Wilkes-Barre is an industrial city in northeastern Pennsylvania. The seat of Luzerne County, the city is located on the Susquehanna River, 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia. According to the 1990 census, its population was 47,253. Wilkes-Barre was settled in 1769 and during the Revolutionary War was a frontier town burned by the British. The Wyoming Valley area, where Wilkes-Barre is located, was claimed by both Pennsylvania and Connecticut, which led to the Pennamite-Yankee War. After the U.S. Congress favored Pennsylvania's claim to the region, Connecticut settlers burned Wilkes-Barre for the second time in 1784. The Wyoming Valley held the largest anthracite coal field in the United States. Now the city manufactures a variety of products including clothing, metal products, electronics, perfume, and leather goods.
Wilkes-Barre's Consolidated Plan describes housing and community development needs and priorities, and establishes a comprehensive 5-year strategy for addressing these needs using Federal and other resources. For the first year of the plan, Wilkes-Barre is requesting $2,475,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and $66,000 in Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds. This money will be used to finance the 48 housing and community development projects planned for fiscal year 1995-1996.
Wilkes-Barre is following a Citizen Participation Plan that encourages citizen participation in the planning process and provides citizens with access to local meetings, information, and records related to proposed use of funds.
A public hearing was held on September 12, 1994, to allow city residents to present their views. The 5-year comprehensive plan was made available for public review from November 5, 1994, and comments on the plan were accepted until December 7, 1994.
Wilkes-Barre is an older city with a declining population and an aging housing stock. The population was 47,253 in 1990, down 25.6 percent from the 63,551 residents counted in 1960. The city's minority population is very small. In 1990 only 1,850 individuals, or 3.9 percent of the total population, were classified as minority. Fully 96 percent (45,673 residents) were white. Racial or ethnic minorities tallied by the 1990 census include the following:
Although the city's minority population is relatively small, it includes a significant portion of the minority population in the county.
There are 9,908 persons aged 65 or over in Wilkes-Barre, or 21 percent of the total population. Children ages 5 through 17 number 6,438, or 14 percent of the population.
Of the 11,642 family households living in Wilkes-Barre, 3,444 (30 percent) are married couples with children, and 1,650 (13 percent) are single-parent households with children. Between 1980 and 1990, there was a significant decline in married couples with children, from 4,211 to 3,444. There was a dramatic increase in single-parent households, from 1,007 to 1,650 (64 percent).
Wilkes-Barre's housing is comparatively older than housing in much of Pennsylvania. About 64 percent of Wilkes-Barre's housing was built before 1940, compared to 50 percent in Luzerne County, and 35 percent for Pennsylvania as a whole.
Median income of the city's residents is significantly below that of the county and State.
Wilkes-Barre's main housing problem is affordability, involving the following three related conditions:
Of Wilkes-Barre's 20,734 year-round housing units counted during the 1990 census, 19,435 were occupied. The tenure mix is 53 percent (10,234 units) owner-occupied and 47 percent (9,201) renter-occupied. The dominant type of housing is single-family (59 percent), with detached homes comprising 75 percent of all single-family housing. Multifamily units, mostly in buildings with 2 to 10 units, number 8,569.
The income of the city's residents is below that of both the region and the State. Median household income in 1990 was $19,525 in the city, $23,600 in the county, and $29,079 in all of Pennsylvania. About 15 percent of the city's 1990 population had incomes below the poverty level. Of the 6,924 below poverty level, whites made up about 92 percent. However, more than one-fourth of the minority population had incomes below poverty level.
The median "contract rent" (the asking price for a unit, regardless of whether utilities are included or not) in Wilkes-Barre in 1990 was $259. The median gross rent (including utilities) was $317.
The median value of owner-occupied housing according to the 1990 census was $44,200, compared to $56,000 for Luzerne County and $69,700 statewide. Local real estate professionals indicate that demand exceeds the supply of housing both at the lowest price levels ($15,000 to $30,000) and moderate levels ($50,000 to $80,000) in Luzerne County. Most new construction is priced at the high end, between $100,000 and $150,000.
There is a need for rehabilitation of existing housing; 2,445 rental units and 1,485 owner-occupied units are in substandard condition. There is a need to provide rental assistance for the estimated 1,413 "cost-burdened" renter households whose housing expenses exceed 30 percent of their income (this includes 464 "severely cost-burdened" households paying more than 50 percent of income).
At one point, a count identified 96 homeless individuals in Wilkes-Barre, 89 adults and 7 youths (17 years of age or younger). Of these, all but 9 adults were in emergency shelters. Major problems of this population, and the percentages with special needs related to these problems are:
Homelessness in Luzerne County is a larger problem. The county's Commission of Economic Opportunity reports that case management services to the homeless included 1,029 cases: 1,651 individuals and 462 children under 18 in 1990.
Wilkes-Barre identifies the following as its homeless needs:
The Wilkes-Barre Housing Authority operates 899 public housing units and administers a Section 8 rental assistance program with 537 certificates and vouchers.
Four of the authority's public housing projects, with 609 units, are for the elderly. Three projects are family housing with 290 units. Funds to maintain and improve these projects come from the Wilkes-Barre Housing Authority's operating revenues and modernization funds from HUD's Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program and Comprehensive Grant Program. (HUD programs for public housing are separate from CDBG funding, though some CDBG-funded social service programs will also benefit public housing residents.)
As of June 1994, there were 408 applicants on the waiting list for Section 8 rental assistance and 176 on the waiting list for public housing.
In general, the city's existing land-use regulations have promoted affordable housing. However, the following changes in zoning regulations would help eliminate some remaining barriers to affordable housing:
Fair and equal housing within Wilkes-Barre is an economic issue rather than a racial issue. The city's relatively small minority population is dispersed fairly evenly throughout the city, with minority residents found in all 16 census tracts. There is no evidence that discriminatory practices, as opposed to economic limitations, preclude a person's choice of housing type and location. Limitations on income impact upon the housing choices of all persons regardless of race or ethnic background.
Wilkes-Barre depends upon the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission's expertise and staffing for investigation of fair housing complaints.
All of the city's housing rehabilitation programs include lead-based paint (LBP) hazard elimination guidelines and activities. Wilkes-Barre's housing code lists defective, chewable paint surfaces as violations that must be corrected. The Northern Pennsylvania Vector Control Association provides lead-testing services to the city. When elevated lead-blood levels are reported in children under 7 years of age, the residence is tested for LBP-related hazards. Because it generates lead-containing dust, renovation work in older housing, including sanding and painting by family members, represents the period of greatest exposure to LBP hazards for children.
The city's action needs related to LBP hazards include the following:
There are also housing and supportive needs for the elderly, mentally disabled, and physically disabled. In general, the needs of each group are similar, for affordable and accessible housing with appropriate support services. For the elderly and physically disabled, needs include housing that can accommodate persons using mobility aids such as wheelchairs and walkers.
For the mentally and physically disabled, there is a need for an expanding supply of appropriate housing and services that lasts a lifetime. Currently, the limited supply of supportive housing creates a "bottleneck" in the system, preventing new persons from entering because it is unfeasible for those already served to leave.
The major community development needs are for rehabilitation and modernization of public facilities and infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks, sewers, and water lines. There is a need, too, for a citywide demolition program to demolish and clear vacant and deteriorated buildings that are blighting influences in neighborhoods.
The city's goals cited in the strategic plan are to:
The highest housing priorities for 1995 to 1999 are to ease the housing cost burden of 2,575 very low-income and 2,930 elderly households (those with incomes of 30 percent or less of the area median income); and to assist 210 elderly, very low-income households with rehabilitation to eliminate physical defects in their housing.
For the homeless the highest priority is outreach assessment of homeless families and families threatened with homelessness.
The projected cost of addressing Wilkes-Barre's community development priorities from 1995 to 1999 is $12.9 million. By category, over 5 years, these include the following:
About 20 percent (6,924 persons) of Wilkes-Barre's population have below-poverty-level incomes. The per-capita income in the city is $10,513, well below Pennsylvania's per-capita of $14,068.
Basic elements of the antipoverty strategy are to:
The city estimates that $15,447,135 will be available for housing and community development activities from 1995 to 1999, although identified needs could cost $44.8 million.
Wilkes-Barre's Community Development Bureau is taking the leadership role in developing this plan. The bureau administers all Federal programs including CDBG and ESG programs. The city of Wilkes-Barre, together with Luzerne County and the cities of Hazelton and Pittston, formed the Luzerne County Consortium to identify critical housing issues and needs for the area.
During the planning stages of the Consolidated Plan, the Community Development Bureau contacted all known providers of housing and support services to identify needs of various special populations for incorporation into the plan. The bureau works closely with the Wilkes-Barre Housing Authority to identify the community needs of public housing residents. To address homeownership needs, the city has the assistance of the Housing Development Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. To identify the needs of the homeless, the city enlisted the services of several nonprofit homeless shelter providers, including VISION, Inc., the Commission on Economic Opportunity, Project Remain, and the Domestic Violence Service Center.
During 1995 Wilkes-Barre plans to use its CDBG entitlement of $2.5 million and $66 thousand in ESG funds on housing, community development, and public services efforts. Important CDBG allocations to improve the city's stock of low- to moderate-income housing include the following:
Significant sums budgeted for community development activities are:
Funds allocated to public agencies and nonprofit organizations providing services to lower income residents include:
The city's one-year action plan includes $165,000 for the Wilkes-Barre Community Development Corporation (WBCDC) for continuing economic development work.
For planning functions, $104,000 is allocated, including the following:
The major items budgeted under the city's Emergency Shelter Grant are 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, 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).
