City of Elkhart Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area Plan

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1 City of Elkhart Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area Plan NRSA This plan provides information regarding the establishment and amendments to the City of Elkhart s Neighborhood Revitalization Area. Effective July 2015

2 Introduction Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy provides for area-wide benefits to the neighborhoods of the NRSA and has been focusing limited resources in Elkhart s central city since This strategy is an integral part of the City of Elkhart s Consolidated Plan and is described in that Plan as an identified priority need as well as a goal with related activities to meet the community need. The NRSA provides for the area-wide activities as well as focusing the efforts of many of the activities listed in the other Plan strategies into the NRSA. This concentrated community support allows the City to realize an increased benefit over any of the individual programs by working in coordination in the same area. These actions result in improving the living environment for the entire neighborhood. These area-wide benefits are multiplied by the direct benefits received by hundreds of individual NRSA residents that participate in the activities of other strategies. As CDBG resources become scarce, the continued support of the NRSA through this policy of concentrated community support is an increasingly important part of the revitalization of our central city. Believing in the benefits of this approach, additional funding sources such as NSP and TIF are also focused in the NRSA to meet local needs and build on the success of these efforts. History The City of Elkhart is an entitlement community and can utilize its CDBG resources throughout its jurisdictional borders to serve low-mod clientele. The City has determined that due to the limited CDBG resources available and the great community need, it would concentrate its resources into a more narrow area within the City limits. The Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) was established in 1995 and modified in 1999, 2003 and for this plan in 2015 to create the current boundaries. The NRSA designation allows the City to provide services on an area-wide basis to help redevelop the City's core neighborhoods. In addition to the area-wide benefit activities, most of the City's limited clientele activities area is also concentrated in the NRSA in an effort to maximize benefit to the neediest. Boundaries The NRSA includes the following 20 census block groups in central Elkhart TRACT BLOCK GROUP TRACT BLOCK GROUP

3 City of Elkhart Consolidate Plan NRSA Boundaries

4 Demographic Criteria The NRSA is residential in nature but includes smaller commercial nodes as well as the City's downtown area which is a hub for office and commercial as well as residential uses. The downtown and near downtown neighborhoods that make up the NRSA include a mix of housing types from mid-rises of units to single family homes. TRACT BLOCK GROUP LOWMOD LOW/MOD UNIVERSE LOW/MOD PERCENT ,115 2, % % ,005 1, % % ,070 1, % % % , % % % ,055 1, % % , % % % , % % % % % NRSA 12,340 18, % Elkhart Quartile 61.66% Consultation As described in the Consolidated Plan and the Citizen Participation Plan, the plan was developed through the collaborative efforts of City of Elkhart staff, elected officials, appointed committee members, local agencies, neighborhood associations, concerned residents and other interested parties. The City of Elkhart attempted to provide multiple options for the community to participate in the planning process including public meetings, an agency data forms and meetings, and a survey. The City of Elkhart held three public meetings to gather input on the Consolidated Plan. These meetings were held on February 3 and 5 and March 14, These meetings were highly publicized through a direct mailing to nearly 500 residents and agencies, s to over 600 people on the CD list and all city employees with s, the local paper wrote a story in advance of the meetings and the information was posted on the city s website.

5 A mandatory potential subrecipient meeting was held on January 30, 2015 to discuss the CDBG program and requirements to receive funds. 20 agencies representatives attended. Staff met with the Mayor to discuss the CDBG program and request input on needs and projects for the Consolidated Plan. Staff also met with Departments to find out needs and potential projects. City staff discussed needs and future projects with the Elkhart Housing Authority to determine Public Housing Authority needs. In coordination with the City of Goshen, a meeting for agencies that serve the non-homeless special needs population was held on February 13, people representing 5 agencies attended the meeting and completed a needs and services chart during a work session to provide information for that section of the plan. Those agencies are listed in the participation portion of the plan. City Community Development staff attends the Elkhart County Homeless Coalition meetings monthly to gain an understanding of the needs of the community and specifically the needs of homeless individuals and families in our city. In coordination with the City of Goshen, the City of Elkhart held a work session at the February 26, 2015 Elkhart County Homeless Coalition meeting to answer the question related to needs and services in the community. 26 persons from 21 agencies participated in that process and are listed in this plan. The City of Elkhart attempted to gather information and comments from as many local agencies and residents as possible. A survey was developed to gather priority needs for the community in addition to a series of public planning events that were held at the municipal building. The survey was developed in coordination with the City of Goshen CDBG program and a student for Indiana University at South Bend. The survey information was distributed in January to a mailing list of nearly 500 as well as via to more than 600 residents, agencies and city employees. This included a notice for the public meetings to be held as well as the survey and the link to the electronic version. This survey asked interested parties to rank as high, medium, low, or not a priority a series of housing and community development needs and was available in English and Spanish. These agencies include organizations serving the elderly, children, persons with disabilities, persons with HIV/AIDS and their families and homeless persons. The survey allowed for participant to write in additional comments as well. In addition to these forms of communication, staff also spoke with agencies during meetings and by phone and . These discussions provided staff with information that they would not have direct access to because the City does not provide direct services to many members of our community. The partnership with local agencies is critical for determining needs in our communities.

6 Assessment The City of Elkhart s neighborhoods are the backbone of the community and are what will attract or repel, retain or force residents away. The poor quality of residential and commercial units in the City has been identified as a need as well as the need for infrastructure upgrades that include non-auto focused amenities such as public transportation and dedicated bike and pedestrian infrastructure. The need for a thoughtful plan to reuse non-buildable residential lots within the neighborhoods was also identified. Identify the needs in this target area. quality affordable housing units jobs services new housing units that meet modern needs accessible units lead free homes public facilities including sidewalks, parks, and community space community or youth center improvements activities for youth and families What are the opportunities for improvement in this target area? Affordable housing units and vacant land are plentiful in this area providing a wonderful opportunity for redevelopment and reinvestment in the area. Are there barriers to improvement in this target area? Perception of the area as high crime or unsafe where properties do not hold their value is a barrier to redevelopment of the NRSA. The City is working with local partners to improve safety and highlight positive activities in the NRSA. Economic Empowerment The City of Elkhart has a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA). This is the area for many of the City's projects and all of the area-wide beneficiary activities are located within the NRSA. The City also offers a few public service programs and emergency owner-occupied housing rehabilitation projects on a city-wide basis as the beneficiary for this activity is limited clientele based on income. Although many of the public service activities are open to the general public, the program location for all of the CDBG subrecipients programs are within the NRSA. The decision to focus the City's Entitlement funds into the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) was based on the amount of need and concentration of eligible clients residing in the area. The amount of need in Elkhart is well in excess of what the CDBG program can support. By focusing our CDBG resources in a limited area of high concentration of eligible residents the City can make a greater impact on improving the lives of residents and the community than by spreading the resources too thinly around the entire city. The need to provide adequate public facilities and clean, safe, attractive neighborhoods was determined to be a high priority during the public participation process. The need to remove blighted structures was also identified as a specific activity as well as public service activities. To meet these needs the City will undertake the following activities in the NRSA:

7 acquisition of property for demolition and redevelopment public facilities and improvements public facilities - renovation of a publically owned senior center disposition of publically owned properties clearance of blighted buildings for redevelopment code enforcement to provide additional enforcement in the NRSA facade program on Main Street in downtown Elkhart to provide an area-wide benefit to downtown and the NRSA community building to work with neighborhood residents to do neighborhood clean-ups and other community building activities crime prevention program to work with neighborhood residents to identify potential problem areas and provide police presence to prevent crime and other nuisance activities that decrease the quality of life in the NRSA. Performance Measurements The objective of the Neighborhood Revitalization Needs Strategy is to strengthen Elkhart s neighborhoods that are the backbone of the community and are what will attract or repel, retain or force residents away. The poor quality of residential and commercial units in the City has been identified as a need as well as the need for infrastructure upgrades that include nonauto related amenities such as public transportation, dedicated bike and pedestrian infrastructure. The need for a thoughtful plan to reuse non-buildable residential lots within the neighborhoods was also identified as a need. The outcomes for the strategy over the plan period will be: Activity/Program Public Facility or Infrastructure Activities Public Service Activities Facade Treatment/Business Building Rehabilitation Buildings Acquired and Demolished Housing Code Enforcement/Foreclosed Property Care Benchmark/Indicator 5,000 Persons Assisted 5,000 Persons Assisted 5 Businesses 15 Buildings 5,000 Household Housing Unit