U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Community Planning and Development

CITIZEN'S SUMMARY

Dallas County is in the center of the country in Texas and is in the central time zone. It is the international gateway for trade resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It offers a comparatively low tax burden. A fair climate, various options in pricing and location for housing, diversified neighborhoods, and a variety of cultural and recreational opportunities add to its appeal.

Action Plan

The Dallas County Consolidated Action Plan includes a one-year action plan for spending an anticipated $2.6 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) program funds. These funds will be spent on public facilities, public services, water and sewer improvements, street improvements, housing rehabilitation, and homeownership assistance. The total resources addressed in the action plan includes $20 million in FY 1995 funding. In addition to CDBG and HOME funds, federal, State and local resources include Section 8, Housing Bond Refunding Proceeds, Emergency Shelter Grant, Emergency Rental Assistance, Housing Replacement, Ryan White Titles I and II, Texas Department of Health (AIDS) and Housing Opportunity for People With AIDS.

Citizen Participation

The County's Planning and Development Division assembled the Consolidated Plan after conducting field inspections; utilizing internal county reports, analyzing housing data, and contacting social service agencies which aid children, the homeless, the elderly, and the disabled. A public hearing notice was sent to all fourteen CDBG participating cities and published in three newspapers. A public hearing was held at Commissioner's Court regular weekly meeting and at each of the participating cities. The county also held a second public hearing and a 30-day public comment period. No public comments were received during this period.

COMMUNITY PROFILE

Dallas County's 14 city service area has 70,290 households and a homeownership rate of 52 percent. Approximately 19 percent of the population is at the moderate-income level, and 23 percent is low income. The highest concentrations of low-income residents are located in Wilmer, Hutchins, Balch Springs, and Cockrell Hill.

Ethnically, the Dallas County service area is 68 percent white, 18 percent black, 11 percent Hispanic, 2 percent Asian, and 1 percent Native American. The highest concentration of minority population is in Wilmer, Hutchins, Lancaster, and Cockrell Hill.

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Conditions

There is much diversity in the nature and history of the fourteen cities covered in the Consolidated Plan. Some of them, like Lancaster, were originally farming communities and had a successful identity long before Dallas became one of the largest cities in the U.S. Others, like Coppell, have only come into prominence since 1960. These communities not only differ in age, but in race and income as well. University Park is 96 percent white and has long been a bedroom community for the wealthy; the median family income in this city is $84, 064. Rowlett's residents can be typified as being young professionals; the median age in this community in 29.5 years, and the median family income is $49,768. The people living in Seagoville and Wilmer are older, more racially diverse, and more working class in nature; the median ages in these two communities are 32 and 34.8, respectively, and the median family incomes are $29,231 and $25,343, respectively. Minorities constitute 15 to 44 percent of these two communities.

Housing Needs

The county service area has had an excess supply of housing. As the area begins to absorb some of the excess supply of housing that it possesses, prices and rents will inevitably begin to increase. Should the area's demographic trends continue, there will be more demand for housing for the elderly and for single-parent households.

Housing Market Conditions

The cost of housing is the highest in University Park and the lowest in Wilmer. University Park also has the largest concentration of multi-family housing, and Sunnyvale has the smallest. Several communities -- Wilmer, Glenn Heights, Seagoville, and Hutchins -- have from 25 percent to 40 percent of their housing stock comprised of mobile homes. The housing in these fourteen cities is also unlike that which exists in the remainder of the county; these cities generally contain fewer multi-family units, more mobile homes, and single-family housing with much lower values than the entire county. Most of the area's residents (51.7 percent) are homeowners, and the overwhelming majority of these (77.7 percent) live in homes that have at least three bedrooms. Both homeowners and renters occupy housing that is substandard at nearly identical rates (22 percent and 20 percent), and for both groups, almost all of this housing (97 percent and 95 percent) is suitable for rehabilitation.

Affordable Housing Needs

Having to spend more that 30 percent of one's household income on housing accounts for 50 to 95 percent of the housing problems experienced by service area renters and 69 to 96 percent of the housing problems experienced by area homeowners. Homeownership declined in the area during the period of 1980-1990 from 56.3 percent to 51.7 percent. It is in the county's economic interest to reverse this. Due to overcrowding and the age of housing, there is also a need for rehabilitation assistance.

Homeless Needs

Homelessness seems to be non-existent within the area covered by this plan. The 1990 Census indicates that there are 1,662 homeless persons living within the City of Dallas. The consortium does have one certified facility that provides services to homeless. Lancaster Outreach is located in Lancaster and provides food, clothes, placement services, and rental assistance.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

There is no public housing located within the area. There are assisted housing units and developments. There are 122 project based Section 8 units, 24 Farmers Home Administration assisted units, and 406 housing certificates and vouchers.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

Texas counties generally do not have the authority to adopt codes or charge fees. This authority is generally given to municipalities. The City of Cockrell Hill building permit fees are twice that of the uniform building code. The county will continue to work with the city to see if these fees can be changed.

Fair Housing

Dallas County is impacted by the Walker Consent Decree. The Consent Decree requires the City of Dallas to take actions to desegregate public housing residents by dispersing units to the suburbs. While the county is not a party to the decree, the county is actively trying to give low-income people a choice to live in the suburbs or wherever they wish.

Lead-Based Paint

About 47,300 units of housing were built before 1980 and may thus possess lead paint. Of these units, 44.2 percent are renter-occupied, and approximately 20,200 (or 42.7 percent) of all units suspected of having lead paint are occupied by low-income households.

Community Development Needs

The highest priority nonhousing community development needs are for parks, flood control, water improvements, streets, sewer improvements, code enforcement, and economic development. There are other needs for public services, youth centers, and other projects.

Coordination

The county will regularly attend the meetings of the Coalition for Affordable Housing, the Central Dallas Association's Housing Committee, Dallas Association of Services for the Homeless, and the Dallas Affordable Housing Partnership. The county will also assist the City of Dallas in evaluating Emergency Shelter Grant proposals, will administer the city's Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS grant, and regularly contact the Section 8 programs in Balch Springs, Lancaster, Dallas, Mesquite, Garland, and Tarrant County. The county will prepare grant applications for local nonprofit organizations. It will regularly contact the fourteen cities participating in its CDBG program, provide them with performance reports, and seek their ideas for new programs and policies.

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Vision for Change

Dallas County is partnering with its participating cities to improve infrastructure and housing conditions for the citizens.

Housing and Community Development Objectives and Priorities

The long-term objectives and priorities are to eliminate community-threatening conditions such as heavy flooding, dangerous bridges, contaminated water supplies, and overflowing septic tanks. Dallas County's additional objectives are to provide for orderly growth in communities, to improve the economic base, reverse the declining rate of homeownership, and to improve and maintain existing neighborhoods.

Housing Priorities

The general priorities over the next 5 years are: (1) to increase low- and moderate-income homeownership; (2) to eliminate the racial disparities that exist between whites and nonwhites in homeownership and in the incidence of substandard housing; (3) to eliminate substandard rental and owner-occupied housing; (4) to increase the supply of rental assistance to low-income households; (5) to address the needs of the elderly, the mentally ill, and the homeless; and, (6) to increase the number and capacity of nonprofit housing organizations.

Non-Housing Community Development Priorities

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Dallas County, area cities, and local nonprofit organizations work together to decrease the incidence of poverty by providing housing, job training, utility, food, and transportation assistance to low-income families. Programs include: Section 8 Rental Assistance, Emergency Rental Assistance, Community Affairs Inc. Weatherization, Dallas County Welfare Department, Dallas County Nutrition, Lancaster Outreach Center, and Dallas County Job Training Partnership Act programs.

Housing and Community Development Resources

In addition to CDBG and HOME funds, federal, State and local resources include Section 8, Housing Bond Refunding Proceeds, Emergency Shelter Grant, Emergency Rental Assistance, Housing Replacement, Ryan White Titles I and II, Texas Department of Health (AIDS) and Housing Opportunity for People With AIDS.

Coordination of Strategic Plan

ONE-YEAR ACTION PLAN

Description of Key Projects

Key projects include: police/park project - a police front and a community park; home loan counseling center; housing rehabilitation; sewer study and improvements; water control study and improvements; bridge replacement; code Enforcement; Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) activities; and spot blight removal and demolition.

Locations

Projects are to be located in Sandbranch, Hutchins, Glenn Heights, Cockrell Hill, Lancaster, South Elam Road in Dallas, Wilmer, Dorothy Lane (Unincorporated), Balch Springs, and Seagoville.

Lead Agencies

Community development activities will be coordinated by Dallas County Community Development staff and affected city staff.

Housing Goals

The housing goals are to provide Section 8 assistance to 400 low-income renters, to rehabilitate or replace 30 to 50 units of substandard low-income, owner-occupied housing, to provide home loan counseling assistance to 500 low- and moderate-income households, to provide downpayment assistance to 40 low- and moderate-income households, to rehabilitate 15 units of substandard, moderate-income, owner-occupied housing; and, to provide mortgage revenue bond assistance to 270 low-to-middle income families.

Maps

MAP 1 shows points of interest in Dallas County.

MAP 2 shows points of interest in Dallas County with low- and moderate-income areas shaded.

MAP 3 shows areas of minority concentration with low- and moderate-income areas outlined.

MAP 4 shows unemployment data (1990) by block group, with low- and moderate-income areas outlined.

MAP 5 and MAP 5A shows selected CDBG projects to be funded during its 1995 program year, with unemployment data shaded by block group and low- and moderate-income areas outlined.

For additional information, contact Rick Loessberg at 214/653-7601.

Return to Texas' Consolidated Plans.