Minutes 06/10/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

55 June i0, 1980 We are now presented witk two atternati3e proposals of eith.er 100 uni%s witk substantial/ mode~.te.re~kilitatibn'i~ un~pa~ted cens~us trkct'~r 2~-.ne~.~nit~ 'l~ca.~ed~somewkere in census tract~ I~3, 1Z3, 125, 128, 13~ ~n~3~2 and 75 units for substantial moderate rehabilitation in unimpacted areas. We urge Ci'ty Council, before the adoption of the alternative plan, to explorelegal action against HUD for improperly withholding Community Development Funds by ap- proving the proposal of Section 8 existing housing. HUD must be made accountable and must kno~ that the City of Portsmouth is not going to be subject to every demand of the HUD regional administrator. We are well aware of the importance of Community Development Funds to the City of Portsmouth and especially to such areas as Park View, 01d Towne, Cradock, Truxton, Mt. and Southside, but there is no requirement that we be subject to every demand of administratiw officials. Under the Regulations for New Construction and Sub.$~antial Rehabilitation, it is required that before there can be a determination that new construction or substantial rehabilitation should be permitted, there must be a determination there is not and there is not likely soon to be an adequate supply of existing housing, which with the aid of housing assistance payment~ under Section 8, can meet the needs of eligible families. The Council should require HUD to make a documented finding to this affect with justification for its finding, including facts and figures to justify its findings. Secondly, if City Council should adopt this alternative proposal tonight, it should re- quire that the units that are constructed and the units that are rehabilitated are single family homes, or small apartments with four or less units. The Regulations of HUD provide thai new construction and rehabilitation can be done to single family units. Under these proposals an owner can build a new house and can qualify for Section 8 assistance provided he rents the house to an eligible family. There are a number of duplexes or four family units or less that can be rehabilitated that would qualify. Emphasis should be placed on single family unit in order to stop the growth of apartments. In Portsmouth 41~ of the existing housing units ars apartments and we should not change this ratio with annual increases of subsidized housing in the City of Portsmouth. The City Council should check with the other Tidewater cities that have used the Section 8 program of substantial rehabilitation to see how their programs have worked and what weak- nesses or problems have been occasioned by these programs. Specific investigation should be made as to whether there was concentration of low income housing, whether entire units became eligible for low income housing, and the impact these units had on the community. Under the proposal made by the Housing Authority tonight, the private developer will be responsible for taking applications, verifying eligiblity and selecting applicants. Also, because we are talking about substantial rehabilitation, there will be no zoning controls propert zones will already exist. The Council should require the Housing Authority, or other responsible agency to report to the City Council the following information so the public can see that the program is being fairly and properly administered. Council should require that the location of subsidized units be reported so concentration of these units can be avoided in a single area or census tract. Council should require that a report be made as to where the people came from to be eligible for the low income housing to make sure that the people receiving these benefits are from the City of Portsmouth. There is no requirement that the participants be residents of the City of Portsmouth and a person is eligible if she works in the City of Portsmouth. I believe statistics will show that when Chu~chland North opened up (this project was ran by a private developer) thirty-five percent of the tenants were not residents of the City of Portsmouth. In addition, Council should require a report showing that if a tenant moves from public housing to low income subsidized housing, then a finding should be made as to where the person came from that filled the public housing vacancy in order to insure that Portsmouth is not providing subsidized housing for non-residents. The Council should also require certain social and economic informaticn about the participants in this subsidized housing project. The program should not be ]ust for the very low income familieS, 5ut s'~h~:uid be made available for the moderate income or low income families who have difficulty meeting their needs because of a large family or health problems, and would be eligible to participate. There are a number of low income whites who would be eligible for this program and the program should be administered on a basis that reflects the racial com- position of the City. Finally, in the event that Council does decide to permit the substantial rehabilitation o apartments, it should provide that no more than 20% of an apartment shall be eligible for low income housing subsidy payments. HUD permits this and in fact, encourages a limitation of the number of units eligible for subsidized housing in any one project. A limitation of 20% per apartment unit would avoid entire apartment dwellings being low income and would reduce some- what the objections voiced by so many people in Portsmouth about the proliferation of sub- sidized housing throughout'the City." Jim Tarr, sp6ke for self, stating that representatives should go to Washington and tell HUD what to be done and what not to be done in Portsmouth. Bernard G. Jernigan, 727 Brunswick Road, against any additional subsidized housing in existing housing. representing Hodges Manor Civic League, spoke PortsmoUth, but would support 100 units of Thelma Jones, 1333 Green Street, spoke in favor of a plan that would be acceptable to HUD and come up with funds that would help our city. Johnny Clemons, 5805 Dunkirk ~treet, representing Ebony Heights Civic League, requested that Council adopt the alternate plan proposed by the Housing Authority.