The City of Pasadena, incorporated in 1929, is located in southeast Texas and abuts the City of Houston to the west, the Ship Channel to the north, Galveston Bay to the east, and the Johnson Space Center to the south. Major petro-chemical complexes exist north and east of the city.
The 1995 Consolidated Plan for the City of Pasadena represents a series of strategies and plans for action that provide for housing and community development. It includes a one- year action plan for spending approximately $2,953,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), and HOME Investment Partnership Program funds, as well as program income. These funds will primarily be spent on public facility and service needs as well as housing issues. All activities and projects to be undertaken in the 1995 action plan provide the maximum feasible benefit for persons of low- and/ or moderate-income.
Prior to the creation of the Consolidated Plan, extensive citizen participation efforts were made. Public meetings, newspaper ads, and questionnaires provided citizens with the opportunity to comment on and contribute to various aspects of the Consolidated Plan. Public hearings conducted by a 9-member citizen Community Development Board were held on June 27, 1995 and July 27, 1995, with citizens and leaders of public, private, and nonprofit organizations in attendance.
The City of Pasadena is the second largest city in Harris County, which is the third most populous county in the United States. In 1992, Pasadena was home to 125,418 residents. Between 1980 and 1992, the population grew by 12,858 persons - a growth rate of approximately 11.4 percent. In 1990, Whites comprised 68.3 percent of the population, Hispanics 28.8 percent, Blacks 0.9 percent, and Asians and American Indians 1.9 percent.
The median income in Pasadena is $32,371. The majority of area households earn less than 95 percent of the HUD adjusted median family income. Approximately 13.1 percent of all households are considered extremely low-income, 24.5 percent low-income, and 44.6 percent moderate-income.
Petro-chemical complexes, government, and service industries are the top employers within the city. Unemployment over the last 5 years has been within the 5 percent to 7 percent range, well below both State and national averages.
The most important housing issue in the Consolidated Plan addresses the need for affordable, quality housing for persons of low- or moderate-income. Rental assistance, rehabilitation, homeownership, and elderly housing needs have been identified.
The City of Pasadena, according to 1990 Census figures, has 47,539 total housing units. Between 1980 and 1990, the housing stock increased by 3,184 units - a growth rate of 9.3 percent that outpaced the overall growth in population (6 percent) during the same period. Of Pasadena's total housing stock, roughly 44 percent (20,913 units), is located in areas of low- and moderate-income concentration.
In 1990, more than half of all housing units in Pasadena (roughly 55.6 percent) consisted of single family housing while another 38.7 percent were multi-family units. The remaining 5.7 percent were made up of mobile homes or various other forms of residences. Approximately 45.6 percent of the total housing stock was owner-occupied while approximately 42.9 percent was renter-occupied. The remaining 11.5 percent (5,495 units) of all housing in Pasadena was vacant.
A large number of persons in Pasadena face a housing crisis, with the vast majority being persons of low- and moderate-income. Unfortunately, the housing stock available to these families is often plagued with problems such as lead-based paint or a general lack of proper, sanitary facilities. The result is often that households are forced to live above their means in order to find adequate housing.
According to HUD figures, 9,438 households were cost burdened in 1990 and of those, approximately 64.9 percent were renters. Among renters, 84.8 percent of those plagued by cost burden were extremely low- or low-income households. Among owner households, 3,315 were categorized as cost burdened. Of those, 2,576 were either low- or moderate- income, and more than one-third qualified as extremely low-income.
Of the 55 confirmed homeless persons in Pasadena, 52 are sheltered while the remaining 3 are left to find shelter in abandoned buildings or public spaces. There are no homeless shelters located in the city, and the facilities that assist the homeless are centered around domestic violence and the provision of support services. Groups and organizations that provide assistance to the homeless commonly refer them to Houston for shelter, food, and assistance.
Rental assistance is provided through the city's Public Housing Agency for the Section 8 Existing Housing program, and through HUD for the Section 8 project-based units. (There is no Public Housing Authority within the City of Pasadena.)
The city's Section 8 Existing Housing program provides assistance through voucher and certificate programs (675 households currently served). All vouchers and certificates are applicant-based and provide for dwellings throughout the city. In addition, 468 project- based units provide rental assistance for low-income residents at a number of apartment complexes in the city.
The city has concluded that existing regulations and requirements do not pose a negative impact or cause concentration of minorities. Presently, the city has no zoning regulations. Residential development is determined for the most part by subdivision deed restrictions. Existing ordinances and administrative procedures do not pose a barrier to affordable housing.
The city has certified it will affirmatively further fair housing, prepare an analysis of impediments, and maintain records pertaining to carrying out this objective. There are no current court orders, consent decrees, or HUD-imposed sanctions that affect the provision of fair housing remedies.
Approximately 61.8 percent of the total 1990 housing stock is likely to contain lead-based paint. The large majority of homes containing lead-based paint are located in northern Pasadena in areas that also have high concentrations of low- and moderate-income households. It is likely that 68.3 percent of units affordable to all low-income households contain lead-based paint. Coordination efforts with the Harris County Health Department and the Harris County Housing and Community Development Agency will determine methods of effectively reducing the presence of lead-based paint in the housing stock.
The City of Pasadena recognizes the need for job creation and retention, job training, small business assistance, transportation and daycare services, infrastructure improvements, and additional law and code enforcement.
The structure through which Pasadena will implement the actions of the Consolidated Plan includes public and nonprofit organizations, institutions, and private industries. This cooperative relationship will allow the city to coordinate a wide array of housing and community development support services to low- and moderate-income residents.
Community development objectives include further opportunities for home ownership by low- and moderate-income households, providing additional employment opportunities, improvements to the infrastructure, and public services.
Priorities include increasing the stock of affordable, quality housing units, reducing the cost burdens for low-income households, rehabilitation of rental housing units, and demolition of units that have been abandoned or are beyond rehabilitation.
Priorities for elderly housing include support of construction of additional housing for the elderly, Section 8 rental assistance and CDBG housing rehabilitation programs. The city will actively support the efforts of other entities to meet the needs of community residents with special needs through private and public programs, such as Section 811, which provides housing opportunities for the mentally ill.
Priorities for economic development activities include job training strategies, the support of efforts to provide technical and financial assistance to small businesses, public facilities improvements (street, sidewalk, and sewer), and public services improvements (transportation, law enforcement, and daycare).
The city continues its commitment to reducing area poverty by helping low-income citizens obtain the tools necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The city will continue to assist in the development and preservation of affordable housing, coordinate with other public and private service providers to ensure efficient use of available resources, and expand the amount of services available.
Pasadena will particularly seek to empower low-income residents by providing job opportunities which will enable them to break out of their present cycle of poverty. To provide economic opportunities for persons below the poverty line, the city will continue to support the development of new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses in an effort to create and retain jobs.
The structure through which the city will implement the actions of the Consolidated Plan includes public institutions, nonprofit organizations, and private industry. The city and local nonprofit organizations, as well as other public agencies, work well together in a team effort to provide a blanket of services connecting affordable housing for lower-income persons.
Pasadena will encourage partnerships and coordination of resources among all facets of the housing and community development industry with particular emphasis on existing and potential service providers. The city will actively encourage development of new service providers or expanded existing providers to meet new or unmet needs of low- and moderate-income residents.
The city's Community Development Board has determined to address the following needs in Fiscal Year 1995: community and neighborhood revitalization activities, infrastructure improvements (street, sidewalk, and sewer), home repair assistance for low- and moderate- income households, transportation assistance for low-income elderly, handicapped/disabled persons, and high-risk indigent, pregnant women, home purchase assistance to moderate- income households, assisted daycare services for children of battered and homeless women, and demolition of vacant, dilapidated and deteriorated structures.
Citywide
The coordination of resources for the annual action plan is the same as coordination of resources previously defined.
The Community Development Board has set aside $633,300 in CDBG and HOME funds to address housing issues in the city. These funds are divided into four categories: (1) single family rehabilitation; (2) acquisition, rehabilitation and new construction; (3) tenant-based rental assistance; and, (4) demolition of abandoned and dilapidated structures.
MAP 1 shows points of interest in the City of Pasadena.
MAP 2 shows points of interest in the City of Pasadena 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 shows selected CDBG projects to be funded by the City of Pasadena during its 1995 program year, with unemployment data shaded by block group and low- and moderate-income areas outlined.
