The City of Denison is located in north central Texas, four miles south of the Oklahoma border. It is on U. S. Highway 75 between Dallas, which is 75 miles south, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is 210 miles north. The city's chief industries are manufacturing, oil and minerals, agriculture-livestock, and tourism. In addition, its economy draws on health, high tech, and education services.
The City of Denison Consolidated Plan presents a strategic vision for housing and community development needs in the city. It includes a one-year action plan for spending approximately $525,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the 1995-96 fiscal year. These funds will primarily be spent on housing rehabilitation and neighborhood livability activities.
A Community Development Block Grant Steering Committee was appointed by the
City Council. The former Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategies
Committee became the Consolidated Plan Advisory Committee. Both of these
committees act as key advisors to the City Council on the Consolidated Plan.
Another responsibility of these committees is the citizen participation process.
This process seeks to ensure the consideration of comments and
citizen-initiated projects into program activities. The Council instructed the
Steering Committee to meet at least four times a year or more, as required. At
these meetings, public hearings are held to receive comments about the operation
of CDBG- funded programs and to evaluate community development operations.
These meetings are promoted by notices on the public access channel on the cable
system and publicized in the local newspaper. Direct notification is made to
the public service agencies that provide assistance to the citizens of Denison.
Draft copies of the Consolidated Plan were available for a 30 day period for
public review and comments. The Plan was then sent to the Fort Worth HUD office
and approved in October 1995.
Denison is located in the Denison-Sherman-Howe Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the 1960 census. The 1990 census has the population of Denison at 21,505, down 11.4 percent from the 1980 census. This was due, in part, to the merger of the
M-K-T Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad and the relocation of several of the facilities. From 1980 to 1990 the minority population of Denison increased slightly, with the largest increase in Hispanic and other minority groups. The majority of the City of Denison's 1990 population was white (86 percent), 10 percent were African American, and 4 percent were other minorities.
The 1990 median family income (MFI) was $34,700. By 1994 it had risen to
$35,100. Fifty-five percent of all households in Denison were low- and/or
moderate-income (with incomes below 80 percent of MFI) in 1990. African
Americans were disproportionately represented in the very low-income category
(incomes between 31 and 50 percent of MFI). Thirty-four percent of all the
census tracts and block groups in the city of Denison contained concentrations
of low- and moderate-income households and were largely grouped in the east and
northeast quadrants of the city.
Manufacturing, health care, educational services, and local government are some of the larger employers on the City of Denison. All of these are "clean" industries, which do not contribute emissions to the environment. Unemployment levels in Denison have remained below the national average for the past few years, with the 1990 census reporting a civilian unemployment rate of 6.8 percent. As of September 1995 the rate was 5.6 percent.
There are two critical housing needs identified in the Consolidated Plan: 1) the increased need of affordable housing for low-income persons, the elderly, and first-time homebuyers, and 2) the rehabilitation of existing housing stock. To address affordable housing needs, rental assistance is needed to reduce cost burdens. Additional affordable housing units are needed for the elderly at locations convenient to other services required by this population. To address housing quality and condition problems, funds are needed to assist low-income persons maintain and repair their homes. There are over 250 names on the waiting list for complete housing rehabilitation, with 15 to 20 projects completed in a year. Funds are needed to address emergency rehabilitation to install new roofs, replace plumbing systems, and to re-wire houses. By performing these emergency repairs, the deterioration process is slowed and the quality of a home is improved. Another priority need is support for the public service agencies that provide services to low- and moderate-income citizens of Denison. As the average age of the population increases, services that provide food, health care, and other assistance to the elderly are stressed.
The general condition of the majority of the housing stock in the City of Denison is fair. Fifty percent of the housing stock in the city was constructed before 1960. The total number of single-family housing units in the City of Denison is 10,328. The inventory of occupied houses is 8,710 as defined by the 1990 census. Of that number, 2,840 are rental properties. There are 1,618 housing units that are vacant. The 1,618 units are broken down by 793 units for rent, 190 units for sale, and 635 other. The majority of the 635 other units are in a condition where they could not be occupied and are waiting to be demolished.
While the city recognizes the need for more affordable housing, its capacity to address that need is limited. The waiting list for the rehabilitation program demonstrates the condition of the housing stock of low- and moderate-income families. Twenty percent of housing in Denison was constructed prior to 1940.
The City of Denison has made a commitment to housing in the city by its support of the various programs that were and are being administered. The city administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The Denison Housing Authority was established to provide housing to low- and moderate-income persons and the elderly. The city supports the Grayson County Shelter, located in the city, with CDBG funds.
It is estimated that 3,000 persons in Grayson County, Texas and Bryan County, Oklahoma are homeless. The target group of the homeless population is the children and their intact family structure. The Grayson County Shelter offers at least a three week stay to residents while they are on the road to self-sufficiency. The capacity of the facility is 40 persons at one time. In 1994, 280 persons stayed at the facility and the breakdown was: 69 families, 74 single people, and 13 married couples. Out of those people, 102, or 36 percent were children. This figure is up from 25 percent in 1990. Through June 1994, the shelter has seen an increase in families needing a place to stay. There have been 159 residents during the first half of 1995. The average number of people staying at the shelter per month in 1993 was 24. In 1994 the average number was 30 per month.
During 1993/94, funding was available from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) under the McKinney Grant. These funds helped keep 261 people in their homes by making payments of past due rents or late utility bills. The 261 persons served consisted of 94 families and 127 of these family members were children. An application for this funding for 1994/95 was made to TDHCA, but due to the high demand in requests, only 28 of 112 agencies will be funded. The Grayson County Shelter will not be one of those agencies to receive funding.
The Denison Housing Authority administers two public housing programs. They are a low- rent program that houses 200 families and a Section 8 New Construction program that built 125 units to serve the elderly. The total number of units by bedroom size is: 171 one- bedroom units, 100 two-bedroom units, and 54 three-bedroom units. The condition of the units is, or will be, very good. The 125 elderly units are all one-bedroom units. The Denison Housing Authority does not offer any units for conversion to ownership. There are no vacant units and both of these programs have waiting lists.
The waiting list for two-bedroom units in the low-rent program averages nine months. Most of the two-bedroom units are two-story apartments. This creates a problem as many tenants cannot climb stairs, which results in their being overhoused in three-bedroom units. There is also a nine month waiting list for three-bedroom units. During a recent modernization program, eight three-bedroom units were converted to handicap units. Section 8 Rental Certificate and Voucher programs are administered in the three-county region by the Texoma Council of Governments. In the City of Denison, there are 44 households served. The breakdown is 15 elderly and 29 family certificates and vouchers. The Grayson County Housing Authority administers 95 certificates in Denison. That breakdown is 18 elderly, 74 small related families, and three large related families.
Service providers for special needs populations indicate the following needs, in addition to affordable housing:
The lack of affordable housing is one of the most critical housing problems in the City of Denison. The development policies of the City are designed to encourage the production and preservation of affordable housing. There appear to be no overt barriers to the development of affordable housing in Denison. City policies have been set up to encourage the development and maintenance of affordable housing through the CDBG program.
The Community Housing Resource Board of Grayson County (CHRB) advertises and promotes fair housing in the county. The CHRB provides the citizens of Denison with an avenue to pursue housing discrimination cases. At the present time, there are no current court orders, consent decrees, or HUD-imposed sanctions that affect the provision of fair housing remedies.
Currently, the City of Denison estimates that 86.7 percent of 10,328 total housing units were constructed prior to 1978. This is a total of 8,955 housing units that could be presumed to contain lead-based paint hazards. More than half of these units constructed before 1978 are occupied by low- and moderate-income families. The public housing units have undergone modernization and lead-based paint abatement was a part of the process. There have been no reported cases of lead poisoning in children in the City of Denison.
The City of Denison's Community Development program provides assistance in two areas. The first is public services or "human services" and the second is public facilities and improvements. Separate processes have been designed in each service area. These processes combine direct citizen participation, community needs assessment, ranking by advisory committees, and staff input to target funding strategies and develop annual budgets. Over the past few years public service grants have addressed specific areas of need. Local nonprofit agencies and the city have cooperated to increase the capacity for service to indigent citizens and others in need.
Denison's program of infrastructure improvements in CDBG-eligible areas has
consistently had a major goal of neighborhood improvement and stabilization.
Public improvements have been completed in existing residential neighborhoods.
The Consolidated Plan Advisory Committee and the Community Development Block
Grant Steering Committee have identified additional goals for the community
development infrastructure program. The most discussed projects are
improvements in accessibility, infrastructure improvements/replacements, and the
improvement of human service facilities.
The process utilized to set priority needs for the City of Denison's five-year affordable housing strategy was a combination of information gained through the Consolidated Plan process and from local service agencies. The priority housing needs for renters, owners, and first-time homebuyers are derived from 1990 census data. By utilizing information regarding existing programs, statistical data analyzed in the housing and homeless assessment, and service agency comments obtained for the Consolidated Plan, staff were able to determine priorities.
Priorities for affordable housing include increasing the supply of affordable housing and reducing the housing cost burden for low-income households, improving the living environment of low- and moderate-income residents, assisting public housing residents to become more self-sufficient, increasing housing choices for low-income and minority citizens, and addressing the particular needs of large families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
Priorities for homelessness alleviation were addressed by another positive experience during the planning process for the Consolidated Plan. Various homeless providers and others involved in the provision of homeless services joined to develop the implementation of the strategy. The main purpose of this focus group was to determine the needs of the homeless and potentially homeless population and develop a five-year plan to meet those needs. The five-year Homeless Strategic Plan is consistent with a continuum of care system.
The priority for non-homeless persons with special needs is supportive housing or housing linked to supportive services for the frail elderly, persons who are mentally disabled, and other persons with special needs.
Priorities for public services or "human services" include the implementation of service coordination unit activities. The discussions among the services providers, decision makers, clients, and citizens that took place during the planning process uncovered some key areas of weakness in Denison's public service delivery system. Increased cooperative efforts and provision of coordinated services by providers will decrease these gaps.
The priorities for other community development activities include public facilities improvements (Denison Senior Citizen Center improvements) and infrastructure improvements (replacement of water and sanitary sewer mains in low- and moderate- income neighborhoods).
The City of Denison will support various activities that provide opportunities for citizens to move out of or remain out of poverty. The activities of local lending institutions include counseling on household budgeting and employment. These sessions have proven very successful. The Texoma Council of Governments administers Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) services. These services are designed to give young people opportunities for employment. The city actively solicits assistance from JTPA participants.
Primary federal resources include CDBG, Section 8 rental assistance, public housing, and the weatherization program administered by the Texoma Council of Governments with funds from the State of Texas. Local lending institutions provide assistance in the way of low- interest loans to low- and moderate-income households when rehabilitation costs exceed the maximum $15,000 that can be spent on a home. Programs exist at various lending institutions to assist in other affordable housing areas.
The City of Denison has succeeded in bringing together various housing and
supportive service providers to contribute input for the Consolidated Plan. The
city's Community Development Block Grant Steering Committee will continue to
gather data and discuss needs with local service agency personnel and other
service providers. The city's active involvement and funding of housing and
supportive services with federal, State, and local general tax dollars
translates into a very close relationship with service providers.
The City of Denison's one-year action plan outlines the proposed use of $525,000 in CDBG funds. These funds will be spent mainly on an array of housing activities, including:
The rehabilitation program is a city wide program where each project must qualify as a low- or moderate-income household. The demolition and clearance projects will be in the low- and moderate-income areas of town as will the infrastructure projects.
Highlights of the City of Denison's housing goals for the first year include prolonging the life of 140 homes by providing funds for emergency and full rehabilitation. The city will also assist 16 families become first-time homebuyers through the Homebuyer Assistance program.
