A Comprehensive Response to Fair Housing Barriers:
The Community Choice Action Plan 

In 1995 officials from Monroe County, the City of Rochester and the Towns of Irondequoit and Greece joined in an effort to identify barriers to housing choice. A three volume report entitled, "Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in Monroe County, New York" was published in 1996. Shortly thereafter an intensive effort to develop a plan to address the identified barriers was initiated.  The result is the Community Choice Action Plan (CCAP).

What barriers was  the CCAP designed to address?

Rochester and Monroe County are highly segregated by race and income; with a concentration of low-income households, poor minorities and disabled poor in the City. One factor is the scarcity of affordable housing outside the City. This is an obvious barrier to housing choice.

Creating a greater number of affordable housing units seems an obvious solution, but by itself it is not enough. It is also important to make sure that such housing is available to those who would benefit from it. Availability involves public transportation, job opportunities, real estate services, financial services, and public acceptance.

The first step in trying to do this was to design a comprehensive strategy -- one that would  make sure that housing is not only  AFFORDABLE   to the persons protected by the fair housing laws (the "protected classes"), but also is AVAILABLE  to them. 

There are very few suitable housing units located in areas that do not already have high numbers of persons living in poverty.  For many low-income families, their only option is to live in these high-poverty areas. "Equal housing opportunity" means little if there aren’t enough housing units available. Moreover, people with physical disabilities have even more limited housing choices. For them, even if the overall supply of housing units were to increase, common construction practices would still make many of these units inaccessible.

Even when suitable housing units outside high poverty areas do become available, these units might not be advertised in minority or high poverty communities. Such practices may be either intentional or unintentional.  If families are steered away from particular neighborhoods or communities by sellers, landlords or Realtors they may never know about the full range of housing available to them.

Families who need publicly subsidized housing may have to make 30 separate applications just to get on the waiting lists for the subsidized developments located throughout the Monroe County area. It may be impossible for a working mother or someone without a car to get to each of them, pay the application fees and fill out all the paperwork. Then there may be a wait of a year or longer before a unit becomes available. Applicants who change addresses while they are waiting need to update all of their applications. Many are overwhelmed by the process and unable to follow through.

Another factor—moving to an unfamiliar community brings new problems. Without an effective support system, people may hesitate to move away from surroundings they know.

Lower income families are less likely to own cars. Their  housing search may be limited to areas where public transportation is available. They must also consider how they will get to employment or childcare if they move to areas not served well by public transportation.

National fair housing studies show that minority households have a 50-50 chance of being discriminated against each time they seek to buy or rent housing. Most often discrimination can take place that is not apparent to the individual. For example, someone might be told that an apartment has already been rented, even though it is still available. Such "discrimination with a smile" can usually be detected only through fair housing testing programs conducted by trained investigators

Consequently, you can look at the issue of affordability as it relates to housing choice as two sides of one coin -- on the one side is the household's income, on the other side is the cost of the housing.  If the family's income is too low, or the cost of the housing is too high, the housing becomes unaffordable.

A commonly accepted 'affordability' test for housing is whether a unit  costs more than 30% of income. A house or apartment is considered affordable if mortgage payments or rent are not over that level.

Rent levels are a product of supply and demand. In l998 the Rochester Housing Authority, City of Rochester, Monroe County and the Housing Council sponsored an extensive rental housing survey. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the City was found to be $503; the average outside the City was $592.

In 1998, a household that earned 50% of the region’s median income could, using the 30% rule, afford 39% of City rental units, but only 12.5% of suburban rental units.

Barriers to housing choice, thus, are likely to exist for city residents who want to move to the suburbs, but not for suburban residents who want to move to the city.

A renter would need to earn at least $9.58 per hour for a 40-hour week to afford a one-bedroom apartment at the "Fair Market Rent" (a reasonable rent standard) for Monroe County. At the current minimum wage he/she would have to work 74 hours.

Renters who want to become homeowners must be able to finance a mortgage. Traditionally, the number of mortgages granted to minority and low-to-moderate income borrowers has not reflected their share in the total population. Many area banks have recently taken steps to address this disparity and, assuming this trend continues, access to credit will become less of an impediment to housing choice in the future.

More jobs in Monroe County are now located outside the City than within the City. For the unemployed, living in the city decreases their opportunity to move ahead financially, and therefore restricts housing options. A well-paying job usually requires training, sometimes at a facility outside the City. Many City residents are now unable to move to the very communities that could offer them better employment opportunities.

Availability:	Affordability:
Housing Supply	Incomes
Awareness	Rents
Attitudes	Financing
Logistics	Employment
Discrimination

The basic assumption behind the plan is that it is in the community’s interest to reduce barriers to housing choice. Having a diverse community—socially and economically—will benefit all residents.

The CCAP takes a regional perspective. 
Focusing on high poverty areas in the City alone will not solve the problem. While urban revitalization is essential, it does not help people who need right now the chance to move to areas that offer better opportunities for employment and education, it doesn't address the urgent need.

The Community Choice Action Plan lists eight "key result areas," and sets corresponding "performance measures" to monitor progress. These are shown in the following table:

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

Nevertheless, over 95% of minority renters participating in the program remain in high-poverty neighborhoods in the City.

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal focus on expanding support services i.e. mobility counseling to Section 8 tenants to help them make successful moves to low-poverty areas.

The strategies also focus on outreach efforts targeted at suburban landlords to increase their participation in Section 8 program, thus increasing the availability of rental units in low-poverty areas.

Overall reduction in use of subsidies in high poverty areas.

More moves by current participants to lower poverty areas.

More landlords with properties in lower poverty areas.

2. Provide More Housing in Low-Poverty Areas to Families in High-Poverty Areas.
Key Result Area (Target goal to address barrier)

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

Rental housing is concentrated in the City and the most affordable units are located in high-poverty areas within the City.

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal focus on maximizing available resources to assist families living in high-poverty areas.

Coordination of mobility counseling programs and economic assistance are needed to help families who want to move from high-poverty areas, and match them with affordable units.

Better contacts among housing providers /services agencies /consumers.

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

According to AI, 71% of city homes are affordable to families who have incomes that are 50% of the median family income for Monroe County, while only 25% of suburban homes are affordable to this group.

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal focus on increasing the number of affordable homes and rental units in suburban Monroe County through the construction of scattered-site and mixed-income projects.

The strategies also focus on adopting zoning practices to accommodate affordable housing development, leveraging public and private resources and coordinating funding applications among area governments.

Increase the amount of affordable home ownership units available.

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

Problems created by bad consumer debt are one of the reasons minority applicants are unable to access home mortgage loans.

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal involve a coordinated effort to monitor mortgage lending performance, educate minority and low-income borrowers about credit options and credit repair and  encourage traditional lenders i.e. banks to increase access to affordable consumer credit.

These strategies also include promoting homeownership opportunities in the City to households at all income levels and working with lenders to develop marketing efforts and products that would provide financing for affordable homes in need of repair.

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

Rental application procedures of some landlords may be unduly restricting housing options.

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal focus on developing  program support (listing and advertising assistance) for Realtors selling city properties, and training programs designed to encourage minorities to enter the real estate profession.

Strategies also involve developing a major marketing campaign to promote City living, with particular attention to creating a diverse community through continued efforts to market housing in revitalization programs and enhancing the market for middle income buyers.

More minority real estate professionals.

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal focus on designing coordinated educational programs adequately addressing fears and misconceptions, as well as building key relationships in communities.

These strategies include, developing a mechanism for monitoring discriminatory practices, fair housing compliance workshops involving diverse stakeholders, creating a forum to incorporate fair housing goals into local planning documents, training to lawyers on private enforcement options, and self-enforcement in real estate industry.

 
Increased community education.

Increased diversity and community involvement in fair housing planning.

Background

Key Result Measures
(How we measure progress)

The Choice Plan strategies related to this target goal are designed to improve the economic status of low-income City residents. With an improved financial condition, residents could increase their mobility and take advantage of a greater array of housing options and locations.

Work with employers to support affordable housing developed near employment clusters and expand community-wide transportation, housing and employment initiatives.

Provide support services to assist families in transition from welfare to full employment.

Enhance use of Rochester Housing Authority, City and County job training to create non-traditional jobs for people residing in public housing.