Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll City of Syracuse Consolidated Plan Year 30 2004-2005 Prepared by the Department of Community Development 201 E. Washington Street, Room 612 Syracuse, New York 13202 April 2004 Consolidated Plan 2004-2005 Public Comments Consolidated Plan 2004-2005 Public Hearing March 29, 2004 Consolidated Plan 2004-2005 Newspaper Articles Draft Consolidated Plan 2004-2005 Announcement of Availability Draft Consolidated Plan 2004-2005 Public Meeting March 10, 2004 Community Needs Meeting October 23, 2003 Request for Proposals September 2003 Table of Contents 2004-2005 (Year 30) Consolidated Plan Page No. Executive Summary 1 Section 1 Introduction 10 Purpose 11 Key Participants 13 Citizen Participation 18 Community Profile 35 Section 2 Housing Market Analysis 41 Housing Market Study 42 Syracuse Housing Authority 45 Assisted Housing 55 Continuum of Care Strategy 61 Barriers to Affordable Housing 76 Fair Housing Initiatives 79 Section 3 Housing and Homeless Needs Assessment 90 Housing Needs 91 Housing Needs Assessment 92 Homeless Population Needs 99 Special Needs Population 106 Section 4 Economic Development 112 Section 5 Historic Preservation 124 Collaborative Preservation Efforts 125 Historic Preservation: 290 E. Onondaga Street 126 Section 6 Strategic Plan 140 Housing Strategic Plan 141 Homeless Strategic Plan 146 Community Development Strategic Plan 147 Public Facilities 148 Planning & Administration 149 Infrastructure 150 Public Services 151 Economic Development 152 Barriers to Affordable Housing 156 Lead-Based Paint Hazards 156 Anti-Poverty Strategy 158 Structure 161 i Page No. Section 7 Action Plan 171 Resources 172 Activities 174 Geographic Distribution 179 Program Specific Requirements HOME Investment Partnership Program 180 Section 8 Monitoring 188 Program Monitoring and Evaluation 189 Section 3 192 Minority and Women Business 195 Section 9 Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area 197 Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy 198 Community Based Development Organizations 201 Statistical Profile 210 Planning Process 219 Goals and Strategies 230 Projects 234 Section 10 Activity Descriptions 246 Section 11 Appendices Maps Community Needs Meeting Newspaper Articles Public Comments Community Development Advisory Committee Public Notices & Meetings Announcement of Availability of Draft Plan Public Meeting of Draft Consolidated Plan Community Needs Meeting Request for Proposals Section 12 Certifications 2002-2003 (Year 28) Consolidated Plan Section 13 HUD CAPER Review ii City of Syracuse Consolidated Plan 2004-2005 Executive Summary 1 Executive Summary The City of Syracuse Department of Community Development submits the City of Syracuse Consolidated Plan, 2004-2005, as required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This Plan is the result of a collaborative process whereby this community established a unified vision for housing and community development needs. The Plan describes community needs, resources, priorities, and proposed activities to be undertaken utilizing federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnership Grant (HOME), and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds. The City of Syracuse will utilize the following estimated resources for the 2004/2005 fiscal year: CDBG $ 7,444,000.00 HOME $ 2,250,242.00 American Dream Down Payment Act $ 108,360.00 ESG $ 276,468.00 The purpose of the Consolidated Plan is to focus the needs of the City on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s national objectives of decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities. Based on public input through the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) and Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today (TNT), the City of Syracuse Department of Community Development proposes to use the available federal resources to work towards the goals listed below. Goal 1: Create or retain 400 reasonably-priced housing units annually by 2005 Strategies • Rehabilitate existing vacant housing to provide affordable rental units or homeownership opportunities • Retain affordable housing stock through rehab or construction programs • Link housing services through continuum from homelessness to homeownership • Expand capacity of nonprofit housing developers • Provide programs to facilitate homeownership opportunities Goal 2: Remove 250 vacant and/or derelict structures that are not suitable for rehabilitation and that detract from the City’s neighborhoods by 2005 - 2 - Goal 3: Create or retain 250 jobs by 2005 Strategies • Provide job training assistance for businesses and the workforce • Assist small businesses and industry in job retention and creation • Provide investment capital • Identify business markets appropriate for growth in the City of Syracuse Goal 4: Strategically revitalize the major corridors within our neighborhoods Strategies • Conduct design work for corridor improvement • Identify corridors within the city in need of improvements • Increase resources in order to implement current design studies Goal 5: Provide services to individuals that promote or foster self-sufficiency Strategies • Expand resources to increase the supply of affordable, high quality child care • Expand the availability of youth programs • Support efforts to improve neighborhood facilities • Continue efforts to strengthen fair housing enforcement Housing Market Analysis Syracuse’s estimated population based on the 2000 Census is 146,435 a decrease of approximately 10 percent from 163,836 in 1990. Twenty-three of the City’s 26 neighborhoods experienced a population loss from 1990 through 1999. In 1990, 76 percent of the population was white, and 20 percent black. The 2000 Census reports 64 percent of the population white and 25 percent of the population black. The Hispanic population showed an increase from three percent in 1990 to five percent in 2000. The Plan includes specific areas of interest that were instrumental in determining the City’s housing and community development needs: “Housing Market Analysis,” “Housing and Homeless Needs Assessment,” and “Strategic Plan.” The “Action Plan” outlines the funding recipients that address the needs and goals. Research reveals that the City of Syracuse faces an oversupply of housing with many structures at risk of abandonment in the near future; inner city neighborhoods have a large proportion of rental properties, as well as greater problems with vacancy, code violations, and tax delinquency; the presence of multi-unit rental properties compounds housing problems and undermines the value of single-family properties; and many neighborhoods within the city have low rates of homeownership. - 3 - There are an estimated 59,482 households in Syracuse, a nine percent decrease from 1990. The city now faces a vacancy rate of 15 percent. It is apparent that the city has been facing a soft housing market for the past decade. The abandonment of property is a key characteristic of this housing market. In 1991 the average sale price of single-family homes was $71,167. By 2003 that average was $62,800. The 2003 figure does reflect an increase over the average of $54,814 in 2000 and a slight raise over the 2002 average of $62,478. The Syracuse Housing Authority owns and administers 12 federal-subsidized public housing developments and manages two city sites. About 4,313 people reside in this housing. SHA operates the federal “Section 8” program for 7,928 residents. Over 4,378 multi-family rental housing units have received project-based assistance above and beyond the public housing administered by the SHA. Most of these housing units were constructed by non-profit developers through the provision of below market interest loans with HUD Sections 221 and 236 programs. The “Continuum of Care” strategy is the result of the ongoing planning and program evaluation performed by the Homeless Task Force. The City of Syracuse and the County of Onondaga avoid duplication of services and maximize limited community resources. Needs addressed include: emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, permanent housing, and support services. Property tax policies, building and fire code, disposition of HUD and city-owned properties, and permit fees and zoning have been identified as barriers to affordable housing in the City of Syracuse. Fair Housing Initiatives are undertaken in conjunction with the Fair Housing Council. Housing and Homeless Needs Assessment Housing needs include: rental assistance or access to affordable rental units; the development of affordable or subsidized large and single room occupancy (SRO) units; maintenance of public and assisted rental housing options; increased public assistance shelter allowances; weatherization assistance to keep housing operations costs affordable; abatement of lead paint hazards; moderate to substantial rehabilitation assistance for owner-occupants; down payment and closing costs assistance for rental households who are able to become owner- occupants; affordable homeownership opportunities through new construction and major rehabilitation; foreclosure prevention and mortgage assistance services and programs; and moderate to substantial rehabilitation for owner-occupied housing. - 4 - The needs of the homeless are served by a variety of traditional and innovative programs. Many needs are unmet. The Continuum of Care is a process that identifies those in need and encourages them to utilize existing services. Homeless subpopulations include: persons with physical disabilities, persons with developmental