Consolidated Plan for the City of Charlottesville and the Thomas Jefferson HOME Consortium

Executive Summary

The Consolidated Plan sets forth an overall plan to support community development needs, including housing needs, in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District and in the City of Charlottesville. The Planning District encompasses the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson, and the City of Charlottesville. The Consolidated Plan is a required document, submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which specifically addresses the use of federal funds, including HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) funds received annually by the region through a 1993 Cooperation Agreement, which was renewed in 1996 and 2001, and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds received annually by the City of Charlottesville.

The member governments of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District agreed on an equal share basis of HOME funds available to each participating government with the exception of 15% of the total HOME funds, which are reserved for the Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) set aside. The CHDO funds are rotated among the participating localities. The City of Charlottesville has been designated the lead agency for the HOME Consortium and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission the designated Program Manager for the Consortium.

The Consolidated Plan is divided into two main sections: the Strategic Plan and the Action Plan.

With the 2003 Consolidated Plan, the specific goals and objectives for the use of HOME funds in the region and CDBG funds in the City of Charlottesville are stated, as are the more general community development needs for each locality. Needs and goals for the Homeless, Special Needs Populations, Housing and Community Development are stated in the Strategic Plan section and objectives are stated in the Action Plan. Included in this Executive Summary are tables summarizing local and regional goals and objectives and a cooperative housing statement reflecting the regional needs and cooperation to be achieved through this Consolidated Plan. These are intended to show the key elements of the Plan in a simple format.

Housing and Homeless Needs

An analysis of the housing and homeless needs in the Planning District show that residents face continued difficulties securing and maintaining affordable housing.

• Residents spending more than 30% of their income on housing means that housing is not affordable to that segment of the population. Twenty-two percent (22%) of homeowners in Louisa, 22% in Fluvanna, and 17% of homeowners in Greene County pay more than 30% of their income on housing. A significant portion of renters in Charlottesville (48%), and Albemarle County (38%) pay more than 30% of their income for housing. Nelson County, at 13%, had the fewest renters paying 30% or more of their income on housing.
• The region’s minority populations, with a higher incidence of poverty, are in need of safe, decent and affordable housing at a rate higher than the overall population. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of black and 33% of Hispanic households fall below 50% of the median family income, compared to 24% of all households.
• The elderly are an increasing portion of the region’s population. There is a great need among the elderly to alleviate the cost burden imposed by their housing costs and to rehabilitate substandard housing so that the elderly may continue to reside in their own homes. In 2000, 56% of elderly renters and 33% of elderly homeowners earning below 95% of the median family income had housing problems.
• Of homeless people surveyed in January 2003, 36% described themselves as being currently employed and 23% had dependent children who were also homeless. The region’s homeless population is in need of permanent, as well as transitional housing.

Housing and Market Analysis

A general market inventory of housing in the Planning District shows that there is a continued demand for affordable housing.

• The median sale price is the best indicator of what the “average” home in an area sells for. Between 2001 and 2002, the median sales price rose dramatically, including 19.5% in Charlottesville, 13.8% in Fluvanna, 13.2% in Louisa, 9.5% in Albemarle, 9.2% in Nelson, and 1.5% in Greene. Though the City had an increase in percentage, sales prices are lower than all other Counties with the exception of Louisa. The median sales price for the region in 2002 was $173,000, which is $16,000 more than the previous year’s figure showing an increase in housing prices.
• Median rents for the region also increased significantly, particularly in the rural areas, including 114% in Nelson, 103% in Fluvanna, 98% in Greene, 78% in Louisa, 52% in Charlottesville, and 57% in Albemarle County. The reasoning for increases in rents in rural areas relates to the smaller stock of rental housing in these areas.
• There is a low housing vacancy rate in the region and the high demand for affordable housing, especially rental units, due in part to the presence of the University of Virginia, which houses only a portion (35%) of their 19,200 students. This makes for a tight housing supply and continual demand, especially in Charlottesville and Albemarle County which are in close proximity to the University. In the other four localities in the Planning District, there is a strong demand for rental properties, due, in large measure, to the small number of rental units.
• Throughout the Planning District, 27.4% of all housing units are renter occupied, but only 14.8% in Fluvanna, 18.6% in Greene, 18.5% in Louisa, and 19.2% in Nelson County. The City of Charlottesville has a disproportionately high number of renter?occupied units at 59.2%, followed by Albemarle County at 34.1% due in large to the presence of the University of Virginia.
• The number of homes without indoor plumbing has greatly decreased from 1990 to 2000. There was a 69% decrease in the number of homes lacking indoor plumbing in the region. This was due, in large part, to the State of Virginia’s Indoor Plumbing Program, which provided funds to the rural counties for the installation of indoor plumbing, where needed.

A summary of local and regional goals can be viewed by clicking the link on the right of this page.

Contact Billie Campbell at for more information about the Consolidated Plan.