The municipality of Fajardo is on the east coast of Puerto Rico. It faces the deep water Vieques Passage between Puerto Rico and the offshore island of Vieques. From the harbor of Fajardo Pueblo (Fajardo Ward, the town and population center), high-speed boats ferry passengers to Vieques and Culebra islands. According to the 1990 census, the municipality's population was 36,882.

Action Plan

In its Consolidated Plan Fajardo describes its housing and community development needs and priorities, as well as a 5-year strategy for addressing these needs using Federal and other resources. For the first year of the plan, Fajardo is requesting $1.5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to finance six housing, community development, and service activities planned for Fiscal Year 1995.

Outside the scope of this Consolidated Plan, the municipality, as a subrecipient through the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, is applying for $200,000 from the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME). Also as a subrecipient, Fajardo has applied for $200,000 in Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds through the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, the primary grantee in Puerto Rico and, through the Municipality of San Juan, the designated recipient, $16,200 from the Housing for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program.

Citizen Participation

Community participation in developing the Consolidated Plan included three public hearings to discuss the scope of the plan and to accept comments from citizens. Notification of these meeting was published in the newspapers El Nuevo Dia and El Horizonte and was given by loudspeaker on the municipality's main streets and over a local radio station.

A draft of the proposed Consolidated Plan was made available to the public for review and comment during a 30-day period prior to the submission of the plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on May 15, 1995.

COMMUNITY PROFILE

In 1990 Fajardo's population was 36,882, a 14.9 percent increase over its 1980 population of 32,087. The municipality is the 10th largest of Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities.

About half of the population lives in Fajardo Pueblo (Ward), the commercial and service center, with the remainder living in eight other wards. The second largest, Quebrada Fajardo, has 10,372 people.

The median household income for the area is $9,465. The median family income (MFI) for Fajardo is $10,843.

The Mayor's Office of Fajardo reports the following levels of low- and moderate-income households:

• Extremely low-income -- 61 percent (6,993 households).
• Low-income -- 19 percent (2,219 households).
• Moderate-income -- 14 percent (1,619 households).

Conditions

Growth during the 1980s increased the need for safe and standard housing, especially among very low-, low-, and moderate-income families. Population expansion has also necessitated a corresponding expansion and improvement of Fajardo's infrastructure.

Housing Needs

An estimated 2,162 additional housing units are needed to accommodate the increasing population; another 555 units are required to replace substandard housing that is unfit for rehabilitation.

Market Conditions

Fajardo's housing stock totaled 13,864 year-round units, according to the 1990 Census. Of the 11,536 occupied units, renters lived in 2,931 (25 percent) and homeowners in 8,605 (75 percent). About 27 percent of the 2,328 vacant units were not primary homes. Many of those were located in two wards considered recreation or vacation areas: Sardinera had 275 seasonal, recreational, or occasional-use units, and Cabeza had 250. Of the available vacant units, 258 were for rent, and 167 were for sale.

Monthly rents generally range between $400 and $750.

Local real estate companies report an inventory of 40 housing units for sale. About 27 percent of these are priced between $76,000 and $85,000, and 25 percent are priced at $106,000 or more. Only 7 percent of these units are between $55,000 and $65,000.

In 1994, Fajardo was designated as part of a "tourism" zone that includes the municipalities of Luquillo and Rio Grande. This designation and the reopening of the luxury "El Conquistador" resort have triggered a surge in Fajardo's economy and contributed to increasing property values.

Newly constructed units are becoming expensive and prohibitive for low- and moderate-income families. For example, Plaza Puerto del Rey, a new housing community, has an average sale price of $227,500, and Las Casitas Village, a similar development, has an average sales price of $284,000.

Homeless Needs

Information on the existing homeless population in Fajardo and the vicinity was obtained from the Fajardo Region Mental Health Clinic (which was closed in April 1995). The center had a specialized program for the homeless.

According to the clinic, whose information was validated by other agencies, 11 men, 1 woman and her 2 children, and 3 individual women were homeless. All were unsheltered; at night they slept in the city plaza, on beaches, and in abandoned buildings. There are no emergency homeless shelters in the municipality.

All but 2 of the homeless persons have special needs: 11 are severely mentally ill; 1 is a substance abuser only, and 3 are severely mentally ill and are substance abusers.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

Fajardo's four public housing communities have 485 units. They are managed by private agents under contract to the Puerto Rico Department of Housing.

Another four housing communities assisted under other Federal programs have 422 units:

• Two Section 202 housing communities for the elderly have a total of 120 units.
• A Farmers Home Administration Section 515 community has 150 units.
• Multifamily Section 8 housing has 152 units.

Very low- and low-income families need much housing assistance. The waiting list for Section 8 rental assistance has 552 applicants, and another 234 applicants are on waiting lists for 8 public and assisted housing communities.

Lead-Based Paint

The Puerto Rico Department of Housing completed an inspection and analysis of lead-based paint hazards in Fajardo's public housing communities built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned for residential use. The inspections found two public housing communities that tested positive for lead-based paint. At the Puerto Real community, tests were positive in all 43 units sampled. At Pedro Rosario Nieves, only the stairs area tested positive.

Other Issues

There are also housing and supportive needs for the elderly, mentally disabled, mentally ill, physically disabled, substance abusers, and victims of domestic violence. In general, each group requires affordable and accessible housing, differing from the others only in which supportive services it needs.

Community Development Needs

Fajardo's primary nonhousing community development needs are:

• Deteriorated areas. The buildings in these areas show accelerated deterioration of their infrastructure, appearance, and condition. The City Core is a deteriorated area that is also susceptible to flooding. Many buildings, including Barcelo school (to be converted into a museum), the City Hall, the Municipal Library, and the Puerto Rico Theater, need rehabilitation or improvements. Appearance would be improved by replacing overhead electrical service with an underground system.
• Isolated communities. These have social, economic, and physical disadvantages. Four wards have average per capita incomes below that of the municipality's median of $4,148. These are Naranjo Barrio ($779), Rio Arriba Barrio ($2,661), Florencio Barrio ($2,846), and Fajardo Barrio-Pueblo ($3,835).

• Mansion del Sapo, in Pueblo Barrio, is located in a flood area; residents could be relocated to other housing. Paraiso, in Rio Arriba, needs improved infrastructure such as streets, gutters, and curbs.
• Economic development. The City Core's commercial area is having serious difficulties. Local small businesses (microenterprises) have been hurt by four commercial centers on the periphery of the municipality. The competition in these centers includes Wal Mart, K-Mart, Walgreen, and Xtra Pueblo stores.

Housing Priorities

Fajardo's housing priorities for the 5-year term of the Consolidated Plan are to:

• Relocate 200 very low-income homeowners of Mansion del Sapo, Pueblo Barrio, which is a flood area.
• Provide about 190 small low- and moderate-income families with rental assistance.
• Provide about 112 low- and moderate-income families, who now rent in substandard or overcrowded housing, with the opportunity to buy affordable housing units.
• Provide about 35 low- and moderate-income families, now owners of substandard or overcrowded housing, with the opportunity to buy new affordable units.
• Provide housing assistance to 93 persons with AIDS and their families.
• Provide housing rehabilitation assistance to 10 owners and 10 renters citywide.
• Provide housing rehabilitation assistance to 18 to 20 very low- and moderate-income homeowners living in substandard housing.
• Prepare an assessment of homeless persons and handicapped persons in need of supportive housing and other assistance.
• Establish a center to serve the homeless persons who were assisted by the regional Mental Health Clinic until it was closed in April 1995.

Nonhousing Community Development Priorities

Nonhousing priorities for community development include:

• Improving the City Core's infrastructure to stimulate the economic environment for its 264 commercial establishments.
• Affiliating with the Federal National Main Street Organization for community development planning.
• Constructing new parking facilities and improving transportation in the City Core. (The Federal Transit Administration has approved funds for a public transportation terminal.)
• Constructing two dikes on the Rio Fajardo for flood protection.
• Rehabilitating four publicly owned properties in the City Core and moving the electrical system underground.
• Conserving five structures in the City Core that are of historical, cultural, or architectural interest.
• Improving access to the industrial area in Pueblo Barrio and encouraging the establishment of eight new industries.
• Creating an organization to promote the revitalization of the City Core's commercial area.
• Establishing a regional Court of Justice in the City Core.
• Establishing new traffic control and parking regulations for the City Core.
• Constructing an access bridge to provide safe access from the public transportation center and the Government Center.
• Improving sewer facilities near PR-195 and Union Street in the City Core.
• Providing educational support for about 20 parents of children enrolled in the Head Start program.
• Developing a land use plan for the Consortium of Luquillo, Rio Grande, and Fajardo municipalities.
• Constructing a new fire station.
• Improving the water systems in the northeast region to support tourist development efforts.

Antipoverty Strategy

Fajardo will concentrate its antipoverty efforts on the isolated communities of Mansion del Sopa, Paraiso, and Maternillo. The strategy includes:

• Education. Use Head Start program resources to provide educational, nutritional, social, health, and other services to children and their parents.
• Employment. Provide disadvantaged youth and adults with on-the-job training to integrate them into the general employment market.
• Health. Provide individuals and families below the poverty level with health services from the Commonwealth Health Reform program.

Housing and Community Development Resources

The resources to carry out the 5-year plan include the $1.5 million in CDBG funds to be received this year. It is anticipated that similar levels of HUD support for community development and housing activities will be available to Fajardo during the remaining 4 years of the strategic plan. The municipality also plans to use assistance from a variety of Federal, State, and other sources.

Coordination of the Strategic Plan

The municipality of Fajardo is the lead agency of the East Consortium, in which it is a partner with Luquillo and Rio Grande. The East Consortium has been assigned Commonwealth funding to prepare the regional land-use plan required by the Municipal Reform Act of 1991.

Description of Key Projects

For the program year 1995-1996, Fajardo plans to use $1.5 million in funds to address specific housing and community development needs. These include:

• $513,411 for a new pedestrian walkway in the City Core to provide access to the new Cane Museum and the area's 264 small businesses.
• $95,085 for an extension of Barcelo Street to improve vehicular access to the City Core and its businesses.
• $553,904 for a scheduled payment on a Section 108 community development loan.
• $45,000 for development planning.

Locations

Most of the CDBG funds this year are allotted to projects directed at revitalization of the City Core, in Pueblo Barrio/Ward.

Maps

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.

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 project(s) from a street level vantage point; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).