ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE DOTHAN, ALABAMA AUGUST 2020 Prepared for CITY OF DOTHAN DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT This page intentionally left blank. ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE For Program Years 2020 to 2024 CITY OF DOTHAN, ALABAMA Department of Planning & Development Community Development August 2020 Prepared for the City of Dothan by Mosaic Community Planning, LLC This page intentionally left blank. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 Fair Housing Planning ................................................................................................................................ 1 Definitions ................................................................................................................................................. 2 Data Sources ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2. Community Participation Process ......................................................................................5 Community Engagement Overview .......................................................................................................... 5 Community Engagement Results .............................................................................................................. 7 Chapter 3. Socioeconomic Profile ..................................................................................................... 16 Demographic Profile ............................................................................................................................... 16 Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty .......................................................................... 23 Chapter 4. Segregation and Integration ............................................................................................ 26 Race and Ethnicity ................................................................................................................................... 26 Segregation Levels .................................................................................................................................. 29 National Origin and Limited English Proficiency Population .................................................................. 31 Chapter 5. Access to Opportunity ..................................................................................................... 34 Poverty .................................................................................................................................................... 35 Employment and Workforce Development ............................................................................................ 37 Education ................................................................................................................................................ 43 Transportation ........................................................................................................................................ 47 Environmental Quality and Park Access ................................................................................................. 50 Food Access ............................................................................................................................................. 54 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 6. Housing Profile ................................................................................................................ 58 Housing Supply Summary ....................................................................................................................... 58 Housing Costs and Affordability .............................................................................................................. 63 Housing Needs ........................................................................................................................................ 66 Homeownership and Lending ................................................................................................................. 74 Zoning, Affordabilty, and Housing Choice ............................................................................................... 82 Chapter 7. Publicly Supported Housing ............................................................................................. 91 Supply and Occupancy ............................................................................................................................ 92 Geography of Supported Housing ........................................................................................................... 95 Policy Review .......................................................................................................................................... 98 CITY OF DOTHAN 2020 ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE i Chapter 8. Housing for People with Disabilities ............................................................................... 100 Residential Patterns .............................................................................................................................. 100 Accessible Housing Supply and Affordability ........................................................................................ 103 Zoning and Accessibility ........................................................................................................................ 104 Chapter 9. Fair Housing Activities ................................................................................................... 107 Fair Housing Resources ......................................................................................................................... 107 Fair Housing Complaints ....................................................................................................................... 108 Fair Housing Lawsuits and Litigation ..................................................................................................... 110 Past Fair Housing Goals and Related Activities ..................................................................................... 112 Chapter 10. Identification of Impediments ...................................................................................... 115 CITY OF DOTHAN 2020 ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE ii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION FAIR HOUSING PLANNING Equal access to housing choice is crucial to America’s commitment to equality and opportunity for all. Title VIII of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1968, more commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, provides housing opportunity protection by prohibiting discrimination in the sale or rental of housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The Act was amended in 1988 to provide stiffer penalties, establish an administrative enforcement mechanism and to expand its coverage to prohibit discrimination on the basis of familial status and disability. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), specifically HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws. Provisions to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH) are basic long-standing components of HUD’s housing and community development programs. The AFFH requirements are derived from Section 808(e) (5) of the Fair Housing Act which requires the Secretary of HUD to administer the Department’s housing and urban development programs in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing.1 Local communities like Dothan that receive grant funds from HUD through its entitlement process satisfy this obligation by performing an “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice” (AI). In an AI, grantees evaluate barriers to fair housing choice and develop strategies and actions to overcome identified impediments based on their histories, circumstances, and experiences. Through this process, communities promote fair housing choice for all persons, including classes protected under the Fair Housing Act, and promote racially and ethnically inclusive patterns of housing occupancy, identify structural and systematic barriers to fair housing choice, and promote housing that is physically accessible and usable by persons with disabilities. HUD presumes that a grantee is meeting its obligation and certification to affirmatively further fair housing by taking actions that address the impediments, including: • Analyzing and eliminating housing discrimination within the jurisdiction; • Promoting fair housing choice for all persons; • Providing opportunities for racially and ethnically inclusive patterns of housing occupancy; • Promoting housing that is physically accessible to all persons to include those persons with disabilities; and • Fostering compliance with the nondiscrimination provisions of the Fair Housing Act. 1 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Fair Housing Planning Guide: Volume 1 (Chapter 1: Fair Housing Planning Historical Overview, Page 13). March 1996. CITY OF DOTHAN 2020 ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE 1 Through its Community Planning