New Braunfels' 1995 Consolidated Plan constitutes a strategic vision and community development in the city. This document summarized the plan so that citizens in the community can have a quick overview of New Braunfels' housing and community development problems; the 5-year broad goals, strategies, and actions proposed to deal with those problems; and specific projects for carrying out this strategy during 1995.

Action Plan

The Consolidated Plan also includes an Action Plan constituting an application for funds under one of HUD's formula programs, the Community Development Block grant program (CDBG), for a total of $457,000. These funds, in partnership with local public and private resources, will support the activities to be funded for the 1995 program year.

Citizen Participation

Elements of the Plan were developed with active citizen participation, including a survey of 32 service providers, a public meeting and assessment workshop on January 12, 1995, and consultations by Community Development Advisory Committee members and city staff within the community to develop the different sections of the Plan. The draft document was presented to the City Council on March 27, 1995, and published for public review on March 28, 1995. A brief summary of the Plan was printed in the New Braunfels Herald- Zeitung and copies were available for public review at the Dittlinger Memorial library and four other public locations. A public hearing on the plan was held on April 10, 1995.

Located northeast of San Antonio, New Braunfels, is a city of 27,296 persons. the city has experienced considerable a population crease of 22% since 1980. Thirty-two percent of the population is Hispanic, 1.2 percent is Black, and other minority groups represent less than one half of one percent. The city's 1990 median family income stands at $31,085 compared to $28,571 for the San Antonio region.

Conditions

Over thirty percent of the households are experiencing housing problems which include overcrowding and/or physical problems (poor or lacking plumbing and/or kitchen facilities, roof damage, etc.). In 1990, 66.9 percent of all minority households experienced housing problems, compared to 50.8 percent for all households and 67 percent of Hispanic households.

In 1990, the median owner-occupied property value in the City was $64,400. There were 1,429 owner-occupied units (approximately 26 percent of the total) in the City with an estimated value of less than $50,000, and an additional 1,660 units or 29 percent valued at less than $75,000. In 1994, the average selling price of a home in New Braunfels was $96,957, well out of the reach of lower income residents.

Housing Needs

Market trends indicate a definite shortage of housing supply for the community's population. Every participant during the Consolidated Planning Strategy consultation process described the lack of housing and affordable housing as a primary issue in the provision of services and expansion of economic opportunities. The severity of the situation was expressed during the summer of 1994 when area employers requested the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce to create a task force to investigate housing problems and opportunities, due to difficulties their employees were facing in obtaining and retaining housing.

The need for additional housing stock in New Braunfels exists at all levels, creating an especially difficult situation for low-to moderate-income residents seeking affordable housing.

Affordable Housing Needs

Of the 489 very low-income renter households, 181 (37 percent) were paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing and 205 (42 percent) were paying more than 50 percent. Of the 627 very low-income owner households, 53 (8 percent) paid more than 30 percent of their income for housing and 92 (15 percent) paid more than 50 percent of their income on housing. Similarly, of the 1,755 low-income households in New Braunfels in 1990, 423 or 56 percent of the 755 low-income renter households were paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing and 42 or 6 percent were paying more than 50 percent of their income. Of the 1,000 low-income owner households, 213 or 21 percent paid more than 30 percent of this income for housing ownership and 29 or 3 percent paid more than 50 percent of their income for housing.

The high percentage of renters and owners paying in excess of 30 percent of their income on housing suggests the need for more assisted low-income housing and the use of various funding mechanisms to reduce housing costs. In addition, more lower priced housing needs to be developed for these individuals.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

168 individuals and 291 households are currently served through public and assisted housing programs. Booth programs have waiting lists and the Housing Authority is investigating the possibility of constructing another high-rise residential facility, laurel Plaza II, to address the growing needs. The Authority also witnesses a large need for tenant- based rental assistance, and has applied for and been chosen to receive State HOME funds for 1995.

Barriers to Affordable Housing

Census data regarding vacancy rates indicates a more-than-adequate housing supply of rental units. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the vacancy rate is much lower. Because New Braunfels is a popular vacation community, it is suspected that seasonal rental and owner-occupied vacation homes have skewed vacancy rates upward. In December 1994, a market analysis/survey of commercially operated apartment rental communities in New Braunfels revealed an occupancy rate of 99.9 percent. This extremely low vacancy rate ultimately will drive the cost of housing upward to the disadvantage of prospective low income buyers and renters. Other factors affecting the supply of affordable housing include land costs, construction costs, financing costs, and availability of land.

Lead-Based Paint

The Comal County Health Department has approximately 30 cases per year. Based upon HUD's formula regarding the prevalence of lead paint, the city could have an incidence of 2 or 3 cases per year. The majority of these cases would originate from older shingle family houses in disrepair. The Estimate of housing units occupied by low- and very low-income households that contain lead-based paint hazards is approximately 3,100 units.

Other Issues

Many New Braunfels households have severe flooding problems due to the City's location at the convergence of two rivers. This problem is particularly severe in three lower-income neighborhoods: 1) West End and Bergfeld Avenue, 2) Comal Town/Veramendi neighborhood, and 3) Old Mill Town neighborhood at Wright Avenue and Church Hill Drive. Many lower-income residents cannot afford to purchase flood insurance and cannot afford to make adequate home improvements to repair damage and take preventative steps to mitigate future flood damage. Relief of this flooding is a priority need.

Housing and Community Development Objectives and Priorities

The City of New Braunfels, through consultations, observations, and analysis within the community, has identified five key priorities to aggressively pursue on a policy and program basis over the next five years. These priorities are:

• To preserve and rehabilitate the City's existing single family and multifamily housing stock, primarily for extremely low, very low and low income families (0-80 percent of median income).

• To improve the living conditions for extremely low, very low, and low income renters (0-80 percent of median income), including renter households threatened with loss of their permanent housing, and to improve services to the City's residents that become homeless in order to return these families and individuals to independent living in permanent housing.

• To increase opportunities for low- and moderate-income (50-95 percent of median) homeownership, particularly for first time homebuyers.

• To preserve, provide and improve social services for residents with special needs, particularly the elderly/frail elderly, the physically disabled and children who are troubled or at risk of inadequate housing.

• To expand economic opportunities in the community, particularly for lower income residents.

Housing Priorities

Throughout the assessment process, affordable housing was consistently named as a critical issue facing the community for the next five years. Factors such as tight owner and rental markets, limited available and affordable land, rehabilitation issues, lack of homebuyer education, and flooding/drainage problems combine to create a difficult environment for New Braunfels' lower income residents.

A multi-faceted approach to achieve the community's housing affordable housing goals includes:

• housing development through a consortium of profit and nonprofit developers, the formation of a Community Housing Development Organization, utilization of HUD's CDBG funds and HOME funds;

• emphasizing the preservation of some 300 existing housing stock through CDBG and HOME funds in conjunction with state, local and non-profit financial support; and

• encourage homeownership through the use of HOME funds applied for through the State of Texas, encourage private lenders to make mortgage financing available

Non-Housing Community Development Priorities

During the next five years, the city will support activities that will improve the neighborhood environment and facilities used for community services. These activities include:

• development of a neighborhood youth facility in the West End and enhance the facilities at Eikel Field;

• infrastructure improvements to address flooding problems, street and sidewalk improvements to repair older surfaces, widen or expand current thoroughfares, or create new thruways;

• public service needs to address public transportation for lower income residents and special needs populations, senior citizens' activity center, employment training; and

• economic development needs to support the commercial-industrial infrastructure.

Housing and Community Development Resources

The primary funding sources - Federal, State, local government, and private - will be used to carry out the strategy. The level of funding, particularly from the Federal and State governments, is inadequate given the community's affordable housing needs. An effective, long term resolution of local needs will require a more adequate funding response by these levels of government, especially regarding affordable housing. The City believes that these limited funds should be used to supplement and, wherever possible, leverage resources provided by the private sector. Local lending institutions and non-profit organizations will be encouraged to continue to actively participate in the housing strategy that New Braunfels will address over the next five years.

Coordination of Strategic Plan

The City's goal is to maximize the number of organizations and the effectiveness of these institutional forces in implementing the strategic plan. The Plan lays out the roles of the City's departments and coordinating agencies, other agencies and jurisdictions, and of the non-profit entities and private sector in the housing and community development efforts.

Description of Key Projects

The action plan lays out the proposed uses of the $457,000 from the CDBG program and funds from local sources. The plan also includes a special action plan to identify and oversee the rehabilitation of 25-30 homes of extremely low, very low, and low income residents. Some thirteen projects and initiatives are listed in the plan, six of these are identified below:

• $151,500 to the Bergfeld Drainage project for drainage improvements on Bergfeld Avenue, West End Avenue, and Katy Street (114 households directly, wider area benefit).

• $132,082 to the Veramendi Drainage project for drainage improvements on Basel Street, Grant Street, Veramendi Avenue, and Mather Street (99 households directly, wider area benefit).

• $61,054 to the Downtown Sidewalk project for removal and replacement of broken and uneven sidewalks downtown and the addition of handicapped ramps/curbs cuts at two intersections (community-wide benefit to disabled and frail elderly).

• $9,984 to the Caring for Children foundation of Texas for primary and preventive health care for children ages 6 - 18 (32 otherwise uninsured children of low-income families).

• $17,126 to the Summer Youth Recreation Program to continue programs of 1993 and 1994, providing supervised, constructive educational and recreational activities for children 6-12 years of age (70 children at each of two lower-income neighborhood locations).

• $25,000 to Communities in Schools for the Better Community Health Project, providing health education, assessments of medical needs and facilitation of health care services through home visits to the families of identified at-risk students (1,600 low-income individuals).

Maps

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.

A TABLE (without associated map) provides information about the planned project(s).