Shelby County is in the southwestern corner of Tennessee, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. The county's southern line is the Tennessee border with Mississippi. Shelby County has a population of 215,993, not including the city of Memphis which is within the county. Tennessee became a State in 1796, and Memphis has long been the commercial center of western Tennessee. It was an important river port and trading center, and the easiest crossing place from Tennessee to the west shore of the Mississippi. A cluster of rail and highway bridges are still the favored surface route west from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia to Little Rock, Arkansas, and Texas beyond. Shelby County contains the bedroom suburbs of Memphis. Millington, a city in Shelby County, is the site of Memphis Naval Air Station where, for over 50 years, the U.S. Navy has trained its aviation technicians.
In its Consolidated Plan, Shelby County describes its housing and community development needs and priorities, and a 3-year strategy for addressing these needs using Federal and other resources. For the first year of the plan, Shelby County is requesting $1,634,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and $500,000 in HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding. This money will be used to finance the seven housing and community development activities.
For fiscal year 1995, Shelby County also received an award of $6 million from the Federal Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program, which will be used for a lead hazard education and abatement efforts outside the scope of this Consolidated Plan.
Four public meetings were held prior to the completion of the Consolidated Plan. The plan was briefly summarized in the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, with copies of the plan made available in the main library and other branches outside of Memphis. A public hearing was held on May 2, 1995.
In addition to this citizen participation, Shelby County reports to a consortium of six municipalities located in the county but outside of Memphis. Each of these municipalities also received input from their citizens.
Shelby County, outside of the city of Memphis, is predominantly made up of bedroom communities. During the 1980s, the county's population outside of Memphis increased by 65 percent, to 215,993. (Note: From this point on, any statistical reference to Shelby County will not refer to that portion of the county within the city of Memphis, unless specifically stated.) During the same 1980-1990 period, Memphis' population decreased by 5.6 percent. In Memphis, the white population decreased by 19.5 percent, as the African American population increased by 8.8 percent. There was a situation of flight from the inner-city into the suburban county.
The 1990 census showed Shelby County's population to be 86 percent white, 12 percent African American, and 2 percent other.
In the county, the 1990 median per capita income was $13,330. For an African American individual the per capita income was $7,262, while for a white it was $18,175, or $10,913 higher. In Memphis, the income situation was similar, with white per-capita income $10,587 higher than that for African Americans.
In 1990 unemployment in Shelby County was 3.4 percent, markedly lower than the 8.8 percent unemployment rate inside Memphis.
Of the 73,905 households in Shelby County, 17,434 (17.6 percent) had annual incomes of 80 percent or less of area median family income (MFI). Census data show the following levels of low- and moderate-income households:
The primary housing needs in Shelby County are:
In Shelby County the 1990 census counted 53,741 occupied housing units, 20,001 by renters and 53,741 by owners. From 1980 to 1990 outside of Memphis, the number of housing units increased by 89 percent. This was 90 percent of all housing construction in the entire county, including Memphis.
In the city of Memphis the median value of owner-occupied units is $55,700. For the county as a whole, including Memphis, the median is $66,500. This median is $16,500 above the affordable level for lower-income households.
Only 9 percent of the owner-occupied housing units were owned by African Americans, according to the 1990 census. Of rental units, 14 percent were African American-occupied. When coupled with the per-capita income discrepancy between whites and African Americans, it seems that Shelby County's African American population is less likely to possess the economic means to purchase or rent housing in the county.
However, ownership increases among both African American and white population segments may indicate a trend for upper-income African Americans to move out of the inner city as their income increases. This trend will be analyzed with future census data.
A large proportion of lower-income households are cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their gross income for their housing, including utilities. Some are severely cost-burdened, paying more than 50 percent of their income for housing expenses.
Of Shelby County's 3,507 extremely low-income (0-30 percent MFI) renter households, 74 percent are cost-burdened and 59 percent severely cost-burdened. Of 3,090 very low-income (31-50 percent MFI) renter households, 67 percent are cost-burdened, with 37 percent severely cost-burdened. Percentages with excess burden decrease with increasing income, but even among moderate-income households (81 to 95 percent MFI) 36 percent are cost burdened.
All of the homeless facilities and services in the area are in Memphis. In previous years, Shelby County's Department of Housing maintained that homelessness did not exist, in a documentable form, outside the city of Memphis. Under the Consolidated Plan, Shelby County carried out a specific effort to identify threatened homelessness as a homeless category. The county contracted with the University of Memphis for a study undertaken by the department of political science's public administration group.
The study found that there is a population threatened with homelessness in Shelby County, but it is smaller and more difficult to identify than the same population within the city of Memphis. This population can be divided into two groups, the near-threatened homeless and the threatened homeless.
Near-threatened homeless are individuals in an immediate crisis situation which could result in actual homelessness within a relatively short period. Threatened homeless are those where problems are not yet in a crisis state, and the threat is longer-term. The near-threatened group is smaller, but persons in this classification may be moving in and out of actual homelessness over the course of a year.
The study suggested that ample data exists to support the development of a threatened homeless database for Shelby County. The database, developed with the help of providers of services to this population, would be useful in the allocation of resources for homeless activities.
There are two housing authorities outside of Memphis. The Shelby County Housing Authority (SCHA) owns and manages 175 units in two public housing complexes. An 89-unit complex in the city of Millington is managed by the Millington Housing Authority (MHA).
SCHA developed a Comprehensive Plan for Modernization in 1992, but has not yet complied with the Section 504 accessibility standard. After missing a July 1993 deadline for accessibility retrofitting of 13 units, SCHA was named a "troubled housing authority" by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The MHA has applied for HUD public housing improvement funds to renovate 42 of its 89 units in 1995. There are currently 320 individuals on MHA's waiting list for public housing.
All Section 8 rental assistance vouchers used in Shelby County are administered through the Memphis Housing Authority, over which the county Department of Housing has no control or authority.
The biggest obstacle to new affordable housing in Shelby County is the cost of buildable land. Lending institutions, the Home Builders Association of Memphis, and appraisers all agree that an affordable house ($45,000 to $50,000) is very difficult to build when the minimum cost of a lot is $16,500 and the final cost of the house averages four times the cost of a lot.
Preliminary to developing a fair housing plan, Shelby County contracted with the University of Memphis to analyze impediments to fair housing in the county. The analysis considered areas such as the sale or rental of housing, real estate brokerage services, availability of financing assistance, and community development policies which might affect the opportunity for minority families to select housing outside neighborhoods with concentrations of minority households. No evidence of impediments to fair housing choice were found. According to the information available, persons of similar income levels have the same housing choices available to them regardless of race, sex, handicap, or familial status.
Memphis and Shelby County together have 81,800 children less than 6 years old, and an estimated 144,814 housing units old enough to contain lead-based paint. The county applied for and received a $6 million award from the Federal Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program. The Shelby County Department of Housing will be the lead agency for lead-hazard education and abatement activities both in Memphis and in the county outside of Memphis. The Memphis and Shelby County Health Department is also in the first year of a 3-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes an outreach program in targeted neighborhoods, to screen both housing for lead-based paint hazards and children for high blood lead levels.
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 the needs of each group are similar for affordable and accessible housing, differing somewhat in the mix of appropriate supportive services.
An estimated 5,782 persons above the age of 16 (4 percent of this population) are considered to have a "mobility or self-care limitations." On a first-come first-served basis, the county Department of Housing rehabilitates housing units of lower-income, qualified households where a family member is physically disabled. For fiscal year 1995, Shelby County rehabilitated 10 houses for the disabled.
There are numerous community development needs in the county. Each year for its CDBG allocations, Shelby County and its Urban County Consortium consider projects proposed by the county's municipalities to meet these needs. Community development needs include infrastructure improvements, improvements or additions to public facilities, and compliance with handicapped accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Shelby County's objectives include:
The highest housing priority is the county's housing rehabilitation program. In combination with various matching funds, rehabilitation targets will include houses of the elderly and handicapped, lead abatement, and single-family owner-occupied homes. Applicants will be screened on both family size and household income, to ensure they are capable of making loan repayments. The county plans to renovate 45 housing units in fiscal year 1996.
Highest priority is given to improvements to the infrastructure of lower-income census tracts or block groups in the six participating consortium municipalities. Medium priority is assigned to additions to public facilities, such as new fire engines purchased in the past for Arlington and Millington. This year, a priority of this type is a new fire engine for Fire Station #7, in an unincorporated part of the county.
For 1997, priorities will include phase three of Collierville's street improvement project, and phase two of Arlington's street improvements. Millington will request funds to complete construction of two new ball fields, to construct a public basketball court, and build a park pavilion with restrooms.
For 1998, expected priorities will include funding of engineering and design for streets in Collierville. Bartlett and Germantown will continue to upgrade existing parks. Arlington would construct a new water tower to serve both the community and a light industrial park.
Millington anticipates the need for economic development assistance related to the realignment of the Naval Air Station there. This may include the conversion of the naval airfield to commercial use.
Another priority is the identification of all historic structures and districts in Shelby County for planning purposes. The intent is to eliminate, in the future, another layer of review for rehabilitation jobs and community development projects. Instead of waiting for responses from the State historical preservation office, county planners will be able to refer to a list of pertinent historic or archeological locations. Shelby County has contracted with Memphis Heritage to undertake an historic survey, for completion in 1996.
Based upon the 1990 census, an estimated 4.9 percent of Shelby County's residents are considered to be below the poverty level. Because poverty an income-based statistic (not a standard-of-living statistic), however, Shelby County does not have a program to reduce poverty. One possible program, HOPE III, operates only within the city of Memphis. Components of HOPE III include counseling and first-time homeownership assistance, to help households break the cycle of poverty. The Department of Housing intends to apply for another HOPE III grant in 1996, on a county-wide basis with United Way of the Mid-South as a partner.
To carry out housing and community development needs, funds will be received from these sources--CDBG, HOME, Tennessee Housing Development Agency HOUSE program, Lead-Based Paint Abatement Program, and the Tennessee Historical Commission.
The Shelby County Department of Housing (SCDH) is the designated lead agency for the coordination and implementation of the Consolidated Plan. It works closely with the six municipalities within its jurisdiction: Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, and Millington. To better coordinate the development of a Consolidated Plan and to foster neutrality and impartiality, SCDH set up the Urban County Consortium. Meetings are held bimonthly or more often if needed. Municipalities are represented on the consortium by mayors of the participating jurisdictions. The consortium determines by vote which proposed CDBG projects will be included in the plan for the coming fiscal year.
The working relationship within the consortium allows for coordinated expenditure of available CDBG funds each year. The county takes advantage of this by funding engineering and design work for one or two municipalities while providing funds for the actual construction phase for another municipality or two. Engineering and design phases are much less expensive than construction. Consortium governments cooperatively alternate their project phases to fund their projects in a realistic manner, with a seamless transition and without undue project lag time, from one fiscal year to the next.
For fiscal year 1996, Shelby County plans to use $2,134,000 in CDBG, HOME, and program income funds for seven projects to address specific housing, and community development needs.
CDBG and HOME allocations include:
Shelby County's Federal Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Program award of $6 million will be utilized countywide, including within the city of Memphis. Additional matching funds of over $2 million will come from the county's HUD CDBG, HOME, and Tennessee HOUSE grants, from Memphis and Shelby County Health Departments, a Federal Centers for Disease Control grant, and in-kind contributions from Memphis and Shelby County. A total of $7,864,393 (after administrative costs) will be used to test members of lower-income households for excessive blood-lead levels, to educate homeowners on lead hazards, and to abate or reduce lead-based paint problems in their housing units.
Housing activities included in this year's Action Plan are expected to result in 60 rehabilitated housing units.
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 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).
Maggie Conway, Administrator
Shelby County Housing and Real Estate
1075 Mullins Station Road
Memphis, Tennessee 38134
Phone: 901-576-4578
Fax: 901-576-3719
