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REDEVELOPMENT PLAN A. Introduction The Centre A venue/Oak Street Project Area is part of the Brighton neighborhood in the City of Portsmouth. In March of ] 986, the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the City of Portsmouth adopted the Brighton Conservation Plan. In the Conservation Plan, the City and Authority found that "certain portions of the general 'Brighton' neighborhood in the City of Portsmouth, Virginia contain[ed] blighted, deteriorated, or deteriorating areas or portions thereof." The Conservation Plan sought "the elimination or prevention of the spread or increase of blight or deterioration...." Despite efforts under the Conservation Plan, a more direct and targeted effort is necessary to eliminate and prevent the spread of blight and to improve living conditions in the Brighton area. This Plan targets a specific portion of the Brighton neighborhood surrounding the intersection of Centre Avenue and Oak Street. The Plan proposes the acquisition of vacant parcels in the Project Area, resubdivision to create buildable lots, and the disposition of property for the construction of affordable housing. Implementation of the Plan will improve conditions within the Project Area and the Brighton neighborhood as a whole. Census and other data shows that the Brighton neighborhood is struggling with high rates of poverty and crime, a lack of affordable housing, and significant conditions preventing the development of land. The Centre A venue/Oak Street Plan Project Area is located within Census Tract 2] 19. According to 2000 census data, the median household income in this census tract is $15,574, only forty-six percent of the median household income in Portsmouth overall. Forty- five percent of the population, thirty percent more than the City average, is below the poverty level. This represents an increase of 6% since 1990 while the percentage of households below