Published on: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

By Nancy Royden

The Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development is working on a plan for building livable communities throughout the county and gathered comments from residents during a recent meeting.

At the well-attended meeting in Landover, officials collected information for the 2011-2015 Consolidation Plan, which will help planners meet federal funding requirements for the American Dream Down payment Initiative, Community Development Block Grant funding, Emergency Shelter Grant money, HOME Investment Partnership and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS programs, said Tamara Jovovic of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

According to the Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development, the consolidated plan involves a collaborative process in which a community establishes a unified vision for community development issues. It must estimate housing and community development for the next five years. Its key elements are: a needs assessment, a housing market analysis, goals, strategies and objectives for five years, citizen participation, a strategic plan and the annual action plan.

The PGCDHCD prepares an annual action plan, which indicates how all available resources will be used to fund housing programs that achieve the goals established in the consolidated plan, according to a fact sheet given to meeting participants and available on the organization's Web site.

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development first required states and local communities to prepare a consolidated plan to receive federal housing and community development funding. The plans are designed to identify a jurisdiction’s housing and community development needs, priorities, goals and strategies. Additionally, it must include information about how federal funds will be used to address housing and community development needs in the community.

After an overview of the consolidated plan was given to the audience, Lloyd Baskin of the PGCDHCD also discussed goals of the plan.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Community Survey, the supply of housing units has been increasing on average by 2,300 units per year since 2000. There were 314,221 housing units in 2005, and 321,576 in 2008.

The M-NCPPC reports that Prince George's County is the third largest jurisdiction in the Washington metropolitan area. In 2008, the population was 820,852, and is expected to rise to 924,788 by 2020.

In the M-NCPPC's information on housing market conditions in the county, the HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program’s 2008 figures of the location of the highest number of vacant units border Washington, D.C.—in Landover, Capitol Heights, Seat Pleasant, Brentwood and Langley Park.

Michael Asante, researcher for M-NCPPC, gave the audience background data about the trends and current status of the county's housing stock.

The consolidated plan, when complete, must estimate housing needs by household income ranges, with the area median income of $72,166 for Prince George's County. The metropolitan area AMI is designated at $102,700. The categories are broken down into extremely low, low, moderate and middle income, according to the PGCDHCD.

A needs assessment for special groups is also part of the planning process. It includes public housing residents, individuals or families on public housing and Section 8 waiting lists, victims of domestic violence, people with HIV/AIDS, people with mental or physical disabilities, homeless people, special-needs populations, and supportive housing for the elderly.

According to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation's Web site, in 2007, a registered nurse earning $68,500 a year could afford rent of $1,713 and a house sale price of $205,500. An elementary school teacher earning $49,250 a year could afford rent of $1,231 and a house sale price of $147,750.

The problem for some is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, median home values increased by 139 percent between 2000 and 2006 — from $145,600 to $347,700.

A question-and-answer session was held during the middle of the meeting, and people were divided into smaller groups for breakout discussions.

The next step will be the compilation of public comments and preparing a draft plan. A Prince George's County Council public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, with possible approval by  Tuesday, May 11. If approved, the 2011-2015 Consolidated Plan and 2011 Annual Action Plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on May 14.