The City of San Benito is located in Cameron County in the State of Texas and is located 35 miles north of the United States and Mexico border and approximately 30 miles west of South Padre Island. San Benito was an agricultural community but is fast becoming an urbanized area. We are rich in heritage and also in the number of "resacas" i.e., dried river beds that meander through our community.
The City of San Benito's Consolidated Plan (CP) includes a One Year Action Plan for allocating and spending $726,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds including Program Income. The major portion of our funds have been allocated for infrastructure improvements e.g., street reconstruction, park improvements, public services, and housing assistance. The city also supported a HOME application to the State of Texas which was submitted by the Public Housing Authority for new housing construction for an affordable housing program. The city will provide CDBG funds to assist the families with down payment assistance.
The City of San Benito was required by the CP rules and regulations to have
consultations with local agencies regarding the needs and concerns of the
available housing stock; health care needs of the elderly and the special needs
population; and projected housing needs. Among the agencies the city consulted
with were: The San Benito Public Housing Authority; San Benito Independent
School District; Cameron County Health Department; City of San Benito's Planning
Department and Health Department; Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital; and
publications from the U.S. Bureau of the Census; and the Community Development
Citizens Advisory Committee. The city made every effort to publicize the public
hearing dates and provide easy access to the necessary data. Additionally, the
city held public hearings on Wednesday, April 12, 1995 at 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday,
June 21, 1995 at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June 28, 1995 at 5:30 p.m. The CP was
published on Sunday, June 25, 1995 and was made available for review and
comments from June 26 to July 26, 1995. The City Commission adopted and
approved the Consolidated Plan on Tuesday, August 1, 1995.
According to the 1990 U.S. Bureau of the Census, the population of San Benito is 20,125 which represents an increase of 11.89% from the 1980 population. Additionally, 87% of the population is of Hispanic origin. The city is approximately 11.98 sq. miles in size with Cameron County being 896 square miles itself. The White population decreased in size by approximately 14.5% to a total population of 2,428. The remaining minorities Black, Native American, Asian, etc, represent less than half of one percent of the population. The median age of the city is 27.4 years compared to an average of 30 years for the rest of the state.
Approximately 39% of the city's population live below the recognized poverty
level of $12,500 for a family of 4 which represents 2,263 households with
another 418 households living at or near the poverty level as well. The city
has 6,543 available housing units with 60% or 3,871 being homeowners and the
remaining 40% or 2,292 being renter households. In an effort to increase the
number of homeowners the City and the PHA will form a partnership to provide
affordable housing units to low and moderate income families which will prove to
be a challenge given the median family income for the city is $18,581.
The city's infrastructure had deteriorated to a state of disrepair. The CDBG program provided a much needed boost for the city and for a period of time was the only Capital Improvements Program being carried out by the city. Certificates of Obligation were later issued by the city in order to increase the amount of funding available for infrastructure improvements.
The city hopes to increase the number of homeowner units by providing innovative programs such as the Affordable Housing Program which the City and the PHA will implement utilizing State HOME funds and CDBG funds for downpayment assistance.
The greatest housing needs that were identified by the Consolidated Plan were as follows:
Of the 3,871 owner occupied units, only 13 homes were recorded as vacant and for sale that targeted income levels below 30% of median family income and all were 0 to 1 bedroom structures. Only 37 homes were available for incomes below 50% of the median family income (MFI). Thus the need for affordable housing units exists for families who are low to moderate income.
Additionally, of the 2,292 renter units available, only 1,888 are occupied. For those incomes below 30% of MFI, only 65 units are available for rent. Income levels of up to 50% of MFI fair no better with only 139 additional units available for rent which leaves 204 units available for rent to the low and moderate income levels.
The needs of families can be further illustrated by the percent of overcrowdedness among the renters and homeowners. The percent of all renters in San Benito that live in overcrowded conditions are 35.6% additionally 83.6% of large renter households live in overcrowded conditions. Similarly, 16.1% of all owners live in overcrowded conditions while 22.8% of non-elderly owners live in overcrowded conditions.
To get further insight into the housing needs of renters and owners we can look at housing problems which may include overcrowding, physical deterioration of the housing unit, i.e., poor plumbing or foundations, roof damage, deteriorated kitchen facilities etc. The percent of renters that face any housing problem is 60% which can be divided down as follows: 43% of the moderate income renters face any housing problem as compared to 58% of low income renters and 75% of very low income renters face any housing problem and 75% of extremely low income renters also face housing problems. Similarly, only 28% of the homeowners face any housing problem. This can also be broken down further as follows: 32% of moderate income homeowners face any housing problem as compared to 31% of low income homeowners and 31% of low income homeowners, and 35% of very low income also face housing problems and 62% of the extremely low income homeowners also face similar problems.
The city has no visible homeless population however, we do acknowledge the unseen homeless population that are living in overcrowded conditions additionally the PHA's waiting list identified 16 homeless families waiting to receive federal assistance. The city also has no emergency shelter or transitional housing facility. The PHA provides the transitional housing for residents and serves to house the homeless families that may arise from time to time by placing these families in public housing units or granting Section 8 Certificates. There are no other types of temporary shelters available within our community.
The city's PHA provides housing to 300 families through the public housing units, an additional 248 families are assisted through the Section 8 Voucher program. The section 8 waiting list has 322 families waiting for assistance while the housing waiting list has 308 families waiting to receive assistance. The PHA recently sold 30 public housing units under the HOPE program to the residents that were residing within the homes themselves. An additional 10 houses are being constructed that will also be sold to eligible PHA residents in efforts to promote homeownership. Construction of an additional 20 homes is also planned under the Affordable Housing Program which the City and PHA have teamed up to create. No future housing developments are planned by the PHA. The units available are expected to remain at 300.
There are no other services available for the special needs population. The city has no public transportation system in place however, the PHA does provide limited transportation services to residents and provides handicap transportation services as well to its residents in public housing or Section 8. Included within the 300 units maintained by the PHA are Palm Ville I and II which provide 100 units specifically designed to house the elderly and handicapped.
Additionally, Amigos Del Valle provides meals to residents of San Benito. Meals are delivered to 150 residents on an annual basis and transportation is provided to 57 individuals annually. 80 meals are provided at the Amigos Del Valle Senior Center including 95 home delivered meals.
There are may barriers to affordable housing that city's cannot regulate or control. Some of these include rising interest rates, costs of construction materials, availability of financial institutions willing to finance mortgage loans to low and moderate income families. Cities can do little to influence these factors.
Factors that can be influenced by local communities include zoning ordinances, local ad valorem tax rates, cost of building permits, and subdivision regulations. San Benito has not identified any of these conditions within our community that might be a barrier to affordable housing. What we have done would tend to provide safe affordable homes. Some examples are:
None of the policies or regulations that are in place are believed to be excessive, exclusionary, discriminatory and we believe that none of these regulations are barriers to affordable housing. Additionally, the city did not identify any policies, statutes, ordinances, regulations, administrative procedures or processes that would have an adverse effect on the ability of low to moderate income households to obtain affordable housing.
The city will further fair housing by providing fair housing information at the Community Development Department Offices, and by declaring the mont of April as Fair Housing Month in efforts to promote fair housing issues. There are no current court orders, consent decrees, or HUD-imposed sanctions that affect the provision of fair housing remedies.
The city has 681 units that were built before 1940, and 1,714 that were built before 1960 and 2,030 units built before 1980. Further analysis reveals that 3,229 units are owners who built before 1980 including 741 rental units built before 1980 as well. Although there have been no instances of lead based paint poisoning reported within our area, we cannot assume that all lead based paint has been removed. However, we can provide an estimate of the total number of units that may still exist and may have lead based paint. Our estimates indicated that 75% of the Pre 1940 units may be contaminated, approximately 510 units. Additionally, we estimated that 50% of the 1940-1959 units may be contaminated as well which equates to 857 units and we also estimated that 30% of the 1960-1979 units may be contaminated which would result in 609 units with the possibility of having lead based paint. The total number of units that may be affected are 1,976 housing units however, the risk of contamination remains relatively small given the absence of lead based paint poisoning incidents.
Among the community development needs identified by the CP are the improvements to our city parks including Stookey, Kennedy, Sullivan, Falligant and Landrum Parks. The city implemented a curfew in an attempt to curtail a rash of graffiti crimes and vandalism that had occurred as a result of youngsters being out at night. With the curfew and improved park facilities, the city hopes to curtail the crimes being committed by our youth. Additionally, the city identified the need for a water and waste water treatment facility as a major community development need since our present facility is currently operating at peak capacity. The infrastructure needs were also addressed. The condition of our streets was deplorable but with the help of the CDBG program the vast number of thoroughfares were addressed in our low and moderate income neighborhoods, however a number of streets still are in desperate need of reconstruction and need to be addressed.
The lead agency for the City of San Benito responsible for overseeing the
development of the Consolidated Plan, implementation of projects and priorities,
coordination of housing activities with other agencies e.g. PHA, non-profits,
etc, and for monitoring all projects and activities to ensure compliance with
the CPS and all applicable HUD rules and regulations is the Community
Development Department.
The plan and community development objectives were developed in an attempt to address the following HUD goals: Elimination of slums and blight; elimination of conditions that are detrimental to the health, safety and public welfare; conservation and expansion of the nations's housing stock; expansion and improvement of the quantity and quality of community services; reduction of the isolation of income groups within communities and geographical areas; restoration and preservation of properties of special value; alleviation of physical and economic distress; conservation of the nation's scarce energy resources; and better utilization of land and other natural resources.
Priorities for Solid Waste Disposal Improvements were identified as a priority. Although the city's municipal solid waste disposal system is currently meeting the demands for the current population serviced and has the capacity to handle some growth, the possibility of experiencing exponential growth due to NAFTA could place the current system in jeopardy. Estimated cost to address is $1,500,000.
Priorities for Parks, Recreational Facilities were also identified. With the city having place its emphasis into infrastructure, management oversight, and water and waste water studies, parks were ignored over the last two years however, the parks system received a high priority and is estimated to cost approximately $200,000.
The City of San Benito identified two priorities that were identified during the development of the CPS for the Five Year Strategy. They are:
The city would provide affordable housing opportunities for first time homebuyers through downpayment assistance or other avenues to construct affordable homes. The target group for this assistance would be the low and moderate income families.
Maintaining the current housing stock for homeowners would be accomplished by providing rehabilitation assistance for "moderate" rehabilitation of homeowner units. Units that would require more that 50% of the replacement value for the actual unit itself would not be considered.
Priorities for homelessness alleviation centered around the active role the PHA takes within our community. The housing authority currently provides assistance through certificates and public housing units to families who otherwise would be homeless. The city felt the PHA was providing the necessary housing assistance to prevent homelessness.
Priorities for Comprehensive Plans received a high priority and were estimated at $75,000 to adequately address. The city currently does not have an useful comprehensive planning document and must have one completed if we are to adequately plan for future growth.
Priorities for Street Reconstruction were also identified as a high priority. The estimated cost to address is $2,500,000. The city currently has two street reconstruction programs being funded. One is being carried out by the CDBG program and is limited to low and moderate income neighborhoods while the other is being funded by Certificates of Obligation and is being carried out in parts of town where the CDBG funds cannot be obligated and spent. These funds were addressed as a means of targeting future needs in order to adequately complete the street reconstruction program.
The City of San Benito's anti-poverty strategy involves the partnership and cooperation of two entities, the City and the Public Housing Authority. Together we will reduce the number of poverty level families by continuing to provide Section 8 Certificates and Housing Units through the PHA and most importantly by providing for a mechanism by which these families can become homeowners and own a piece of America through the newly created partnership between the City and the PHA to provide Affordable Homes to residents of the units or certificate recipients and low to moderate income citizens.
The partnership will involve using State HOME Funds, Private Sector Funds from local financial institutions to provide the construction funds needed for the Affordable Housing units and long term mortgage financing. CDBG funds will be used to provide downpayment assistance for these families as well.
The City recently created an Industrial Development Agency (IDA) which will implement the ½¢ economic development sales tax program recently approved by San Benito voters. The IDA will provide a valuable revenue source to potential businesses who will expand their existing business or locate into our community. As part of the requirements for receiving funding, the IDA will require that local residents be given priority in filling job opportunities that will arise as a result of the expanded business opportunities. Job training for low to moderate income applicants will also be encouraged.
The services currently available to the citizens of our community are the Community Development Block Grant Program; Public Housing; Section 8 Certificates; and for this fiscal year State HOME funds; additionally, private sector lending institutions will provide long term mortgage financing for the Affordable Housing Program.
The City's Community Development Department is responsible for Coordination
of the Strategic Plan and Implementation of its components and strategies.
However, we will be assisted by the Public Housing Authority since they will be
the lead agency in implementing the Affordable Housing Program. This program
will be implemented from their offices while the city will provide oversight and
any technical support needed.
The City of San Benito's One Year Action Plan proposes the use of $726,000 in CDBG funds for Fiscal Year 1995. Included within the One Year Plan are the following activities:
All of the activities the city will undertake will directly benefit low to moderate income neighborhoods. There are only two projects that will be carried out on a city wide basis i.e., the Comprehensive Plan Study, and the Stookey Park Project.
The lead agency responsible for implementation of the Consolidated Plan and CDBG Projects including general management, oversight, compliance monitoring and preparation of all HUD reports and documents will be the City's Community Development Department specifically, Gabriel Gonzalez, Community Development Director.
The City's housing goals had been to assist two families either with rehabilitation or new housing construction however, with the approval of the State HOME grant, the City and the PHA will now be able to assist a minimum of 12 to 15 families obtain a new affordable home.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
MAP 6 depicts Neighborhood Segments and streets with proposed HUD funded projects.
Gabriel Gonzalez
Community Development Director
PH: (210) 361-3834
