50 percent of its income for rent and utilities.
• An additional 19,000 renter households considered extremely low-income with severe cost burdens could not find available affordable housing units.
• Among very low-income owner households, 13,000 have a housing cost burden. More than half of this figure is comprised of elderly households.
• In Columbus, the largest group of cost-burdened renters was non-elderly, single households. In Franklin County, small families comprised the largest group of cost-burdened renters.
• Special needs populations were frequently also lowest income, and also had additional needs.

Homeless Needs

In 1991, a point-in-time survey found 1,187 homeless adults and 754 homeless children in Franklin County. As a result, the Emergency Housing Bed Strategy was implemented to ensure access to 840 beds in Community Shelter Board-contracted emergency shelter programs. Through its Crisis Transition program, working individuals and families in emergency shelters are given short-term rental/utility assistance so they can find permanent housing. Through its Homeless Prevention Program, individuals and families threatened with homelessness receive short-term financial assistance to preserve their permanent housing. During its first year of operation, the Homeless Prevention Program moved 104 working individuals and 14 homeless families out of emergency shelters and helped 110 families and 25 individuals receive permanent housing.

The emergency shelters that provide services for the homeless in Franklin County include: Amethyst, Inc., Alvis House, Faith Mission, Friends of the Homeless, Homeless Families Foundation, House of Hope, Pater Noster House, the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, and Lutheran Social Services.

The 12 agencies that provide housing for homeless persons with disabilities include: AIDS Service Connection, Metropolitan Residential Services, Netcare Corporation, Concord Inc., and Friends/Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

The homeless in Franklin County are served by 28 social service programs, including a voucher program offered by Crittenton Family Services, the Veterans' Service Center, Grove City, the Salvation Army, and VVA.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

CMHA owns and operates 5,104 low-income public housing units throughout Franklin County. Approximately 90 percent of these units are located in Columbus. CMHA has determined that a need exists for 1,181 additional modernized units.

The Section 8 program for Franklin County is administered by CMHA, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). All of the Section 8 moderate rehabilitation units are administered by CMHA, but the Section 8 new construction and substantial rehabilitation units also can be administered by HUD or OHFA.

While the Section 8 housing is more dispersed than public housing units, the majority remain concentrated in Columbus. In 1993, there were 3,490 Section 8 units, 437 vouchers, and 618 moderate rehabilitation units. Between 400 and 500 Section 8 units per year are cited by CMHA for violations. CMHA reported that the moderate rehabilitation units experienced a higher level of maintenance problems than did other units.

There are 1,679 households on a waiting list for public housing and 6,478 households on a waiting list for Section 8 housing. There are also 9,000 non-public housing assisted units throughout the county financed by privately owned, affordable housing projects.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

Barriers to affordable housing in Franklin County include:

• High cost of land and site development.
• Lack of public transportation.
• Discrimination in the housing market, particularly against African Americans and families with children.

Fair Housing

To provide information and education on fair housing issues, the Columbus Urban League participates with the Columbus Apartment Association in training landlords in fair housing laws. Although the housing staff at the Columbus Urban League believes some steering and blockbusting still occurs with regard to home purchase patterns, they do not currently have a program to test these areas. The league conducts annual site visits to determine if African- American and white prospective renters receive equal treatment.

In addition, the Central Ohio Compliance Officers group offers a communitywide housing counseling and credit education program to increase loan approval rates for low-income and minority households.

Lead-Based Paint

The majority of lead-based paint problems in Franklin County are in Columbus. It is estimated that 151,325 housing units in Columbus contain lead-based paint. According to the Columbus Department of Health, 27 percent of the 9,543 children screened since 1990 have been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Outside of Columbus, 16,199 housing units have lead-based paint.

Columbus has instituted four strategies for lead-based paint hazard reduction:

• Strengthen the coordination of public and private efforts to prevent lead- based paint poisoning and hazards.
• Integrate lead-hazard evaluation and reduction activities in existing housing programs.
• Expand current capacity of public and private health programs for the screening, public education, and follow-up of children with high blood-lead levels.
• Seek passage of State and local laws pertaining to lead-based paint hazards.

The Franklin County Board of Health has jurisdiction over the cities, villages and townships outside of Columbus. Because the Board of Health does not have blood-lead level testing capabilities, it refers persons to Children's Hospital for blood testing. Among the strategies developed by Franklin County are:

• Support State and local legislation to certify lead-based paint abatement contractors and set standards for identifying and reducing lead-based paint hazards.
• Establish a lead-based paint testing capacity accessible to owners of property in suburban Franklin County.
• Incorporate lead hazard evaluation and reduction activities into existing federally funded county housing programs.

Other Issues

According to a cross-section of social service providers, the housing needs of low-income special needs populations are related primarily to affordability. While adequate supportive services are available, affordable and accessible housing programs do not exist. Many elderly residents in the county, including Columbus, spend a disproportionate amount of their income on housing.

There is a growing population of persons with HIV/AIDS in Franklin County. Estimates have shown that 5,000 persons, two-thirds of whom live in Columbus, need such services. The Housing Task Force of the HIV/AIDS Community Advisory Coalition of Metropolitan Columbus has determined that between 30 and 50 percent of the persons infected with HIV/AIDS require housing assistance because they spend a disproportionate amount of their income on housing.

Community Development Needs

The Consolidated Plan has identified the following community development needs for Franklin County:

• Improvement of existing infrastructure, especially water and sewer systems.
• Improvement of the range of supportive services for homeless individuals and families with children, as well as those threatened with homelessness.

Vision for Change

By 1998 a wider array of decent, affordable, accessible, and consumer-driven housing options will be available in Franklin County. This will lead to greater racial, economic, and social diversity throughout the county. Over the next five years, there will be greater leadership from local elected officials, the corporate community and community organizations on affordable housing issues. All institutional sectors involved in producing affordable housing will operate in a more effective and accountable manner. This will improve coordination and cooperation among public- and private-sector lenders, and will help to leverage Federal, State, and local resources for affordable housing.

Housing Priorities

The 5-year housing goals and the strategies for their achievement identified in the Consolidated Plan include:

• Provide 1,720 new housing opportunities for low-income, very low-income and extremely low-income households in the newer city and suburbs.
• Develop affordable rental housing.
• Increase Section 8 certificates.
• Increase private development of starter homes.
• Rehabilitate 2,465 substandard housing units and repair 740 units to provide or improve housing for low-, very low-, and extremely low-income households.
• Establish a countywide land reutilization program on foreclosed tax delinquent properties.
• Establish a city/county/lender partnership program to rehabilitate and repair housing and to provide homeownership opportunities.
• Assist 825 low- and very low-income renters in becoming homeowners.
• Offer a housing counseling and credit education program.
• Develop scattered-site homeownership projects.
• Assist 1,596 very low- and 5,635 extremely low-income "worst case" households in obtaining affordable housing.
• Continue the county's weatherization and energy programs.
• Develop single-room occupancy housing.
• Minimize risk to owners of private-market rental housing.
• Provide affordable housing and supportive services to 1,975 very low- and extremely low-income persons with special needs.
• Develop additional special needs and supportive housing.
• Link rental assistance to supportive services and housing.
• Disperse 720 more affordable, physically accessible and integrated housing units for extremely low-income persons with disabilities.
• Support housing accessibility modifications.
• Establish an accessible housing library for information and referral.

Non-housing Community Development Priorities

Among the community development priorities identified in the Consolidated Plan are:

• Provide financial and technical assistance resources necessary for residents to play a greater role in community leadership, self-help, advocacy and development, including support for quality community-based development organizations and the involvement of citizens in program and project implementation.
• Identify those areas with the greatest opportunity for substantial revitalization and coordinate planning processes with public resource allocation in a holistic way that links housing, economic development, infrastructure development, and supportive services activities planned and developed with residents of the affected communities.
• Mitigate adverse environmental conditions and blight in the low- and moderate-income areas of Columbus and Franklin County through removal of trash and litter, clean-up of vacant structures and lots, and remediation of brownfield sites.
• Encourage workforce development through education, training, and coordination with employment opportunity markets.
• Provide low-income residents with access to regional jobs with a strong transportation system and other support services.
• Assist small and minority businesses within Columbus and Franklin County to grow through effective access to an array of public and private financing and technical assistance tools.
• Meet the comprehensive health needs of low- and moderate-income residents by providing access to health services that include primary health care, prevention, and treatment programs, with a focus on reducing rates of teen pregnancy and substance abuse, and producing healthy infants and children.
• Ensure equal access to employment and housing through anti-discrimination education and compliance efforts and the provision of legal assistance for low-income individuals.

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Over the next 5 years, the Franklin County Human Services Collaboration will be developing a strategic plan that identifies elements to alleviate poverty in Franklin County. Those elements include: generating well-paid jobs with benefits, providing drug and alcohol treatment, offering basic skills education and training, ending racism and discrimination, developing a separate strategy for those who are not employable, increasing transportation, assisting in homeownership (Habitat for Humanity model), and improving job retention.

The Collaboration will attempt to develop a common definition of "poverty alleviation" while analyzing ways to make programs more geographically based and outcome-driven.

Undertaking a joint city-county planning process has given Franklin County and Columbus officials a unique opportunity to deal directly with some of the regional issues surrounding poverty. Because a key issue is the concentration of poverty in Columbus, in 1993 the city established an anti-poverty strategy in its Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Policies which targeted:

• Decreasing poverty concentrations by increasing housing choices for low- income households.
• Emphasizing economic and educational opportunities as components of community development activities.
• Refusing to support housing projects designed to attract additional very low- income residents to areas with poverty concentrations at or above 30 percent.

Housing and Community Development Resources

In addition to CDBG, Section 8 certificates, and HOME funds (administered through Columbus and Franklin County), Franklin County will finance its Consolidated Plan activities with the following Federal, State, and local funding: the Columbus general fund, low-income housing trust credits, Ohio Housing Trust Fund, tax-exempt revenue bonds, and Columbus and Ohio Capital Improvement Funds.

Many of the organizations that are critical to carrying out the goals in the Consolidated Plan have been previously identified in the summary. Some of the other organizations offering services, support, or funding include financial institutions, local builders and developers, the Building Communities Collaborative, Rhema Christian Center, Wallick Construction Company, Habitat for Humanity, South of Main Development Corporation, Catholic Social Services, Community Housing Network, Disabled Housing Concepts, and the Columbus Foundation.

Coordination of the Strategic Plan

The Consolidated Plan Staff Group, which includes staff from Columbus, MORPC, CMHA, and the Community Shelter Board, is the primary vehicle for the ongoing coordination of affordable housing activities in Franklin County.

The county coordinates the plan through its wide network of housing and social service providers, including the Building Communities Collaborative, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, the Franklin County Human Services Department and various organizations in which individual contributions provide the plan with a solid base.

Description of Key Projects

The Consolidated Plan for Franklin County has identified the following key projects:

• MORPC Housing Services implements all HUD housing problems throughout the county and provides services such as feasibility analysis, underwriting, relocation, and construction management and inspection ($353,000).
• Grove City-Rose Street improvements project will reconstruct 665 linear feet of 2-lane roadway, and upgrade 665 linear feet of waterline, sidewalk, curb, and gutter and storm drainage in the Old Grove City area ($141,000).
• Whitehall-Wright Avenue reconstruction project will remove existing pavement, lay concrete base, and widen existing road along the Langley-Main Streets area ($200,000).
• Harrisburg-Waterline and hydrants project will extend 1,163 linear feet of waterline and install three hydrants on Maple and Walnut Streets and a firelane in the village of Harrisburg ($54,000).

Locations

One-third of Franklin County's activities result from requests by local governments and non-profit organizations for projects benefitting a specific low- and moderate-income target area or community. The remainder of the activities benefit income-eligible communities or special population groups.

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.

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.

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; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).

Ms. Linda Donnelly
Director, Housing/Community Development
Franklin County
285 East Main Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-5272