Located in the lower western region of Texas, the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County is a local hub, where highways 87 and 67 cross. The main natural features of San Angelo are its two massive lakes -- O.C. Fisher Lake and Lake Nasworthy.
The Consolidated Plan establishes San Angelo's long-range strategy and 3-year investment plan for community and housing development and homeless services. For the first of these years, San Angelo is requesting $1.5 million in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. This money will be used to finance the 17 community development projects planned for the coming year.
Citizens were first notified of the upcoming Consolidated Plan in December
1994 through newspaper announcements, which invited them to neighborhood
meetings and public hearings. A separate public meeting was held for housing
service providers to obtain information that would become part of the
Consolidated Plan. A total of seven community meetings were held in targeted
neighborhoods. Program funding was decided following a meeting held in January
1995, and a summary of the draft Consolidated Plan was published in the San
Angelo Standard Times in February.
The military has been an important presence in San Angelo since World War II, when the Army Air Corps established a training base east of the community. Today, with close to 4,000 military and civilian employees, Goodfellow Air Force Base serves as an intelligence training center for the Air Force, as well as a fire and rescue training center for all military branches.
The economic base continued to expand, and soon after the war the oil and
gas and light manufacturing industries, along with medicine and education,
provided diversification. Today, San Angelo is a city of 84,500 people that has
in general prospered, but has seen some of its neighborhoods decline.
The targeted neighborhoods in the Consolidated Plan are generally more ethnically diverse than the rest of the city. Unemployment, poverty, and a dependency on public service programs are prevalent in these neighborhoods. More than one-third of the city's population is minority. In 1990, 28 percent of the population was Hispanic and almost 5 percent was African American.
Rehabilitation programs for both renter- and owner-occupied housing are needed in San Angelo's targeted communities. Just over 22 percent of the city's housing stock was constructed after 1970. By 1996 more than 2,000 families in San Angelo will be living in substandard housing.
The number of households rose from 26,576 in 1980 to 30,661 in 1990. Three unique features of San Angelo have affected this increase and the availability of housing: the influx of senior citizens, Angelo State University, and Goodfellow Air Force Base. San Angelo has become a retirement community. Elderly residents seeking smaller housing units will increase competition for these units. The university has 1,680 on-campus units but 6,100 students, again increasing competition for smaller units. The expansion of missions at the Air Force Base will bring additional students and permanent personnel to San Angelo. The Base does not provide housing for most of these people. This is expected to create a demand for two-, three-, and four-bedroom rental units.
The residential housing market was depressed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The sale of existing homes in 1993, however, was very high, almost doubling the 1992 figures. The average sales price for a home in San Angelo is about $63,000, and the median income in 1995 is about $34,000. In 1995 rent was expected to range from $335 for a one-bedroom to $743 for a four-bedroom unit. San Angelo had 34,614 housing units in 1990.
With 421 families on the public housing authority waiting lists at the beginning of 1995, it is evident that lower income families are looking for assistance with rent payments. It is estimated that 45 percent of San Angelo's population is low or moderate income, with an income of $14,100 (less than half of the median income).
The city's Department of Social Services estimated the homeless population to be 175. Twenty-five of those were individuals and the rest were family members. The greatest need at this time is for transitional housing.
The Salvation Army is the largest provider of services to homeless people in San Angelo. In addition to its other services, this group maintains a dormitory for 12 men and 8 women as well as two apartments. However, the Salvation Army has no plans for new construction. The city's Community Development and Housing Department will monitor the availability of both Federal and State programs that can help them provide shelter for the homeless and for battered women and children. A number of local churches provide assistance to one or two families at a time.
The San Angelo Family Shelter provides emergency shelter for victims of domestic abuse. It can house 35 people. According to the Family Shelter, 60 percent of its residents suffer from mental illness or mental retardation and 10 percent from substance abuse.
More than 400 families need rental assistance under the Section 8 Rent Subsidy program and in the San Angelo Public Housing Authority's (PHA's) four low-rent public housing developments. All of San Angelo's 174 public housing units are single-family homes or duplexes. It also administers 331 Section 8 certificates, 104 vouchers, and 15 moderate rehabilitation units.
In 1994 the San Angelo PHA acquired four apartment complexes from the Resolution Trust Corporation. Just over half of the 404 units will house lower income families.
The city requested input from various local groups about local public policies that interfere with the supply of affordable housing. No replies have been received that indicate that city policies are considered exclusionary, discriminatory, or duplicative and constitute barriers to affordable housing.
The city is implementing a plan to investigate the extent of lead-based paint hazards in its housing stock. Part of the plan is to purchase its own lead-based paint detection equipment and to train employees in the use of the equipment.
There are 425 Section 202 housing units in San Angelo. Of these, 196 are specifically for the elderly. A non-profit organization, Disciples, Inc., intends to start construction of 74 additional housing units for the elderly this year.
The San Angelo AIDS Foundation, with the support of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS grant, is providing rental assistance to its clientele.
Community needs include improved parks in income-eligible neighborhoods and
better services for elderly persons, including handicapped-accessible buses and
weatherization of the Santa Fe Warehouse Senior Center.
San Angelo has highlighted the following housing priorities over the 3 years covered by this Consolidated Plan:
The city has not limited its housing rehabilitation program, first-time homebuyer program, or rental rehabilitation program to any specific areas. While the plan has an overall goal of revitalization of target areas, these programs are made available to qualifying persons in all neighborhoods.
Renovation of the community public health center is a priority for San Angelo, in order to accommodate an increasing demand for services from low-income persons. In addition, streets will be repaved in certain areas, particularly low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
The city has undertaken an anti-poverty strategy aimed at helping lower income families become self-sufficient. The San Angelo Public Housing Authority is working closely with the Concho Valley Council of Governments, the Texas Department of Human Resources, the Texas Employment Commission, and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to provide rental assistance and HUD-approved family self-sufficiency certificates.
The San Angelo Community Development and Housing Department and the Public
Housing Authority will coordinate all activities.
The following selected projects in San Angelo will be funded through CDBG and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) monies during 1995-1996:
Except for street improvements, most funding through the Consolidated Plan will be used to help low-income households throughout the city, without restriction to neighborhood boundaries. Street improvements will occur in areas that are deemed income eligible.
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.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within another of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 9 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
