2015 – 2019 Consolidated & Annual Action Plan Jorge O. Elorza, Mayor City of Providence, Rhode Island Department of Planning and Development Bonnie Nickerson, Director Brian Hull, Director, Division of Community Development Community Development Block Grant HOME Investment Partnership Program Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Emergency Solutions Grant Submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development City of Providence, Rhode Island Jorge O. Elorza, Mayor Department of Planning and Development Bonnie Nickerson, Director Brian Hull, Director, Division of Community Development 2015 – 2019 Consolidated Plan 2015 – 2016 Annual Action Plan Community Development Block Grant HOME Investment Partnership Program Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Emergency Solutions Grant Submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Contents 6 Executive Summary 6 ES-05 Executive Summary - 24 CFR 91.200(c), 91.220(b) 13 The Process 13 PR-05 Lead & Responsible Agencies 24 CFR 91.200(b) 15 PR-10 Consultation - 91.100, 91.200(b), 91.215(l) 60 PR-15 Citizen Participation 57 Needs Assessment 57 NA-05 Overview 60 NA-10 Housing Needs Assessment - 24 CFR 91.205 (a,b,c) 73 NA-15 Disproportionately Greater Need: Housing Problems – 91.205 (b)(2) 77 NA-20 Disproportionately Greater Need: Severe Housing Problems – 91.205 (b)(2) 82 NA-25 Disproportionately Greater Need: Housing Cost Burdens – 91.205 (b)(2) 94 NA-35 Public Housing – 91.205(b) 101 NA-40 Homeless Needs Assessment – 91.205(c) 105 NA-45 Non-Homeless Special Needs Assessment - 91.205 (b,d) 114 NA-50 Non-Housing Community Development Needs – 91.215 (f) 127 Housing Market Analysis 127 MA-05 Overview 133 MA-10 Number of Housing Units – 91.210(a)&(b)(2) 139 MA-15 Housing Market Analysis: Cost of Housing - 91.210(a) 146 MA-20 Housing Market Analysis: Condition of Housing – 91.210(a) 154 MA-25 Public and Assisted Housing – 91.210(b) 158 MA-30 Homeless Facilities and Services – 91.210(c) 164 MA-35 Special Needs Facilities and Services – 91.210(d) 169 MA-40 Barriers to Affordable Housing – 91.210(e) 171 MA-45 Non-Housing Community Development Assets – 91.215 (f) 190 MA-50 Needs and Market Analysis Discussion 194 Strategic Plan 194 SP-05 Overview 199 SP-10 Geographic Priorities – 91.215 (a)(1) 202 SP-25 Priority Needs - 91.215(a)(2) 215 SP-30 Influence of Market Conditions – 91.215 (b) 217 SP-35 Anticipated Resources - 91.215(a)(4), 91.220(c)(1,2) 223 SP-40 Institutional Delivery Structure – 91.215(k) 240 SP-45 Goals Summary – 91.215(a)(4) 260 SP-50 Public Housing Accessibility and Involvement – 91.215(c) 261 SP-55 Barriers to affordable housing – 91.215(h) 264 SP-60 Homelessness Strategy – 91.215(d) 270 SP-65 Lead based paint Hazards – 91.215(i) 273 SP-70 Anti-Poverty Strategy – 91.215(j) 276 SP-80 Monitoring – 91.230 277 First Year Action Plan 277 AP-15 Expected Resources – 91.220(c)(1,2) 283 AP-20 Annual Goals and Objectives 299 AP-35 Projects – 91.220(d) 301 AP-38 Project Summary 328 AP-50 Geographic Distribution – 91.220(f) 332 AP-55 Affordable Housing – 91.220(g) 335 AP-60 Public Housing – 91.220(h) 337 AP-65 Homeless and Other Special Needs Activities – 91.220(i) 341 AP-70 HOPWA Goals - 91.220 (l)(3) 344 AP-75 Barriers to affordable housing – 91.220(j) 346 AP-85 Other Actions – 91.220(k) 351 AP-90 Program Specific Requirements – 91.220(l)(1,2,4) 367 Citizen Participation – Public Meeting Minutes Grantee SF-424s and Certifications Executive Summary ES-05 Executive Summary - 24 CFR 91.200(c), 91.220(b) 1. Introduction The 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) is the City of Providence’s guidance document for strategically allocating the following Federal funds: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), and the Lead Hazard Control and Reduction Program (LHC). The purpose of the ConPlan is to identify the City’s housing, community, neighborhood, and economic development needs, prioritize those needs, and develop goals and strategies regarding how funding will be allocated to eligible housing and community development activities to meet the City’s priority needs. The ConPlan is rooted in broad-based outreach which solicited information from the City’s residents, organizations and agencies that work in housing and community development, civic and community leaders, academics and researchers, and public agencies. This information assisted greatly in the development of the ConPlan and is the foundation for the City’s efforts on housing, homelessness, public services, facility and infrastructure improvements, and community and economic development. The City is required to examine barriers to fair housing choice and develop a plan to mitigate such barriers. This information is contained in the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. The State of Rhode Island is preparing a statewide Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. Once complete, the City will supplement this information with additional City-specific barriers. In addition to the ConPlan, the City is required to complete two reports each year. First is the Annual Action Plan which specifies how the City proposes to allocate the funds for the upcoming year. These allocations must comport with the priorities articulated in the ConPlan. The 2015 Action Plan is included in this ConPlan. Second is the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) which specifies how the City has spent its federal funds and whether or not the City is meeting the goals set forth in the ConPlan. The CAPER is completed by September 30 of each year. Both of these reports will be made available to the public for review. Providence Consolidated Plan 6 2. Summary of the objectives and outcomes identified in the Plan Needs As- sessment Overview The City of Providence’s housing and community needs were identified through a series of eight community meetings that solicited input from residents of the 25 neighborhoods in the City; multiple meetings with local Community Development organizations, community centers, and other nonprofit service organizations; evaluation of data obtained from partner organizations such as the Providence Housing Authority, Crossroads Rhode Island, AIDS Care Ocean State, Children and Youth Cabinet; data systems such as HMIS; publicly available data; and a variety of other sources. Each of these helped inform various sections of the ConPlan. Housing Needs Housing Affordability: Approximately 40% of the rental and homeowners in the city pay more than 30% of their annual income on housing. Add in the facts that many residents fall within the low- and moderate-income brackets and a large number of home owners remain underwater due to the down turn in the economy. These concerns are magnified by the high number of residents who earn between 0% - 30% of the area median income. All these facts make it difficult to find affordable housing for residents of the city. Substandard Housing Stock: The lack of maintenance of a large portion of the City’s housing stock, in conjunction with its age, along with the high number of absentee landlords and lack of resources for property owners to maintain their properties affects the quality of housing within the city. Public Housing: Providence Housing Authority is the sole agency in the city that provides public housing. Its portfolio consists of 2,601 units that serve 5,612 residents. Additionally it provides housing assistance to 6,431 individuals as the contract administrator of section 8 housing. In analyzing the data provide by the PHA two facts stand out; 1) the average wait time to get a unit can be as long as 5 years, 2) for elderly or disable clients the wait period approaches 2 years. Homeless Needs Homelessness: Estimating the total population of the unsheltered homeless presents a difficult challenge due to the transient nature of the homeless population. Further, estimating those who are at-risk of homelessness is equally challenging. In conversation with homelessness providers, through analysis of HMIS data, and review of the State’s strategic plan to end chronic homelessness, one significant issue identified was the need to quickly re-house individuals and families that fall into homelessness. The issue of homelessness is exacerbated by the lack of resources to provide the requisite support Providence Consolidated Plan 7 services for individuals and families to maintain their housing. To address these issues, the City is focused on quickly responding to homelessness through rapid re-housing for those that fall into homelessness and the Housing First model of providing homeless individuals with permanent housing and the appropriate wrap around services as required for them to maintain their housing. Non-Homeless Special Needs There are households throughout the City that have special needs unrelated to homelessness. Some of these population groups include the elderly and frail elderly; those living with some type of physical or cognitive disability; those living with HIV/AIDS and their families; persons with substance use disorders; persons with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) and Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI); and victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. These groups may face greater challenges than the general population due to their specific circumstances and the City’s housing stock, particularly the large pools of homes in the City built before 1940, may not be suitable for households with special needs. These groups may also require special attention due to additional social services required. These special needs populations face a multitude of housing and support service needs unique to their circumstances.