|
THE CUYAHOGA HOUSING CONSORTIUM
<br />
<br />During 1991, the City of Cleveland Heights, the City of Euclid, and the Cuyahoga County Department
<br />of Development, representing 43 communities known as the CuYahoga Urban County, prepared separate
<br />Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategies (CHASes). During early 1992, these three jurisdictions
<br />received approval from HUD to form the CUyahoga Housing Consortium. In early 1993, the City of
<br />Lakewood received HUD approval to join the Consortiu~n (Map 1). The Consortium represents
<br />approximately 750,000 residents, slightly over half of 'all Cuyahoga County residents.
<br />
<br />The Consortium is governed by a six-member Board consisting of the Mayors of Cleveland Heights,
<br />Euclid, and Lakewood, along with the three Cuyahoga County Commissioners. The primary reason these
<br />four jurisdictions formed a consortium was to enable them to receive HOME funds jointly from HUD,
<br />which has meant that hundreds of thousands of dollars of new funds have been received locally for
<br />affordable housing projects. The amount of money ttmt could be received by the group is greater than
<br />the amount of money that could be received by the individual jurisdictions directly from HUD. The Urban
<br />County, whether or not it was part of a consortium, would receive a direct allocation of HOME funds.
<br />In contrast, due to the small amount of their allocations, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, and Lakewood could
<br />only receive funds directly from HUD if they joined with a larger entity. The alternative to a consortium,
<br />which was not acted upon, would have been for Cleveland Heights, Euclid, and Lakewood to compete to
<br />obtain funds through the State of Ohio's HOME 'allocation. Actions taken as the Cuyahoga Housing
<br />Consortium do not affect CDBG allocations or 'allocations of other federal funds to the four individual
<br />members.
<br />
<br />In addition to the ability to receive HOME funds, the Consortium intends to take advantage of the fact
<br />that now 46 communities within Cuyahoga County will be working together as part of the CHAS process.
<br />The Consortium hopes to use this opportunity to ensure broader planning .and coordination on affordable
<br />housing issues within Cuyahoga County. The following communities are not members of the Consortium
<br />and file CHAS documents directly with HUD: Cleveland, East Cleveland, and Parma.
<br />
<br />SUMMARY OF THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
<br />
<br />In terms of data, much of the information contained in the Consolidated Plan has been obtained from the
<br />1990 Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition, other
<br />knowledgeable local agencies, institutions, and nonprofit organizations have been consulted on specific
<br />topics in which they specialize, including those that work on a countywide level, as well as those that
<br />concentrate their efforts within a specific community. The list included those entities currently assisting
<br />any of the four Consortium jurisdictions to provide services such as housing rehabilitation, providers for
<br />special needs populations, fair housing, housing counseling, emergency shelter, and transitional services,
<br />as well as other relevant organizations and agencies.
<br />
<br />The following agencies and organizations received letters of invitation to participate in the CHAS
<br />development process, and individual discussions were held as appropriate: (in alphabetical order):
<br />Aftercare Residential Services, AIDS Housing Council of Greater Cleveland, Citizens Committee on
<br />AIDS/HIV, Cleveland Area Board of Realtors, Cleveland .Society for the Blind, Cleveland Tenants
<br />Organization, Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Board of
<br />Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board,
<br />
<br />IVY 1995 HUD Convolidated Plan 4
<br />DRAFT
<br />
<br />
<br />
|