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<br />the poverty rate in the City as a whole decreased 2% over the same period. <br /> <br /> <br />The effect of the area's relative poverty is magnified by a lack of affordable housing. <br /> <br /> <br />Forty-four percent of homeowners in the census tract, seventeen percent more than the City <br /> <br />average, spend over thirty percent of their income on housing. Fifty-three percent of renters in <br /> <br />the census tract, eleven percent more than the City average, spend over thirty percent of their <br /> <br />income on housing. <br /> <br />The private market has failed to address the area residents' housing needs. As of the <br />2000 census, of the 893 housing structures in Census Tract 2119 more than half had been <br />constructed prior to 1960, and all but 18 had been constructed prior to 1980. No new housing <br />structure had been constructed since 1989. In Block Group 2, the Project Area's Block Group, <br />206 of 361 housing structures had been constructed prior to 1960; only 7 had been constructed <br />since 1980, and none since 1989. <br />A major reason for the lack of new housing is that much of the area was originally platted <br />as small parcels which are not buildable under current code requirements. In the Project Area, <br /> <br />70 of 108 parcels, or sixty-five percent, are not currently buildable. As evidenced by the lack of <br /> <br />activity over the past twenty-five years, this condition limits the development of land. <br /> <br />The condition also results in a large number of vacant parcels, which is a contributing <br /> <br />factor to the area's high crime rate. Class A offenses are defined as homicide, rape, robbery, <br /> <br />aggravated assault, arson, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Between 1999 and 2005, <br /> <br /> <br />over 100 Class A offenses have been logged per year for Block Group 2. Eighty Class A <br /> <br /> <br />offenses were logged through the first three quarters of2005. <br /> <br /> <br />This Plan seeks to eliminate and prevent the spread of blight in the Project Area. The <br /> <br /> <br />Plan further seeks to address the conditions limiting the development of land within the Project <br /> <br />Area. It is anticipated that acquisition of the land designated "To Be Acquired" herein, the <br /> <br />2 <br />