Montgomery County (excluding the City of Dayton) and the City of Kettering have formed a Consortium for the purposes of the HOME program. The area is the home of Wright Patterson Air Force Base and other defense related employers as well as a substantial automobile industry. It is widely known as a moderate-size and moderate-priced area with big city advantages.
Montgomery County and the City of Kettering plan to utilize the FY 95 HOME allocation of $1.2 million for priority activities including new construction and rehabilitation for renter families, rehabilitation for existing lower income homeowners, transitional housing for the homeless, new construction or rehabilitation of housing for special populations, homebuyer assistance for first time homebuyers, new construction of elderly housing in the County and rehab for first time homeowners, and first time homebuyers assistance in the City of Kettering.
The Consortium will use its non-housing CDBG funds to continue infrastructure improvements, economic development and neighborhood revitalization activities. In particular, funds will be used to initiate the Neighborhood Empowerment Program with the direction of neighborhood groups in two of the County's neighborhoods.
Two advisory committees - the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) and the Countywide Citizens' Advisory Committee (CCAC) - were used to develop the County's portion of the Consolidated Plan. The CDAC is made up of local government officials (elected and non-elected) representing the 30 participating jurisdictions in Montgomery County. The CCAC is comprised of representatives from the neighborhood, business, elderly, handicapped, minority and low/moderate income sectors of the County.
Seven public hearings were held during the various phases of the Consolidated Plan. One was a joint housing needs hearing held by the three entitlement communities of Montgomery County, City of Dayton and City of Kettering, for all housing assistance providers and the Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority. Four other hearings were held in various locations in the consortium area (all in low/mod areas) to determine housing and community development needs. The past year's performance was discussed at these hearings as well as soliciting citizen's views and comments. Over 550 flyers about the meetings were distributed to the 12 assisted housing developments and neighborhood residents in the areas, notices were published in four newspapers and were posted in all 30 participating jurisdiction's offices.
After the Plan was drafted, Public Notices were placed in two newspapers summarizing the Plan and announcing where the Plan was available for review. It was also announced at a Board of County Commissioners meeting that was broadcast on Public Access TV. Summaries of the draft Plan were sent to all 30 participating jurisdictions, and were placed in all library branches and at various low/mod housing assistance providers' offices. Two public hearings were held to solicit comments on the Plan and all comments received were summarized and included in the Plan.
Three public meetings were held throughout the Kettering area. Two hearings were held in low to moderate income areas, including the Kettering Square Apartments and the other at a local church, followed by the final hearing held in the Ketttering Government Center.
Flyers were developed and distributed to the children at two local
elementary schools serving the low and moderate income neighborhoods. Flyers
were also distributed to each of the units in the assisted housing development.
Flyers were also mailed to the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals
members, the Board of Community Relations, the Neighborhood Watch Coordinators,
and a notice was placed in the Kettering Oakwood Times.
The Montgomery County-Kettering Consortium is an area consisting of some thirty plus units of government. Unincorporated townships, small villages and moderate-sized cities make up the suburban and rural areas of the County. The City of Kettering is an older suburban area, largely developed with a range of housing types, sizes and costs. Together, over 400,000 persons reside in about 160,000 housing units in these two jurisdictions.
Probably the single most critical factor affecting the housing stock of the Consortium has been the suburbanization of the Dayton metropolitan area over the last several decades. Although the greatest bulk of that growth took place before 1980, a still increasing number of households has continued to fuel the demand for housing units. According to data from the Montgomery County Planning Commission, the Consortium has experienced a 12% growth in housing units since 1980. Kettering's stock increased by 7% (1,757 units) and the balance of the County by 13% (15,324 units). Research conducted on suburbanization in Ohio metropolitan areas by seven Ohio urban universities concludes that suburban growth will continue into the 90's. Their projections are that households will grow at a pace of 10.9% in the suburban portions of the Dayton metropolitan area during this decade.
Since 1980, the population in the Consortium has grown by 4%. One significant aspect of the population growth is the increase in the number of elderly. Between 1980 and 1990, the 60 to 64 age group increased 13% while the 65 and over group grew 43%. The population that is 65 and over now comprises 12% of the Consortium total.
The 1990 Census reports that 91% of the Consortium's population is white, a decline of 3% since 1980. Black population has increased by 44% over the decade. There has been a sizable increase of the Native American and Asian and Pacific Islander population. The two groups grew by 73% and 99%, respectively.
The number of households in the Consortium grew by 14% from 1980 to 1990. Family households grew at a much smaller rate than non-family households but still comprise over 70% of all households.
This growth has meant a continued demand for housing units of various sizes
and prices. The private development community has addressed well the market
rate demand for housing. The needs of lower income households, however, have
required special attention in our area. The Board of Montgomery County
Commissioners has moved beyond the use of only Federal funds to develop
affordable housing. They have made a ten-year commitment of $1 million per year
to support development of low income housing throughout the whole County. To
administer these funds, a non-profit agency, the Dayton-Montgomery County
Housing Commission, was formed and a Housing Trust Fund created.
Although the Consortium area is largely suburban, it contains several neighborhoods of low income households living in substandard housing and problem-ridden environments. The County intends to use its resources to revitalize these areas and to prevent further deterioration of its neighborhoods.
The need for affordable housing was determined after a review of existing housing data, evaluation of housing conditions, and discussions with housing providers, specifically for low and moderate income, homeless and persons with special needs. The conclusions are as follows:
The Montgomery County-Kettering Consortium had 160,450 year round housing units in 1990, 96% of which were occupied. Of the occupied units, 31% were rental units and 69% were owner occupied. The vacancy rate for owner units was only 1% and for rental units 6.7%.
For Montgomery County, the number of residential construction permits issued was 1,270 in 1991, 1,371 in 1992, and decreased to 637 in 1993.
The County estimated that there are about 5,000 substandard units or about 3% of the housing stock within its jurisdictions.
The cost of housing has increased dramatically from 1980 to 1990. Median rent increased 95% and the median value of an owner-occupied home increased by 54%.
There are more than 48,000 low and moderate income households in the Consortium area, 31% of the total number of households. Over 23,000 of these households have housing problems. In the Consortium, there are 12,892 low income renters and 9,537 low income home owners who have cost burden. Of these, 5,936 renters and 3,828 owners encounter severe cost burden. About 13,000 of those households with housing problems are renters and the remainder are owners. In Kettering, the number of low income households totals about 8,000 with the proportion of renters at 52%. The remaining 40,000 low income households reside in the County and, of those, 56% are renters.
Another indicator of need can be seen in the statistics on poverty level. Within the Consortium, the population below the poverty level increased by 8% between 1980 and 1990.
There are nearly 24,000 low income households in the Consortium who have incomes below 50% of the median income.
Three-fourths of the households in the 0-30% category have housing problems. Small renter families and elderly owners have the largest number of households with housing problems in this group.
Of those households in the 31-50% MFI group, about 60% have housing problems. Non-elderly owners and small renter families and elderly owners have the largest number of households with housing problems in this group.
Within the Consortium as a whole, 32% (or about 7,800 households) of the moderate income households have housing problems. The largest single group in this income category is non-elderly owners, followed by other renter households.
During the last twelve month reporting period, the shelter system served 4,522 individuals and 40% (1,808) were children 18 years of age and younger.
Demographic data indicated that females continue to comprise close to half of the total adult population, and when combined with the number of children, the figure becomes 67% of the populations. In addition, the data shows 59% of homeless persons were African American. Thirty-five percent had completed the 12th grade of high school and 6% had some college. Nineteen percent were veterans.
Nine homeless programs participate in the uniform data collection system in Montgomery County. Each of these programs serve varied populations, provide diverse services and have varying staffing patterns and lengths of stay. Each program utilizes an identical intake form which collects information on every adult (identified by Social Security Number) entering the program as well as children. The system strives to provide an unduplicated count of individuals in the shelters. These forms are submitted monthly to the United Way upon the exit of the client from the program.
There has been a steady and substantial increase in the number of beds available to the homeless, from 244 in 1985 to 702 in 1993.
Montgomery County has 79 units of transitional housing which can serve 280 persons. Some of these are for specific populations other than families (e.g., released female prisoners, women recovering from substance abuse).
There are some 360 total units in the Balance of the County and no conventional public housing in Kettering. Currently there is a 3% vacancy rate. The Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority (DMHA) estimates rehabilitation needs of about $2 million. Most of these needs are moderate in nature and the overall condition of the public housing stock is considered good. As DMHA implements its modernization programs, 10% of all units are being modified for persons with disabilities. Of these, 5% are to be made wheelchair accessible. The long range intent of the Housing Authority is to make 10% of all units at every site accessible to persons with disabilities.
In addition, DMHA is participating in a Federal vacancy program to eliminate all vacancies that occurred prior to June 30, 1995. DMHA was funded approximately 7.3 million dollars for vacancy repair and security improvements and services. All improvements must be completed in 24 months.
According to DMHA all tenant-based rental certificates and vouchers are in use. Of the approximately 2,000 Section 8 tenants, 367 or 18% reside in the Balance of County. The Housing Authority expects an additional 25 certificates or vouchers in FY 95 for the whole County.
Montgomery County has an assisted housing stock of about 3,000 units. The County estimates 2% vacancy rate in these units.
It is the County's position that the majority of public policies relating to the development, maintenance or improvement of affordable housing do not create major barriers to such housing. Although there are more than thirty separate jurisdictions within the County, excluding the City of Dayton, and an exhaustive analysis of all pertinent regulations has not been done, the county has substantial knowledge of, and experience with, many jurisdictions' regulatory policies and practices and is aware of only a few of which can be defined as particularly burdensome or excessive.
In order to provide a more researched assessment of barriers to affordable housing, however, the County Community and Economic Development Department and Planning Commission examined the zoning resolutions and ordinances of the townships and municipalities within the balance of County. The first phase of this research has been completed. The analysis has indicated various zoning definitions, provisions and procedures which should be changed. It has also confirmed a major problem area in the limited number of sites available for multi-family housing construction. Kettering city staff reviewed the City's policies to determine if any of the rules and regulations or administrative procedures and processes include any excessive, exclusionary, discriminatory or duplicatory policies, rules or regulations that may constitute barriers to affordable housing. This review concluded that the City of Kettering rules, regulations, and policies do not encourage barriers to affordable housing.
Both members of the Consortium support the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, a recently created non-profit whose purpose is to educate the citizens of the area about their rights and responsibilities related for fair housing and to enforce the fair housing laws through testing and subsequent administrative or legal action. The Consortium will also be engaging in a Fair Housing Impediments analysis in the near future.
An estimated 126,483 housing units occupied by low and very low income households in the Consortium contain lead-based paint. Of these, about 115,000 are in the County and some 11,000 in Kettering. Approximately 44% are rental units and 56% owner units. According to the Ohio Department of Health, there have been approximately four cases of children identified as lead poisoned in the Consortium area - one each in Kettering, Vandalia, Brookville and New Lebanon. The County has recently been awarded a $5 million HUD Lead Hazard Reduction Grant which will be used to reduce lead-based paint hazards and aid in the prevention of childhood lead poisoning.
The needs of special populations including persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, mental illness, physical disabilities, and these recovering from drug and alcohol addiction are critical in our community. They are different from the needs of other low income because of the intensive services and expensive operating costs required.
Non-housing community development needs for Montgomery County are basically an aggregation of the needs identified by our 30 CDBG target areas. These neighborhoods contain clear concentrations of low and moderate income families, moderate to severe conditions of blight and/or significant percentages of unsound housing and basic public facilities that are inadequate or nonexistent. Some of these areas also lack basic amenities such as transportation, recreation and access to social services. Many of these neighborhoods contain their own commercial strips that have, over the years of neglect, become deteriorated and less profitable, thus exacerbating the general condition of neglect and decline.
Most of the 30 target neighborhoods share, in varying degree, all or some of the same specific community development needs: water, sewer, storm drainage, street, sidewalk, curb and gutter, commercial revitalization, job creation, recreation facilities and social services. In addition to the neighborhoods with a multitude of community development needs, there are three other areas the County focuses on: 1) there are a number of other basically sound localities with only one or two community development needs requiring spot attention to keep them stable; 2) there are scattered conditions of blight throughout the County where concentrations of low and moderate income families are small, but individual needs are severe; and 3) there are needs that affect the County as a whole or are countywide in scope such as senior citizens, handicapped accessibility, economic development, etc.
Annually, the City of Kettering reviews the Community Development criteria for identifying areas of slum and blight. Kettering's definition includes areas that are lacking one or more parts of the infrastructure system, i.e. curbs, gutters and sidewalks, and street surface improvements. As the City began the process of preparing the Consolidated Plan, an inventory of Census tracts and/or blocks were examined to determine the needs of the various communities.
Community development needs of the Kettering area were also assessed through public hearings held for the residents. Three hearings were held, two in low and moderate neighborhoods, and one at the Kettering Government Center. From the meetings held, the information was assessed, and formulated into general needs:
In addition to the needs identified, creating economic opportunities to local business within the city and providing job training opportunities for the low and moderate income citizens.
There are numerous organizations and agencies that make up the institutional structure that will assist in the implementation of the County's housing and community development plan and with whom regular coordination will occur.
One significant agency is the Affordable Housing Fund (formerly the Dayton-Montgomery County Housing Commission), a private non-profit body formed to help address lower income housing needs. The foundation of financial support for this group is a pot of $1 million per year for ten years set aside from sales tax receipts for this purpose by the Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners. The Housing Commission determines priorities based on the strategies of both the City of Dayton and the Montgomery County-Kettering Consortium and acts as an important revenue source for housing projects.
Another public body that will assist in implementing the County's housing strategy is the Montgomery County Housing Advisory Board. The group, whose make-up is mandated by State law, is responsible for reviewing the jurisdictions' housing strategy documents and for assessing the proposed purposes of public tax or bond funding in relation to those documents. In Montgomery County, the HAB has also determined to take on other roles of networking, providing a forum for discussion on new ideas and advising the private and business community on housing issues.
The institutional structure to carry out the County's five-year strategy includes private lenders such as local savings and loans and banks with Community Development Corporations who have a desire to address community housing needs pursuant to the Community Reinvestment Act requirements.
Other private interests such as foundations, local businesses, developers and contractors have also played roles in the funding or provision of lower income housing.
Part of the institutional structure is non-profit organizations, including COUNTY CORP, the County's major non-profit housing development arm, and at least two other organizations formed to assist in development of housing for special populations. One of these, Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, is attached to the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Montgomery County and the other, Miami Valley In-Ovations, cooperates with the Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. These three agencies will have access to Federal and State funds for certain housing and service programs directed to certain populations which the County wishes to assist.
The Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority will continue its role as provider and manager of low income public housing and administrator of the Section 8 existing program. The County will cooperate with DMHA in additional programs to address housing needs.
As the County broadens its housing concerns into supportive services, it will look to the numerous social service agencies which provide these services, the local community action agency and the County Departments of Community Human Services and Human Services, as partners in the delivery system. Better coordination of services will be encouraged.
With regard to housing for the homeless, there is a very strong emergency
shelter structure in the County which coordinates among shelters, gather
important data and keeps the community informed of needs of homeless persons and
families.
The Consortium envisions a community of diverse villages, cities, and townships working together toward the goal of developing and implementing holistic approaches to human and neighborhood problems throughout the area.
Within both the City of Kettering and Montgomery County (excluding Dayton), there is a keen awareness of the need for affordable housing, aid to the homeless and housing assistance to special populations. The Consortium members place a high priority on the provision and/or coordination of social services to the low and moderate income households that it assists with their housing funds.
As a Consortium, high priority will be placed on assistance to renters. In Kettering, this will entail an effort to upgrade rental units which have elderly residents, development of a program for "all other" rental households below 50% of the median and possibly a tenant-based rental assistance program for the elderly. In Montgomery County, assistance to renters will be accomplished through new construction and rehabilitation of rental units.
There is also a high priority on assistance to existing low and moderate income homeowners in the Consortium. Both jurisdictions have long-standing homeowner rehab programs that will be continued. Both also support first-time home buyers programs which provide down payment and closing cost assistance (this is a medium priority for the County). Kettering also has as a high priority the development of a purchase/rehab program for first-time home buyers.
High priority is also given to assistance to non-homeless special populations within the Consortium. For the homeless, the County plans to support transitional housing either through new construction or rehab and Kettering plans to develop a prevention program to assist those individuals and families in danger of becoming homeless.
Medium priority areas also include the support for elderly renters, either through rental assistance or new construction, Single Room Occupancy housing for single low income persons and housing for larger renter households in the County and rental rehabilitation in the City of Kettering. The City will also encourage regional efforts to provide transitional housing for families and individuals.
Montgomery County's overall goal is to improve the quality of life for low and moderate income families in those areas where inadequate basic facilities create a living environment that is clearly below the standard for attractive, economically viable neighborhoods. In keeping with this goal, the County's non-housing community development strategy embodies the following five objectives:
The City of Kettering's non-housing Community Development priorities include:
The Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners, in response to its commitment to promote economic self-sufficiency, established the Employment Opportunities Work Group (EOWG), a public and private (not-for-profit organization) joint venture. The EOWG was charged with the challenge of developing a program model for Montgomery County residents that would change the current welfare system, effectively utilize existing employment and training resources, and reduce the number of public assistance cases as a result of employment. The EOWG developed its program model based upon a model successfully implemented over six years in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This Employment Opportunity Center proposal is the County's basic anti-poverty strategy at the current time and will be the strategy for the Consortium.
Key elements of Montgomery County's model include the following:
Specific resources to carry out the Plan include Federal, State, county, city and private funding. There are also numerous non-profit organizations involved in housing and community development activities, as well as builders, developers, business and financial institutions, and service providers. Contributions from these sources have been identified in the Plan.
The lead agency for the Montgomery County-Kettering Consortium's
Consolidated Plan is the Montgomery County Community Development Office. The
Plan was developed through the participation of numerous governments, agencies
and organizations. The institutional structure through which the city and
county will implement the Plan includes a wide array of public, private and
non-profit organizations.
Roughly 44% of the projects in the One Year Action Plan are dedicated to targeted residential areas known as Target Neighborhoods. Funds allocated to these areas are spent mostly on public improvements and housing rehabilitation. The other 56% are countywide housing and economic development activities. Rental housing for families is placed in Opportunity Areas outside current low income concentrations. Housing for special populations and the homeless is also attempted in new locations to avoid concentrations..
The Consortium's housing goals include the following:
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.
TABLE (without associated map) provides information about the project(s).
Ms. Judy L. Mott
Director, Montgomery County
Community Development
451 West Third Street
Dayton, OH 45422-1110
PH: (513) 225-6341
