Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (20)
Similar to Trending developments vol 5 issue 10
Similar to Trending developments vol 5 issue 10 (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Trending developments vol 5 issue 10
- 1. December 2016Volume 5, Issue 10 F A L L R I V E R O F F I C E O F E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T Trending Developments FROED Board of Directors: Officers Mayor Jasiel Correia, II, Chairman/Ex-officio Frank Marchione, President James M. Karam, Vice President Carlos A. DaCunha, Treasurer Alan F. Macomber, Clerk At-Large Members Joseph Baptista Michael Benevides Paul C. Burke Francisco Cabral Nicholas M. Christ Robert Cooper Mark Cordeiro Eileen Danahey Bruce Fernandes Maria Ferreira-Bedard Alfredo M. Franco Michael Lund George Matouk, Jr. Paul S. Medeiros Joan Menard Robert Mongeon Kenneth R. Rezendes Anthony Riccitelli Ron Rusin James P. Sabra Len Sullivan Ex-Officio Members Shawn Cadime Carl Garcia Paul M. Joncas Atty. William G. Kenney Matthew H. Malone John J. Sbrega Non-Voting Members Robert A. Mellion FROED Staff: Kenneth Fiola, Jr., Esq., Executive Vice President Janet A. Misturado, Director of Administration Maria R. Doherty, Network Administrator Lynn M. Oliveira, Economic Development Coordinator Michael Motta, Technical Assistance Specialist Steven Souza, Economic Development Administrative Assistant Fall River Office of Economic Development One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722 Phone: (508) 324-2620 Fax: (508) 677-2840 http://froed.org Since the Fall of 2015, State Representative Carole Fiola and a team of Fall River stake- holders have been meeting regularly to discuss the hous- ing issues in the city of Fall River while researchers at UMass Dartmouth’s Public Policy Center have been com- piling relevant qualitative and quantitative data. The privately funded study (see study con- tributors at end of article) ex- amines the housing stock in Fall River, relationships be- tween the housing market and population, demographics and economic changes, as well as the options available for ad- dressing issues and rectifying gaps between existing housing and the demand. The following are the facts uncovered and corresponding recommenda- tions proposed as a result of the study: FACT #1: Twenty-eight per- cent (7047 units) of Public and Private Rental Units in Fall River are subsidized. From 2009 – 2014, Multifamily Owner Occupied units de- creased by 16.6% and absentee ownership has increased. Fif- teen percent (15.4%) of all residential parcels are owned by out-of-towners. RECOMMENDATION: Pro- grams need to be developed to increase Owner Occupied Home Ownership -- The City of Fall River should place greater financial and market- ing emphasis on First Time Home Buyer funding for owner occupied single family and multi-family non- subsidized residential devel- opment. 2018 FY CDBG budget should be increased from $100,000 to a minimum $300,000 and be limited to owner occupied single family and multifamily home owner- ship. In addition to serving the general population, the program should target and incent schoolteachers, police officers, emergency medical technicians, and firefighters by requiring repayment of 25% of the actual loan amount at 0% interest and only at the time of resale con- tingent on the requirement of meeting a 10 year owner oc- cupancy requirement. RECOMMENDATION: State legislation should be filed to amend the Community Preservation Act to include funding for the development of market rate housing in those Massachusetts commu- nities that have met their Chapter 40B 10% threshold for affordable housing. (Continued on Page 2) Fall River Stakeholders Reveal Housing Policy Study Information and Recommendations Looking for a job? Visit froed.org then select the “Current Employment Opportunities” tab. Next click “Job Search” and this will launch an interactive database. Within this database alone there are currently 1,001 employment opportunities within a 5 mile radius of Fall River. 1,001 Jobs Available
- 2. Page 2 Trending Developments and many units have not been inspected for years. RECOMMENDATION: So as to comply with state law which requires multi- family inspections once every five years to ensure and safeguard the life, health, safety, welfare and property of occupants and adjacent property valua- tions, the City of Fall Riv- er should develop and im- plement a Multi-Family Housing Registration and Inspection Ordinance to mandate the inspection of multi-family dwellings consisting of three or more units to identify property owner/contact information. If funding is necessary, a sliding scale should be developed to differentiate owner occu- pied from non-owner oc- cupied dwellings. RECOMMENDATION: Encourage the City of Fall River, like other Massa- chusetts communities, to establish a multi-agency Neighborhood Task Force (NTF) to counter the dra- matic deterioration of sev- eral neighborhoods throughout the city and improve the quality of life for all city residents. Un- der the auspices of the City Legal Department, the city NTF will initiate concentrated code (Continued from Page 1) FACT # 2: The FRHA may be negatively contributing to property values and abut- ting neighborhoods for fail- ure to (i) develop an ac- ceptable plan for the re-use of abandoned properties in the Corky Row neighbor- hood and the redevelop- ment of the former Watup- pa Heights property; (ii) properly install and main- tain video camera monitor- ing of FRHA sites and (iii) properly staff the FRHA legal department to oversee tenant complaints, monitor on site visitation by non- residents and process tenant evictions. The Fall River Housing Authority (FRHA) owns 2,304 public housing units and manages and oversees the issuance of 2,004 state and federal housing vouch- ers to income eligible peo- ple. Together these pro- grams represent 4,308 units or 61% of all subsidized units within the city RECOMMENDATION: Within six months from the issuance of this report, the FRHA, working in conjunc- tion with the Mayor and City Council should (i) de- velop and submit a plan for the demolition and reuse of the abandoned Corky Row properties and re-use of the Watuppa Heights site to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for considera- tion and approval; (ii) initi- ate a study using police crime statistics complete with recommendations to determine the crime rate within, and around, the pub- lic housing locations and identify what impact this may, or may not, have on real estate values within the vicinity of such units and (iii) fund and conduct an external independent finan- cial, operational manage- ment and tenant service pro- vision audit of the FRHA to determine the proficiency of its overall management structure, its financial effi- ciency and the impact of its tenant based education and job training services in com- parison to other Massachu- setts Housing Authorities. FACT # 3: Fall River’s housing Stock was built for renters. Renters primarily live in older housing. Seven- ty three percent (73%) of all rental units were built before 1940 and are occupied by renters. Older rental units are more prone to structural de- ficiencies. Budgetary con- straints and staff capacity prevent Inspectional services from completing a full cycle of inspections on multifami- ly rental units in Fall River Housing Policy Study Information and Recommendations enforcement in the most troubled neighborhoods through civil and criminal judicial processes to bring non-owner occupied and owner occupied properties into compliance with local and state building codes. Under the auspices of the City Legal Department the NTF will be charged (i) to oversee identification and registration of abandoned buildings; (ii) the enforce- ment of exterior building code violations consisting of unsecured, vacant structures, unmaintained roofs gutters and down- spouts, unsafe stairs, porches and decks, dead or unsafe trees, dilapi- dated garages, sheds and fences; (iii) the enforce- ment of interior building codes and dwellings unfit for human habitation, overcrowded living condi- tions, unsafe buildings/ structures, blocked egress- es, faulty plumbing, ex- posed electrical wiring; (iv) zoning code viola- tions consisting of outdoor storage of junk, salvage, auto parts, parking of ve- hicles and boats in re- stricted yard areas (front, rear, side), inoperable mo- tor vehicles on property, auto repair garages in resi- dential areas , illegal rooming houses; and (Continued on Page 3)
- 3. Trending Developments Page 3 DYS and others to com- mission a study to identify and better understand the economic, financial and social impacts of these programs and entities on property values, public safety and public educa- tion. Once these impacts are determined, the City and these entities should de- velop a mutually agreea- ble plan and strategy for the application for ESG and COC funding for homeless families and individuals. This plan should also look at the management, placement and impact of drug treat- ment centers, sober hous- es and group homes with- in Fall River. FACT # 6: Although Fall River is home to 8.4% of the total population of Bristol and Plymouth counties, it accommodates 14% of the Bristol/ Plymouth County subsi- dized housing as managed by Housing Solutions (formally known as South Shore Housing) and subsi- dized housing sub- contractor programs. These housing programs consist of Housing Choice Voucher Programs, Mas- sachusetts Rental Voucher Programs, Alternative Voucher Programs, (Continued from Page 2) (v) health and sanitation code violations consisting of yard waste in alleys, de- teriorated dumpsters, dump- sters on public ways, pest infestation, noxious weeds, high grass and exterior hoarding. FACT # 4: In 2015, there were 100 self-reported and registered Abandoned Prop- erties in Fall River which generated $273,800 in reve- nue. Unlike many other cit- ies, the revenue generated from Abandoned Properties goes into the city’s general fund as opposed to Code Enforcement and Inspec- tional Services. RECOMMENDATION: City of Fall River should review and compare Aban- doned Properties fees and reporting procedures with other Gateway Cities to determine comparable fee and reporting structures. Earmark the revenue de- rived annually from Aban- doned Properties Registry for additional Housing In- spectional Services person- nel, technology and Neigh- borhood Task Force inspec- tors as opposed to deposit- ing these fees into the Gen- eral Fund. FACT # 5 : From 2006 – 2015 the City of Fall River, as the grant applicant, has helped secure and spend more than $26,748,000 for Continuum of Care (COC), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) and Home Funding programs. These monies have helped to leverage mil- lions of more dollars more cash match dollars from so- cial service non-profit enti- ties. This expenditure has exceeded similar expendi- tures in Lynn ($26,434,000), New Bedford ($25,794,000), Lowell ($17,408,000), Law- rence ($16,923,000) and Brockton ($13,544,000) dur- ing the same time frame. From 2007 through 2015, the City of Fall River experi- enced a 165% increase (from 153 in 2007 to 406 in 2015) in its homeless population. Fall River is home to 1.9% of statewide homeless while representing 1.3% of state residents; Fall River has 2.3% of state’s year round Homeless Shelter Beds while representing 1.3% of all state residents. RECOMMENDATION: The City of Fall River needs to convene a meeting with non- profit housing and social service entities such as the Fall River Housing Authori- ty, People Inc., Catholic So- cial Services, JRI, STARR, Steppingstone, HomeBASE, RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) and South Shore Housing Units. RECOMMENDATION: State legislation should be filed to (i) mandate that all HomeBASE units mirror federal Section 8 mini- mum housing standards to ensure public safety: (ii) that these entities track and report local recidi- vism rates to DHCD, and (iii) develop a program for transition of the these into more permanent housing opportunities in communi- ties failing to meet their fair share of subsidized housing. FACT # 7: The total amount of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds obligated for public services activi- ties must not exceed 15 percent of the annual grant allocation plus 15 percent of program in- come received during the prior year. As one of only an estimated eight cities nationwide, the City of Fall River, through a utili- zation of a waiver request to HUD has for the last 40 years expended 40% of its Community Development Block Grant on Public Services. (Continued on Page 4) Housing Policy Study Information and Recommendations
- 4. One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Phone: 508-324-2620 Fax: 508-677-2840 E-mail: info@froed.org Mission statement of the Fall River Office of Economic Development: Incorporated in 1978 as a 501(c)(4) corporation to promote the prosperity and general welfare of the citizens of Fall River through the stimulation of economic strength and expansion of new and existing business. Keeping Fall River working in Fall River. F A L L R I V E R O F F I C E O F E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T For more information please visit our website: www.froed.org Page 4 (Continued from Page 3) RECOMMENDATION: The City of Fall River should plan to wean itself of the 40% expenditure of CDBG funds for Public Service uses and conform to the CDBG 15% cap ex- penditure. Redirection of these funds could result in substantial infrastructure (water, sewer, street, side- walks, parks, playgrounds, etc) repair throughout the majority of the city. FACT # 8: While there is interest in sharing city da- ta, city departments lack the staff and technological capacity to collect and share meaningful infor- mation internally or be- tween agencies. RECOMMENDATION: City of Fall River should work to improve technolo- gy infrastructure and train- ing to obtain and integrate data between School Department, Police, Fire, Building Inspection, Planning, Zoning, Water and Sewer to get a broader understanding of the im- pacts of variance requests, sub-division proposals and retail, commercial and in- dustrial development on the city. The study was funded by BayCoast Bank, Bank Five, the Fall River Office of Economic Development, the Fall River Redevelop- ment Authority, the Great- er Fall River Development Corporation, Mechanics Bank, NFC Mortgage, St. Anne’s Credit Union, and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachu- setts. To view the full re- port and recommendations, please visit: www.electcarole.com. Contact Representative Fiola at 617-722-2460 or carole.fiola@mahouse.gov. Housing Policy Study Information and Recommendations Table: Subsidized Housing in Fall River Source: Towards an Evidence-Based Housing Policy in Fall River, Massachusetts, UMass Dartmouth Public Policy Center