The 1995 Consolidated Plan coordinates the activities of the City of Greenville's community development activities with those of other public agencies, private non-profit affordable housing providers and non-housing service providers. Efforts will be concentrated in the City's revitalization target areas located in the Viola Street, Southernside, Greenline-Spartanburg, Green Avenue, Dean-Sullivan, West Greenville, Woodland-Pearce and Pleasant Valley neighborhoods. Both housing and non-housing needs are addressed in the Consolidated Plan using various funding sources, including Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds, allocated by the federal government.
Included in the plan is a five year strategy, and a One Year Action Plan to address the various goals and objectives residents of the various target neighborhoods identified. These goals and objectives were identified and developed through a series of community planning strategy meetings, based on the guidelines of the City's Citizen Participation Plan. Specific goals and objectives identified by the residents fall into two main categories. These include providing decent and affordable housing; and providing non-housing needs such as a suitable living environment, and expanding economic development opportunities for all persons.
The 1995 Action Plan for Greenville outlines the investment of $2,005,661 in HOME and CDBG funding for various projects which were developed to respond to priority needs identified in the City's Housing and Community Development Needs Assessment.
Since completion of the 1994 HUD Enterprise Community application, the City's Community Development and Relations Department has sought to develop a more structured mechanism to achieve the goal of citizen participation in planning, program implementation, and as recipients of funding for projects and programs. In addition to public notices printed in the local newspaper, public announcements were distributed throughout the City in community centers and public facilities. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Target Area neighborhood associations were encouraged to create a Neighborhood Planning Council by identifying 5-7 members of the neighborhood to meet with city staff on an ongoing basis to address neighborhood problems and concerns, participate in the planning process, review community development plans, and to help create proposals to solve neighborhood problems.
Eight neighborhood planning councils were created representing seven CDBG Target Areas. These were: Green Avenue Civic Association, Greenline/Spartanburg Neighborhood Association, Nicholtown Citizens Association, Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association, Southernside Block Partnership, Southernside Neighborhood in Action, Viola Community Association, and Gower Neighborhood Association.
Meetings were held to describe the consolidated planning process with the
Community Development Advisory Board on December 21,1994, and the city-wide
group of Neighborhood Planning Council representatives on December 29, 1994.
Two public meetings of Neighborhood Planning Councils were held, one to identify
needs on January 18, 1995, and a second meeting on February 2, 1995, to
prioritize these city-wide needs by neighborhood and HUD statutory goals. On
February 8, 1993, public hearing announcements on the City's Needs Assessment
for the Consolidated Plan were published and distributed. A special meeting on
homeless needs was held on February 13, 1995, with the Greenville Homeless
Coalition members and agency representatives to identify and prioritize homeless
needs, and the gaps in the Greenville area "Continuum of Care" system
for homeless persons. The public hearing on needs was held on February 22, 1995.
It was well attended by neighborhood residents and organizations. At the
public hearing, residents of two other neighborhoods identified additional needs
for two other areas: the Central Business District, and the Dean Sullivan
area. In general, the public was pleased with the progress that engaged their
participation, and the cooperative atmosphere that was created between City
staff and residents. The 1995 Consolidated Plan was approved by the Greenville
City Council on May 22, 1995.
Greenville, South Carolina, is the central city of South Carolina's most
populous county. It had a population of 58,282 persons, according to the 1990
Census. The City of Greenville makes up 18.2% of the population of Greenville
County which has a population of 320,167. While Greenville County has
experienced an average 10 year growth of approximately 17%, the City of
Greenville's population has shifted some, but has remained about the same over
the past 40 years. Greenville has long enjoyed a reputation as a community with
one of the strongest economies in the entire Southeast Region. Greenville also
has the national reputation of being among the best locations in the country for
business, and the area has realized over $2.5 billion in capital investments
over the past nine years.
There is, however, a side of Greenville where there exists a growing population of persons who have not experienced Greenville's successes. Among these are: those persons living in substandard housing; persons who pay an excessive percentage of their income for housing expenses; persons who desire to become homeowners, but are unable; persons who are homeless; and persons who are in need, but do not receive the supportive services necessary to allow decent housing and the highest level of self-reliance. A steady growth of these problems has been paralleled by a decrease in the amount of public resources available to address them.
Priority housing needs identified within the jurisdiction were: to increase affordable housing opportunity and improve the condition of the existing housing stock by providing for owner and rental rehabilitation in targeted neighborhoods; to increase affordable home ownership opportunities by building new homes for low-and moderate-income home buyers in targeted neighborhoods; to eliminate gaps in the homeless continuum of care system by providing transitional and supportive housing and services for the homeless. Very low income renters experience the highest incidence of housing problems (66%). Very low income owners experience the next highest incidence of housing problems (51%). Excessive cost burdens accounted for 62% of very low renter householder's problems, and 51% of very low income owner householder's problems.
In 1990, there were a total of 26,453 total housing units in the City of Greenville, and 9% of these units were vacant. The total number of occupied units was 24,101, a 10 year increase of 9%. While the number of owner-occupied units has increased in the past decade by 6 %: from 10,647 to 11,278. The growth of owner occupied, in numbers, has not kept pace with the increase in the number of renter occupied units. The percentage of owner- occupied units has been steadily declining for the past two decades to its current level of 47%, while the percentage of renter occupied units has increased to 53% of the total number of occupied units.
The declining percentage of owner-occupied units reflects the need to intensify programmatic efforts to increase homeownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income families. Home ownership, without programmatic aid, is often inaccessible to these households. Currently, there are only about 186 affordable, vacant three or more bedroom units available in the City. This is a problem since affordable units of this size have long been in high demand for low/moderate income families in Greenville. The Greenville Housing Authority's (GHA) waiting list for three-bedroom units exceeds 1,000 persons.
The 1995 survey of homeless service providers in Greenville showed that the number of homeless persons is estimated to have increased 67% from 1993 to 1995. In 1993, 346 persons were counted. In 1995, providers documented 577: an increase of 231 persons. Twenty Nine percent of homeless persons were in families, while 70% were adults not in families. There were 268 unsheltered homeless persons, and 309 served by emergency shelters or transitional housing. The 1993 Comprehensive Homeless Survey of Greenville, S.C. showed that homeless persons in Greenville are most likely to be African-American males between the ages of 31 and 40. The service needs of homeless persons appears to be most often related to substance abuse, employment and financial problems, since 80% of those contacted had these related service needs. The service needs of those with other problems related to domestic violence (35%), HIV/related diseases (25%), and mental illness (20%). This indicates an increased need for supportive services. Other needs expressed by homeless service providers and resident Neighborhood Planning Council representatives were transitional housing, transportation for outreach and intake assessment, supportive housing, job training, vocational rehabilitation and counseling for families, employment, and mental health services.
Currently, there are 1,265 public housing units managed by Greenville Housing Authority (GHA). The largest concentration of units are two-bedroom units which account for one-third of the total public housing units. There are 895 public housing units that are multifamily attached units which account for 70% of the total. Only 274 units are located in high rises. There are no current plans to demolish any public housing units. About 90.6% of the total occupants of public housing are African--Americans and predominately females. About 359 head of households in public housing are elderly persons 62 years of age and older. Another 291 heads of households are either handicapped, disabled or both.
The GHA currently administers 1,446 certificates, vouchers and mod-rehab units under the Section 8 Program. A large proportion of these requests are for two-bedroom units which make up 49.1% of the total number of Section 8 units requested. Most of Greenville's Public Housing Authority's funding goes toward Section 8 Rental Certificates. The largest number of requests have been for two and three-bedroom units making up 59.5% of the total number of units requested. There are 131 elderly, 78 handicapped, and 130 disabled persons on the Section 8 waiting list. According to the Greenville Housing Authority, only 179 of the 2,294 applications received were considered for federal preference, and were immediately eligible for the Section 8 Certificates. Of this total, 149 applicants requested three-bedroom units.
The cost of housing is the primary barrier to developing, improving and maintaining affordable housing for low-and moderate-income households in Greenville. The public policies of taxation, land use controls, zoning, fees and charges, growth limits, and building codes were not found to be barriers to affordable housing in the jurisdiction. The City has sought to change or waive the impact of public policies where such policies function as barriers to affordable housing.
The City of Greenville affirmatively furthers fair housing by receiving and researching alleged discrimination complaints and requests for assistance in compliance with the South Carolina Human Affairs Law, and the Civil Rights Action of 1964 through the Greenville County Human Relations Commission. The City provides the Commission a fair housing counselor who works under these laws to protect an individual's rights in seeking housing, employment and education. The Commission provides education, investigation, counseling and conciliation in community human relations issues, fair housing, employment discrimination, landlord/tenant disputes, substandard housing and police/community relations issues. In 1996, study to analyze impediments to fair housing choice will be undertaken.
There are about 15,812 housing units in the City with potential lead-based paint hazards. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) makes regular and routine lead-based paint inspection visits to foster homes, day care centers, and other programs in conjunction with the Department of Social Services (DSS). SCDHEC also tests both children and adults for elevated blood lead levels. During 1994, of the 1,499 children tested for lead, 112 had elevated levels and 54.5 percent or 61 of those lived in or near the City of Greenville. The City and the Greenville Housing Authority reduces lead-based paint hazards by having children tested for lead poisoning in suspected housing units being rehabilitated and promotes lead-based paint abatement education for clients utilizing its assisted housing programs.
Greenville's priority community development needs are an array of
requirements for improving living environments and economic opportunities for
low and moderate income residents. These include neighborhood based public
facility needs for meetings and youth activities; infrastructure improvements to
streets, sidewalks and storm water drainage systems; public service needs for
improvements to the public transportation system, youth tutorial and
recreational programs, drug abuse treatment, community policing environmental
inspections to eliminate illegal and nuisance businesses; economic opportunities
development for employment and training for youth and adults, business
development and neighborhood commercial services opportunities: adult day care,
child care, home repair and construction, grocery store, laundry services.
These programs and services are needed to help residents develop new skills,
increase employability, neighborhood livability and meet the challenges of today
and the future.
The City's vision for change relative to its housing and community development strategy has the goals of implementing economic development strategies to create a higher probability of prosperity for all citizens, and improving the quality of life for all citizens, with special emphasis on lower income citizens.
The Strategic Plan translates neighborhood priorities into goals, objectives, and strategies for development, improvement and revitalization. The plan has three major objectives: housing improvements, living environment improvements and economic opportunities improvements.
Living Environment Improvement Priorities:
Economic Improvement Priorities:
The City's anti-poverty strategy includes all those actions listed above to reduce the cost burden of affordable housing, provide living environment and economic opportunity improvements. These improvements are listed in the 5-Year Strategic Plan priorities and One- Year Action Plan activities which are designed to assist homeless persons, and persons living in public housing transition to self-sufficiency and homeownership. Programs proposed and funded to support transportation, employment and training activities, and business development listed in these plans will serve to reduce the number of poverty-level families in the jurisdiction. The Greenville Housing Authority, SHARE, Partnership for Families, United Ministries and other agencies also provide life skills training designed to move families toward self-sufficiency. In addition, Within Reach, a Community Development Division program, has an established task force (Economic and Social Deprivation) whose charge is to develop strategies and identify resources to help eliminate poverty with Community Development Target Neighborhoods.
The City of Greenville received Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) totaling $1,813,000. In 1995, the Greenville Urban League received its designation as the jurisdiction's second Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). The agency will be working primarily in the Viola Street Neighborhood, a low and moderate income area, and will match future private funding with HOME and other federal funds. The Greenville Urban League has also provided programs and services to the jurisdiction with its Comprehensive Housing Program in the Viola Street Neighborhood by coordinating donations and volunteer efforts with First Baptist Church, Liberty Life , Piedmont Olsen Hensley and other sources to provide education, employment, life skills and housing opportunities. Greenville Housing Futures, the other designated CHDO, played a major role in providing home ownership and rental opportunities to the residents of the City of Greenville. Greenville Housing Futures, the Federal Home Loan Bank, South Carolina Housing Finance and Development Authority, and local lending institutions provided mortgage funds for projects to house low and moderate income families.
Other agencies such as the Greenville Public Housing Authority expended funds to repair housing units, relocate residents, administrative costs, etc. The Greenville Public Housing Authority also assisted the Community Development Department's neighborhood revitalization efforts by providing Section 8 Rental Certificates to residents of the Echols Street/ Roman Lane Project (Washington Pointe Subdivision), Southernside Neighborhood, during the relocation process.
The Sunbelt Human Advancement Resources Inc., a homeless support provider within the jurisdiction, received Federal funding through the Innovative Homeless Initiatives Demonstration Program for the C.A.R.I.N.G. program. This program provides for homeless outreach, assessment, relocation and emergency housing and individualized supportive services in the jurisdiction and surrounding areas. SHARE Inc., also received funds thorough the Federal Innovative Project Funding program for other homeless supportive services. These additional services include transitional housing, medical, and legal services.
The Community Development and Relations Department of the City of Greenville
administers the CDBG and HOME programs, and is the lead agency for the
Consolidated Plan Application. This role is fulfilled by the Authority of the
City Council of the City, which is a CDBG entitlement jurisdiction. The City
Council, through the Mayor, also appoints commissioners to the Board of
Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the City of Greenville. The Housing
Authority's Board sets policy by which assisted housing programs in the City are
administered. Consultation and contractual arrangements with a network of
government, nonprofit and private agencies assist the City by identifying
needs, and implementing strategies to carry out the Strategic Plan. These
include: Neighborhood Planning Councils of Target Ares, Within Reach, Greenville
County Human Relations Commission, Housing Authority of the City of Greenville,
Greenville County Redevelopment Authority, Greenville Planning Commission,
Greenville County Health Department, United Way, SHARE, Greenville Urban League
and the Appalachian Council of Governments, and the Greenville Homeless
Coalition. Other agencies participating in meetings on homeless needs with the
Community Development Department of the City through the Greenville Homeless
Coalition were: SHARE, Greenville County Human Relations Commission, United
Ministries, Salvation Army, Greenville County Redevelopment Authority,
Southernside Block partnership, Southernside Community Center, Home for New
Beginnings, Stephen's House and the South Carolina Department of Social
Services. Coordination of services for the homeless and special needs
population is an area which needs strengthening. Efforts to eliminate barriers
to affordable housing continues to require innovative approaches and initiatives
within the jurisdiction.
The City's One Year Action Plan proposes the various projects, programs and activities and their funding for the fiscal year. Key activities to be accomplished through CDBG and HOME funding are as follows:
Most of the neighborhood revitalization and public improvements projects listed above are designated for residential areas of five Community Development Target Areas. Public service programs, recommended by the Community Development Advisory Committee, typically receive funds to match and leverage that serve multiple neighborhoods.
The highlights of Greenville's Housing goals are to increase affordable housing opportunities and improve the condition of the existing housing stock by providing owner and rental rehabilitation of 35 housing units; constructing new units for 26 households; providing transitional housing with supportive services for 10 persons.
In target neighborhoods, activities in support of these housing goals include the construction of 5 housing units; acquisition of property for new homes for 18 households; demolition of vacant substandard units to provide new homeownership opportunities for 25 households; relocation of 16 households; providing closing costs, down payments, and other homeownership assistance for 12 households.
Other city-wide activities proposed in support of housing goals are the following: rehabilitation of 10 owner occupied units to remove architectural barriers to accessibility; provision of emergency repairs on 10 housing units for senior citizens; development of 4 rental units for low and moderate income persons; demolition of 10 vacant substandard units where the land will remain vacant; demolition of 8 substandard units where affordable homes for 5 low and moderate income families will be built; acquisition of property for 5 scattered site housing units; provision funds to match private administrative funds of nonprofit housing developers to construct affordable housing for 15 households and rehabilitate homes for 20 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.
MAP 6 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects at street level for one neighborhood; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
