Arlington, located between Fort Worth and Dallas (15 minutes east and west respectively), is also 15 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. This location supports the city's role as entertainment center of Texas and the Southwest. Attractions such as Six Flags Over Texas, other amusement parks, and the Texas Rangers bring more than 6 million visitors to Arlington every year.
The action plan covers the period from July 1, 1995, to June 30, 1996. It anticipates $4,007,879 in funding from Federal resources, including: $3,042,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, $12,879 in reallocated CDBG funds from previous fiscal years, $865,000 in HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) program funds, and $88,000 in Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funding. Additional funding sources include Section 8 Rental Assistance, the Department of Labor's Job Training Partnership Act, and privately awarded and donated funds.
Organizations representing local government, the public and private sectors, and social service and health care agencies drew on their experience to develop the Consolidated Plan. Two public forums and a public hearing provided a opportunities for citizen input. Furthermore, over 600 consolidated plan surveys were sent to citizens, organizations, and key informants. Afterward, a 1-day conference was held for organizations interested in applying for grants.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
In 1990 Arlington, Texas, had a population of 261,763 persons, an increase of more than 60 percent since 1980. Approximately 20 percent of the 1990 population is minority, versus 10 percent of the 1980 population. African Americans and Hispanics each comprise about 8 percent of Arlington's population.
The major employers are the Arlington Independent School District, the University of Texas at Arlington, General Motors, National Semiconductor, Hughes Corporation, and the City of Arlington. Between 1980 and 1990, the median household income for the city increased by 66 percent to $35,048. In 1990 25 percent of all workers were employed in service or retail occupations, compared to 9 percent in 1980. Except for Native American households, minority households have significantly lower incomes. For example, the median income for black households was only 72.5 percent of the overall area median income-- $25,399. For Hispanic households, the differential was even greater, at 70.4 percent of the average.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels. 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.
There were 112,700 housing units in Arlington in 1990. Slightly less than 50 percent of the units were owner-occupied, while 43 percent were renter-occupied, and 5 percent were vacant. The majority of the vacant units were rental units. 40 percent of the community's housing units have been built since January 1980, with less than 10 percent of all owner and renter housing being 30 or more years old.
Low- and moderate-income people have the greatest need for housing assistance. This group includes people below the poverty line as well as retail and service industry employees who could not live and work in the city without assistance.
Overall, 10 percent of all owner households and 16 percent of all renter households live in substandard housing. Among this group, owner and renter minority households have a disproportionately greater need for housing rehabilitation because a higher percentage live in substandard housing.
The median value of owner-occupied units in 1990 was $82,800, a 25-percent increase over the 1980 median value. However, in 1990 nearly 10,000 homes had values or prices below $60,000.
Similarly, the median rent in 1990 was $444, a 54-percent increase over the 1980 median rent. A slowing construction rate for multifamily units, coupled with an increased demand for rental units, was largely responsible for the increase in median rent. However, a sufficient number of rental units can be absorbed by population growth without significantly affecting rent levels.
In 1990, 8 percent of Arlington's population lived below the poverty level, compared to 6 percent in 1980.
There was a significant need for rental assistance for extremely low-income families and a notable need for affordable rental units for moderate-income families. Housing needs for extremely low-income families could be met with Section 8 rental assistance. Likewise, a State tax credit program could be used to maintain an adequate number of rental units for moderate-income families.
Currently, a sufficient number of affordable units are available to homeowners who could qualify for the city's low-income homebuyer's assistance program. However, since 1980 substantially fewer homes were built for those earning 0-50 percent of the median family income (1,389 houses) than for those earning 51-80 percent of the median family income (7,997 houses).
On any given day, 300 or more sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons can be found in the city. The five area shelters are frequently filled to capacity. Although approximately 73 percent of the homeless are male, shelter facilities have noticed a significant increase in the number of women and children requesting their services. The majority of homeless youth are teenage runaways, totaling approximately 1,000 per year. Currently, Arlington does not have a shelter to serve this population.
Presently, persons with severe mental illness have a limited number of housing choices. Group homes offering 24-hour care are needed for those mentally ill persons who are residing in homeless shelters but do not need institutionalization.
Furthermore, Arlington needs a detoxification site to address the needs of unsheltered substance abusers.
Although Arlington does not have public housing, the Arlington Housing Authority (AHA) has an annual budget of approximately $11,000,000, which can be used to provide rental assistance to families. Currently, these funds support the Section 8 Existing Certificate Program, Housing Voucher Program, and Moderate Rehabilitation Program. The waiting list for rental assistance contains over 4,000 households, many of whom must wait up to 48 months before receiving assistance.
Within Arlington, the following barriers to homeownership exist:
The city of Arlington will continue to engage in activities that affirmatively advance fair housing. The city's fair housing officer is responsible for the implementing and complying with the Fair Housing Ordinance. A fair housing study is scheduled to be completed by February 1996.
Estimates of lead-based paint hazards in the city are based on national standards data. Approximately one-third of all housing units have a potential risk from lead-based paint. However, these figures may be inflated because area builders stopped using lead-based paint in 1979. The Arlington Housing Authority's Inspection Department and the citywide Housing Rehabilitation Program are educating people in an effort to prevent the incidence of lead-based hazards and poisoning.
As of January 1995, 359 cases of AIDS have been reported in Arlington, a 307-percent increase from January 1990. Because an average of 40-50 new cases are reported each year, the number of clients requesting housing assistance is increasing rapidly, outpacing the funds being made available to meet this need. Tenant-based rental assistance can help persons with HIV/AIDS remain self-reliant longer than they could without assistance.
Arlington has approximately 500 elderly persons who would benefit from housing assistance and/or supportive services. The rising number of elderly persons requesting Section 8 rental assistance suggests that their needs are growing. In order to guarantee that the greatest number of people remain in their current housing, some homes will require modifications for handicapped accessibility, smoke detector installation, and minor repairs. The creation of a shared-housing program for persons living alone would not only increase available living space for seniors, but would also improve their quality of life. Representatives from 8 organizations dealing with senior citizens services in Arlington indicated a need for the following services: transportation services, home-delivered and congregate meal programs, errand and chore services, in-home health care and therapy, legal aid, and adult day care.
The list of community development needs was compiled from a survey of 600 government officials and employees, neighborhood and civic groups, churches, private citizens, business institutions, and social service organizations. Various studies were also used to identify and prioritize community development needs. One particular study, the Tarrant County Needs Assessment, asked 1,000 randomly selected households to identify the social, community, and infrastructure issues which affected their lives.
The community development priorities included: public facilities, infrastructure improvements, public service needs, accessibility needs, historic preservation, economic development, and planning.
Housing priorities account for the greatest need, but they are also a tool for planning for the future. Funds invested today will ease later planning and will eventually stabilize living conditions for many of Arlington's residents. Arlington considered the following priorities when developing a strategic plan:
Likewise, Arlington focused on the following priorities when developing a plan of specific community development projects and goals:
The central and eastern sections of the city have suffered particularly from neighborhood disinvestment. Therefore, the majority of projects are targeted to those areas because of their disproportionate needs.
To increase the affordability of homeownership, the city will:
To repair and preserve housing stock, the city will annually provide:
To expand the availability of affordable rental housing, the city will annually provide tenant- based rental assistance to:
To expand transitional shelter units, the city will:
To expand emergency shelter capacity, the city will:
To improve the local continuum of care strategy offered by homeless service providers, the city will:
To increase housing choice and stability for persons with disabilities, the city will provide:
To provide supportive services to persons with HIV/AIDS, the city will, through subrecipients, annually provide:
To increase the independence and housing stability of frail/elderly persons, the city will annually provide:
Within the areas of determined need, Arlington prioritized and ranked community development projects as follows:
If additional funding remains, Arlington will finance infrastructure, accessibility, and historic preservation activities.
Arlington, in partnership with other entities, is involved in various efforts to improve the quality of life of low- and moderate-income residents. These efforts are designed to: create and support programs that increase affordable housing through homeownership; increase available rental assistance and develop special programs administered by the local housing authority; and support a number of nonprofit agencies with grant funds awarded to the city. The city believes that ancillary services will augment housing opportunities by making education, job training, transportation, child care, and health and dental care available for this population.
The Community Development/Housing Office of the city of Arlington is the lead agency for the Consolidated Plan. In order to achieve the stated objectives, its staff will work closely with agencies involved in the completion of projects, including: the Arlington Housing Authority, Tarrant County Employment and Training, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, social service providers, health care agencies, and the private sector agencies. The city believes that its institutional structure, which is based on the principle of partnerships, is very fluid and dynamic.
To a large extent, Arlington subcontracts housing and human service delivery to existing nonprofit organizations. The only ongoing programs the city administers directly are the Arlington Homebuyer's Assistance Program and the Housing Rehabilitation Program. The city's primary source for rental assistance is Arlington Housing Authority. Furthermore, the city collaborates with State Housing Finance Corporation, Tarrant County Employment and Training, and the Tarrant County Department of Human Services.
The private sector plays a significant role in Arlington's institutional structure. Their contributions help leverage other funding sources which increase an agency's service capacity. The city will continue to work with public and private agencies to help develop stable funding sources for needed services.
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 one 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; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).All of the proposed projects bring together current needs, funding, and obstacles to addressing underserved needs. After grant administration costs are subtracted, 96 percent of the total proposed budget addresses a high priority, and 4 percent addresses a medium priority.
Key housing projects planned for the first year of the Consolidated Plan include:
Nonhousing community development actions planned for the first year include:
