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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
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).