Ashland is a unique city located in southern Jackson County, with a population of 17,985. Ashland combines the spirit of a small town with the cultural and educational opportunities of a large urban center. Entrepreneurs and small business, artisans and young families have all come to Ashland to enjoy the lively town center, the mild climate and sense of community. Tourists and students have been essential to the evolution of Ashland's character supporting the town's two largest industries, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon State College.
While the city of Ashland is the smallest entitlement community in the country our Consolidated Plan represents great effort at creating a strategic vision for housing and community development. The annual Community Development Block Grant budget for fiscal year 1995 is $237,000 and the One-Year Action Plan reflects the expenditures of that money for the program year.
In 1993, a lengthy public process was undertaken for the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS). At that time a five-year plan was created. Less than two years later HUD changed its requirements in order for the city to receive Community Development Block Grant funding. Due to various factors including, an acute similarity in the requirements for the Consolidated Plan and the CHAS and a narrow timeline to complete the document, an abbreviated public process was undertaken.
The city held one public meeting prior to the release of the draft. A
summary of the Consolidated Plan was published in the local newspaper, the
Ashland Daily Tidings. A 30 day public comment period was held and the Ashland
City Council adopted the Consolidated Plan on June 20, 1995.
The population of Ashland grew approximately 1% from 1990 to 1995, with the current population being 17,985. Growth has leveled off from the 9% growth rate experienced in during the 1980's. Since 1980, various population groups have experienced a decline, they include children under 5, young adults 18 to 24 and those between 55 and 64 year of age. All other groups have experienced an increase. The ethnic breakdown of the city's population reveals that 95% is white with approximately two percent Hispanic and two percent Asian and 1% other minorities.
Adjusted for inflation, both median and average household income rose (4% and 6% respectively) from 1980 to 1990. The median income for Jackson County currently is $32,800 and in Ashland is $32,188. In 1990, 17.4% of Ashland's population lived below the poverty level, a rate that has changed little since the 1980 Census. However, since 1980 the share of families with children under 18 years living in poverty increased by 7 percent to 17.7%. Conversely, the share of persons 65 and over in poverty dropped significantly from 13% in 1980 to six percent in 1990.
Southern Oregon State College serves as the largest employer in Ashland with
the second and third being the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Ashland
School District, respectively. Ashland's unemployment rate has been
approximately six percent during the 1990's.
Until relatively recently, housing costs and rents were low enough in Ashland to encourage a diverse, dynamic community. Since then, the gap between home owners and renters has widened. Renters are not only becoming less able to purchase homes, they are also being displaced from their current housing due to continual rise in rent and the sale or conversion of rentals units.
The dynamic town character that makes Ashland unique is threatened by the type of population shift that a long term rise in housing prices will bring. Ashland's future population will be more well-rounded if we find a way to provide housing for moderate and low-income families, students, artisans, and the elderly.
The current problem of a shrinking stock of affordable housing in Ashland began in the 1970's, when inflation, increased energy and materials costs, and speculation in the real estate market produced an upward spiral in housing prices that was several times the overall rate of inflation. Through the 1970's, home owners in Ashland and most of the United States paid fixed rate mortgagees while home prices rose rapidly, in response to a decrease in supply. Renters watched as their rents also rose, but as tenants they had no corresponding increase in equity.
Spiraling costs of housing had two effects on Ashland residents. Those who had purchased homes earlier had enough home equity to pay the increased costs of a new house. Those who were renters, however, either had to save for a very substantial down payment, wait for a financial windfall, borrow from relatives, or remain renters.
Much of the single family housing built in the last few years is beyond the price range of most lower and moderate income households. To emphasize this point the median income is currently approximately $33,000 while the average price of a home is approximately $150,000. At the same time very few multifamily units have been constructed in the past five years and there has been an increase in the student population of Southern Oregon State College.
Cost burden is a term HUD uses to indicate whether a household is paying 30%-50% of their income for housing. If a household is cost burdened then they are considered at a higher risk of loosing their housing. The renter groups most adversely affected by cost burden include young single parent households, and large and small families earning less than 50% of the median family income. Owner households earning less than 50% of the median family income have fared slightly better than their renter counterparts but the overall majority pay more than 30% of their income for housing.
These groups need rental assistance and affordable housing options, and first-time homebuyers need downpayment assistance.
Over 1,700 homeless individuals were counted during a study done by Jackson County in 1993. A later estimate completed by Peace House for the city of Ashland in September 1993, estimated 70 homeless youth in Ashland, 45 of these youths were unsheltered. The youth that were counted as sheltered were mostly living on and off with friends, some attending high school.
Currently, there is not transitional housing nor an emergency shelter located in Ashland. The bulk of the services provided to Ashland's residents are located in the city of Medford. There, three agencies offer transitional housing for homeless persons. Most transitional programs are provided specifically for special needs populations such as youth, battered women, veterans, and those with substance abuse problems. A critical need exists to enhance the continuum of care for the homeless, including emergency, transitional, and stabilizing housing. In addition there is a need for additional homeless prevention services.
There are 70 family and 98 elderly assisted privately owned subsidized units in Ashland. In addition, the Jackson County Housing Authority administers four single family and four multi-family units. The Jackson County Housing Authority issued 34 certificates and 42 vouchers in 1994. Persons living in Ashland on the waiting list for certificates or vouchers is approximately 132, of these 63 (48%) have preferences. Due to the size of the waiting list reopened in the Spring of 1996.
At this time we do not anticipate any losses from the public housing inventory through public housing demolition or conversion to homeownership.
Housing costs in the city are some of the highest in the state of Oregon. HUD asks only to identify barriers that the city can affect. Therefore the city has a degree of control over the following barriers: annexation of land, city building and system development fees, and planning requirements. The city has a policy whereby it will not allow annexations to occur unless a need can be shown for the land or the applicant is willing ensure that 25% of the housing would comply with the city's affordable housing program. Since 1990, when the affordable housing provision came into effect no annexations have occurred. The will of the community to annex land is thought by some to be a contributor to the high cost of land in Ashland.
The city assesses system development fees which, for a three bedroom two-bath home can be between $3,500 and $4,500. The philosophy behind this fee is that it pays for the increased impact that new development puts on city services. While these fees lessen existing development's subsidy for new development they do increase the cost of new housing in Ashland. Finally, general city planning requirements including parkrows, street trees, and sidewalks all increase the cost of housing.
The city of Ashland is required by HUD to complete an analysis of the impediments to fair housing choice for the 1996 Consolidated Plan.
Out of the 7,204 housing units in the city of Ashland, 3051 (42%) were built prior to 1960 and 1462 (21%) were built prior to 1940. Most of the older homes are concentrated near the center of town. All of these homes have the potential of being a lead-based paint hazard. Jackson County Health Department has not had a case of lead poisoning in Ashland to date.
Many of the low and moderate income census tracts in Ashland are without
sidewalks and curbcuts allowing for handicapped accessibility. In addition many
of the city owned building in Ashland are either not handicapped accessible or
need to enhance their accessibility.
Although specific subgroups (large families or youth) may have problems that are unique to their populations, housing problems in Ashland are primarily related to the high cost of land and the relatively low household median income. Ashland's housing priorities and strategies reflect those conditions. Community Development initiatives are to provide infrastructure improvements to low and moderate income neighborhoods.
Priorities for affordable housing include increasing affordable housing availability for low- income households, providing ownership programs to low-income families and maintaining the city's existing housing stock.
Priorities for homelessness alleviation include providing services to homeless youth, ensuring emergency shelters and transitional housing, transitioning of the homeless to permanent housing, and providing services to persons at risk of homelessness.
The priority for non-homeless persons with special needs is supportive services for the elderly and disabled.
These priorities include public facility improvements (youth center), infrastructure improvements (sidewalks), accessibility improvements to city owned buildings, and the support of public service operations and safety improvements in low-income areas.
The causes of poverty on the surface appear simple, people are poor because they lack resources. Yet neither the causes of, nor the solutions to poverty are simple. The structure of local government has a role in assisting people out of poverty but they are just one player in the field of many.
The city of Ashland provides funding for economic development, social service provision, and Community Development Block Grant eligible activities. For example, the city dedicates transient occupancy tax funds to economic development. The bulk of these funds go to enhance and support businesses whose emphasis is tourism. The city also dedicates general fund dollars to assist social service agencies. These agencies provide services to the extremely low-, low-, and moderate-income residents of Ashland. These service agencies, primarily located in Medford, include Crisis Intervention Services, the Community Health Center, Interfaith Community Care of Ashland and others. Finally, the city, as a CDBG entitlement community, has access to a stream of funding specifically designated for low- and moderate-income persons. For the past two years these funds have been used to increase services to homeless households and homeless and at-risk youth.
While the city may receive random Federal grants, the primary Federal resource received is the Community Development Block Grant. In addition the city has established a modest Housing Trust Fund which will be used to operate various housing and community development programs. Private programs include local lending institutions' affordable housing programs and a wide range of nonprofit initiatives.
The city of Ashland is responsible for the Consolidated Plan activities, but a variety of private nonprofit organizations are involved in carrying out plan components. For example, nonprofit organizations will be the providers of service for low-income and homeless households.
The Consolidated Plan acknowledges that there are very few theoretical gaps
in the delivery of housing and service for extremely low- and low-income
households. The Rogue Valley has competent nonprofit agencies with the capacity
to provide for the continuum of housing and the services necessary to move
households from homelessness to stability. The gap that exists is primarily
caused by a lack of resources. The gap created by lack of resources is most
apparent in the delivery of emergency and transitional housing in Ashland and
the Rogue Valley. The nonprofit housing and service agencies can bridge this
gap by finding funding for renovation, and the acquisition of property. The city
will assist in bridging this gap through encouragement and technical assistance
support.
The city of Ashland One-Year Action Plan outlines the proposed use of approximately $237,000 in CDBG funds. These funds will be spent on the following:
The sidewalk improvements will be completed in the three census tracts designated by HUD to be low- and moderate income. The site for the homeless service center is unknown at this time.
The lead agencies for carrying out the One-Year Action Plan include the city of Ashland which will facilitate the construction of the sidewalks and the accessibility improvements to city owned buildings, the Housing Commission responsible for facilitation of the acquisition of vacant property for infill housing development, and the Interfaith Care Community of Ashland who currently provides homeless services which will be enhanced with funding for staffing and for the acquisition of a new facility.
Ashland's housing goal for the first year is to provide funds to buy-down the cost of vacant land and facilitate the construction of two houses for low-income households.
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; in addition, a table depicts information about the project(s).
MAP 6 depicts Neighborhood Segments and proposed HUD funded projects.
