Fiscal Year 2004 Proposed Budget

Section K - Community Planning, Housing and Development

Proposed Budget Contents | Section K Contents | Submit Comments

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING, HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT BUDGET SUMMARY

MISSION STATEMENT: The Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (DCPHD) is dedicated to promoting the improvement, conservation and revitalization of Arlington's physical and social environment.

FY 2004 PRIORITIES: DCPHD's priorities are:

• Columbia Pike: Continue to implement the recommendations of the Columbia Pike Initiative, including adoption of the Form-based Code and General Land Use Plan Amendments, working with property owners on development proposals and construction, and ongoing community outreach and education.

• Long-range Master Planning: Continue efforts to strengthen long-range planning efforts in support of the County's effort to update the elements of the Comprehensive Plan through completion of a revised Clarendon Sector Plan, completion of the Nauck/Four Mile Run/Shirlington Land Use Study, implementation of revitalization strategies in the Shirlington Road Corridor, and begin implementation of the Virginia Square Sector Plan, including adoption of the General Land Use Plan amendments.

• Neighborhood Support and Housing Planning: Continue to strengthen the County's residential and commercial neighborhoods through existing and expanded programs including Neighborhood Conservation Plan development and project implementation; provision of housing planning and services; implementation of the Affordable Housing Outcome Measures; outreach to tenants and prospective homeowners; and implementation of the Five Year Consolidated Plan and Neighborhood Strategy Area (NSA) Plans.

• Affordable Housing Development: Support the achievement of the County's annual goal of 360 committed affordable housing units through review and analysis of affordable housing plans; evaluation of project financing options; marketing housing programs; negotiation of developer contributions; and administration of County and Federal financing programs.

• Development Process: Coordinate the development review process to achieve improved management of residential (infill) and by-right development, and do a thorough review and evaluation of site plan development projects in concert with adopted County policy.

• Code Compliance: Ensure that inspectors and plan reviewers are trained and certified in the International Codes; identify the most chronic problem properties in the County and develop a coordinated, inter-agency approach that fully utilizes available tools. Continue to implement a coordinated inspection program, which focuses on combining inspections with housing services to bring multi-family units with a history of code violations up to the minimum code standards.

• Community Outreach: Improve outreach to the community through continued offerings of the Neighborhood College and associated Mentoring Program; participation in the Walking Town Meetings; enhancement of the Department's web page and use of its Community Forum element; gauge citizen satisfaction through surveys and other means.

• Organizational Development: Integrate the Housing Development staff into the Department and create the new Housing Division.

• Information Technology: Continue to improve the Department's use of technology resources; improve the Department's web page; develop a CPHD Intranet page; integrate existing and future systems, such as the Inspection Services Division and Planning Division's Code Enforcement Program components of the Permits System and the Housing and Community Development Division's Housing Data System; make better use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) for mapping and analysis; utilize the Internet for commission distributions, final reports, and research and "best practices" information; use CD-ROM or other technologies for records management and storage; and continue to explore opportunities for e-commerce activities as a service improvement by the Department.

PRINCIPAL PROGRAMS: The principal programs that DCPHD manages are:

Director's Office:

• Leadership, policy guidance, coordination

• Personnel and payroll administration

• Budget and financial management

• Technology management and planning

• Comprehensive training and organizational development

• Legislative and other inter-departmental matters that relate to the work of the Department

Planning Division:

• Planning Program
  • Current Planning, Including the Columbia Pike Initiative
  • Master Planning
  • Planning Research, Analysis and Graphics

• Zoning Administration Program

• Community Code Enforcement Program

Inspection Services Division:

• Code Compliance Section

• Plan Review Section

• Permit Processing Section

Housing and Community Development Division:

• Housing Planning Program

• Housing Services Section

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)

Office of Neighborhood Services:

• Neighborhood Conservation Program

• Neighborhood Strategy Area (NSA) Program

• Historic Preservation Program

• Commercial Revitalization Program (Multi-Departmental Initiative)

Housing Division:

• Development Section

• Finance Section

• Compliance Section

The program and budget narrative for the FY 2004 Proposed Budget for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program ($2,222,000, 12.0 FTEs) that is administered by this Department, is included in Section O.

Significant budget CHANGES: The FY 2004 General Fund proposed budget for the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (DCPHD) is $9,669,759, which reflects a two percent increase over the FY 2003 budget of $9,437,434. The budget reflects:

• The increase in personnel ($202,354) is due to normal step increases and salary and benefits adjustments.

• The net increase in non-personnel ($29,971) includes increases in costs for telephone charges ($1,880), vehicle maintenance charges ($25,079), and added funding in the Office of Neighborhood Services ($20,000) for the Neighborhood College program. There were some offsetting decreases ($16,988) including the reduction of one-time only dollars ($10,000) in the Historic Preservation Program and a ($5,000) reduction in Housing and Community Development.

• Revenue for FY 2004 is projected to increase eight percent due to fee increases and an increase in permitting activity in the Inspection Services and Planning Divisions. The increase in grant revenue is the County's revenue (10% of grant) for administering $1,300,000 in Federal HOME funds.

• In FY 2003 the Housing Division (7.0 FTEs) moved from Department of Economic Development to the Department of Community Planning Housing and Development and the Planning Division added funding and 1.0 FTE for the Tree Initiative.

FUTURE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS: The following factors may impact the DCPHD budget in the future:

• Decreased federal and state funding for housing, and possible decreases in the Community Development Block Grant Program, may limit CPHD's ability to effectively address the needs and objectives identified in the County's Consolidated Plan, especially affordable housing and the four Neighborhood Strategy Area Plans, and supporting associated administrative costs.

• An increasing community interest in undertaking neighborhood planning and improvement efforts will strain current capacity to provide the supportive capital improvements and services in a reasonable timeframe. The increased demand for major capital projects in the commercial corridors and adjacent to the aging housing stock cannot be met with existing staff. As a result, the implementation time for projects

• is increasing and there is less time to scope out new projects, respond to citizen inquiries and concerns about these projects, and ensure that projects meet citizen expectations.

• The County's aging garden apartments, which make up a major component of the affordable housing stock, will need increased code enforcement, monitoring and creative strategies to achieve code compliance, preservation and improvement while minimizing displacement of existing residents.

• Strategies to preserve, improve and increase the supply of affordable rental and ownership housing to meet Affordable Housing Goals and Outcome Measures, as well as for additional housing planning and data to support that effort, will require additional resources.

• A very tight housing market, reflected in a low vacancy rate and rapidly increasing rents, increases the demands for tenant services and exacerbates the affordable housing shortage.

• The GIS-based system used to identify affected property owners for notification letters, as required by the State for all land use applications, needs to be replaced. Software, and possibly new hardware, will be needed for this project.

• The permits and inspections system serves multiple County agencies, the development community and the public. The Department needs to implement system enhancements on an ongoing basis, including e-government applications such as web-based inspection scheduling, permit review status and posting of inspection results. Significant new hardware expenditures will be necessary to support these efforts.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES: