Introduction | Summary | Master Plan Document | Annual Reports | Implementation Strategies
2005 Master Plan Annual Report
Housing
2005 Annual Report | Land Use | Economy | Community Appearance | Community Facilities & Services | Housing | Transportation | Implementation
Click here to view/download a pdf file of the Housing section.
Housing Meeting Summary
From Meeting Dated Tuesday, March 7, 2006
In Attendance
- Larry Helscel (Public Services Department), moderator
- Marty Johnson (Public Services Department), Recorder
- Emma Bramley, Joe Valentino (City Manager’s Office), Tim Moloney, Steve Cothrel, Sally Gard (Parks & Recreation Department), Dean Sivinski, Matt Davis, Chad Gibson, Bryan Wagner (Development Department)
Goal
Facilitate the provision of a full range of housing that is well built and well maintained and that utilizes old and new housing stock to accommodate people of all ages in a setting convenient to their needs.
Executive Summary
An overall goal of the City’s Master Plan is to address the fact that less than five percent of the City’s land use is dedicated to commercial activities. As the Master Plan facilitates the enhancement and expansion of commercial land uses and activities to assure long term fiscal security, the Housing section provides a counter balance to ensure the City’s high quality, residential neighborhoods and resulting property values are maintained, another primary Master Plan goal.
Specific objectives under the Housing section are aimed at maintaining and enhancing existing housing stock, creating housing opportunities for senior citizens and ensuring affordable housing opportunities for new residents.
The Property Assessment Monitoring Program launched by the Development Department in 2004 takes a proactive approach, reviewing the community’s neighborhoods to identify and work with property owners to educate them on and rectify any code violations. Originally intended to be a five-year cyclical program, the resulting workload and existing staffing levels indicate a slower timeframe to encompass the entire community than was originally anticipated.
Because property values are influenced by the infrastructure that provides basic services, the City has aggressively invested in its streets, roadways and utility systems, with an average of $5 million invested each year since 2001. While this represents a substantial rate of reinvestment, the age of facilities and a deferral of maintenance in previous years, raises the question of whether this level is adequate to address the extent of work needed.
While there are currently no direct incentive programs to encourage rehabilitation and new construction of senior housing, the zoning framework is in place to facilitate such development. While this represents a beginning, it also encompasses an ongoing effort to identify “zoning incentive nuggets” for developers of housing suitable for seniors and other segments of the population.
A strong indicator that the community is doing its part to preserve and enhance the high quality of housing in Upper Arlington, comes from the consistently high levels of home renovation projects that are occurring from year to year. Residents are reinvesting in their homes at unprecedented levels, keeping the housing stock current and desirable.
In addition, several new housing projects are coming online that will provide condominium-style living for residents who don’t want the added responsibility of home and landscape maintenance. To date, there is a proven market for this housing product, with the 20 apartment and town home units under construction at the first redevelopment on Tremont Road, Town Center Place, already sold.
Several strategies within this section are identified as routine City business and have been marked as such for future Master Plan Annual Report updates. As a result, they will only contain update information in future reports as projects or items of note occur.
Objective Highlights
Objective 1. Maintain and improve the existing housing stock.
- In early 2004, the Development Department began its proactive Property Assessment Monitoring Program (PAMP), with the goal of inspecting all residential properties at least once every five years. The City was divided into five districts with the goal of inspecting and completing one district per year. In 2004 the department performed 1,438 patrol inspections in addition to 960 regular complaints. In 2005 1,656 patrol inspections and 660 complaints were administered. The program is a major undertaking for staff and the resulting workload generated has resulted in a slower pace than originally anticipated (approximately six months). The program is however meeting with good results, as property owners are made aware of and educated on how to bring their properties into compliance with various building, health and safety requirements.
- In 2005 education efforts included the provision of advance notice to neighborhoods of impending inspections in the hope of encouraging property owners to check for and rectify any issues in advance of their area being inspected – achieving the same end result and possibly streamlining staff’s workload.
- As a result of the PAMP, resident-driven complaints pertaining to code violations have declined, a sign that the effort is working.
- At this point, exploration and implementation of a residential “point of sale” inspection program is not considered a viable prospect, in part as a result of the PAMP, but also due to the additional administrative resources likely required.
- Typically, approximately 30 percent of violations involve older adults, who can often be “house rich” but “cash poor,” struggling to maintain their properties adequately and lacking funds to seek professional help. While there are social service programs in existence that can assist the elderly in such situations, most Upper Arlington household values exceed the levels at which such assistance can be obtained. While the question arises about the role and extent to which the City should play in assisting elderly or financially challenged property owners, existing or prospective options to help address this include:
- Continuing and expanding the use of community service workers to help rectify simple code violations (landscaping, removal of litter, etc.) for those property owners in need of assistance.
- Consideration of the formation of a volunteer task force comprised of community members willing to donate their skills and time to help property owners whose situations meet a pre-established set of criteria (needs assessment). Periodically, one-time assistance projects have been successfully implemented, with such a case occurring in 2005 and plans for a community-wide project in develop with the 2006 Leadership UA class, which could become an annual event.
- Consideration of a City needs assessment and financial assistance program for qualifying property owners, however further research would be necessary on the feasibility of such a program, to include a discussion of the associated staffing and financial costs, and a review of successful programs run by other communities.
- The 2005 Older Adults Needs Assessment highlighted that many older adults have a need/desire for a source of reliable home maintenance contractors. In 2006, this issue is to be explored as part of Council’s Community Outreach Committee process to review and prioritize next steps for assisting and facilitating programs offered by local service agencies.
Objective 2. Identify and stabilize neighborhoods that are threatened by physical decline.
- The City’s Property Assessment Monitoring Program serves as the tool for assessing housing conditions throughout the City, identifying neighborhoods threatened by physical decline and working to rectify code compliance issues that might be contributing to that decline.
- A more comprehensive assessment of housing types and values would ideally also be part of a study to help identify market availability versus needs.
- Monitoring and maintaining infrastructure within neighborhoods falls under several areas:
- The Public Services Department maintains inventories and condition ratings for street pavements, curbs and gutters, and street lighting, and uses this information to prioritize improvement projects.
- Sidewalk installation and maintenance are the responsibility of the homeowner, with the exception of repairs arising from street tree damage. Inspections and responses to complaints fall under the responsibility of the Engineering Division, Code Compliance Division and the Parks and Recreation Department.
- The Parks & Recreation Department maintains a comprehensive inventory of street trees and park conditions, with annual efforts underway to maintain and enhance these community assets. Pending in 2006 is the development of a Parks & Recreation Strategic Plan, which will assess existing conditions and identify and prioritize neighborhood park improvements as part of its process.
- The City continues to invest significant dollars and manpower annually through its Capital Improvements Program to support infrastructure maintenance, however the current need outweighs available dollars. This has in part resulted from a previous deferral of necessary maintenance, combined with many aging facilities reaching a point where improvements are vital at the same time. As mentioned in other sections of this report, prioritizing how funds are spent, and identifying new funding sources to support the many areas that need to be addressed is an ongoing challenge for the City that will require significant attention for many years ahead.
Objective 3. Enhance diverse housing opportunities, suitable for seniors, single adults, young families and other segments of the population.
- There are currently no specific incentives in place to enhance senior or diverse housing opportunities, something that might merit further consideration and discussion if deemed necessary at some point in the future.
- As with several other Master Plan objectives, the City is in a position to facilitate and encourage desired housing changes as opportunities arise in the private sector, therefore implementation progress is primarily dependent on outside forces.
- A trend naturally occurring in the housing market is to feature first floor master suites in newly built homes. While it is difficult for Staff to gauge how many major home renovation projects incorporate first floor master suites in older two-story homes, the renovation of many one-story homes actually converts them to multiple levels.
- The 2005 Older Adults Needs Assessment made mention of what the City could do to establish incentives for builders and developers to retrofit housing with universal design standards or ways to accommodate older adults longer during their aging process. Staff recommends further review and direction on this consideration.
- Recently, new condominium housing projects have been announced, with construction underway on one project, along Tremont Road. To date, there is a proven market for this housing product, with the 20 apartment and town home units under construction at the first redevelopment on Tremont Road, Town Center Place, already sold.
Housing
Strategy Responsibilities / Recommended Amendments
Objective 1. Maintain and improve the existing housing stock.
a. Continuing to expand the enforcement of property maintenance requirements and related zoning codes.
| Development
| Ongoing / Routine
|
b. Considering the feasibility of undertaking point-of-sale inspections of all owner-occupied residential dwellings.
| Development
| Not recommended at this time
|
c. Considering the feasibility of undertaking a regular inspection of all rental residential properties.
| Development, Board of Zoning & Planning
| Ongoing within PAMP
|
d. Considering a financial assistance program to assist economically disadvantaged single-family homeowners with exterior maintenance and building code issues.
| Development, Commission on Aging, Northwest Counseling, Economic Development, Finance, Development
| Further consideration required
|
Objective 2. Identify and stabilize neighborhoods that are threatened by physical decline.
a. Conducting a survey and analysis of housing conditions throughout the City.
| Development
| Ongoing / Routine
|
b. Maintaining infrastructure, in particular streets, curb and gutter, sidewalks, street lighting, street trees, and parks.
| Public Service, Parks & Recreation
| Ongoing /Routine
|
Objective 3. Enhance diverse housing opportunities, suitable for seniors, single adults, young families and other segments of the population.
a. Exploring zoning incentives to encourage rehabilitation and new construction of housing attractive to seniors.
| Development, Economic Development, Community Improvement Corporation
| Ongoing
|
b. Identifying and promoting parcels as possible sites for new construction for senior housing.
| City Manager, Commission on Aging, Community Improvement Corporation, Community Affairs, Development
| Short Term
|
c. Promoting suitable amenities to create a quality living environment in senior housing.
| City Manager, Economic Development, Commission on Aging, Community Improvement Corporation, property owners
| Ongoing
|
d. Maintaining the quality of rental options for new residents.
| Development, Code Enforcement
| Ongoing
|
Updated 5/25/06
City Manager's Office
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5040
Fax: 614-457-6620
www.ua-ohio.net
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