THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170343
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Public housing should be a temporary place for the poor to get back on their feet, not a permanent home, recommended a task force composed of some of the city's leading citizens after nine months of study.
In its final report delivered Tuesday to the City Council, the task force also recommended that public housing, now virtually all-black and all-poor, be diversified racially and by income so that public housing would better mirror the neighborhoods of the rest of the city.
If implemented, the recommendations would change the nature of public housing. The average resident of the city's 4,000 units of public housing now has lived there for 19 years and has an annual household income of $6,541, the report said.
The report outlined the task force proposals in broad statements, leaving specifics, such as how many years define ``transitional,'' to future committees. When and how to implement the far-reaching proposals were left to a still-to-be-formed implementation committee. The City Council took no action on the report Tuesday.
Councilman Herbert M. Collins Sr., who co-chaired the task force last year after declaring that public-housing residents lacked basic community values, said any change would be gradual and that tenants should not fear being put out into the streets.
Councilman Paul R. Riddick on Tuesday came out sharply against the proposals, in effect drawing a line between himself and Collins, the other African American who came to the council under the new ward system.
Riddick said the city had a history of short-changing public-housing residents in city services and should not talk of moving them out of their homes.
``I really believe that we should look at public housing as a place where people live, a place they call home, where children come to from school to study and eat meals,'' Riddick said.
Noting that he represented more public-housing residents than any other councilman, Riddick said, ``These are citizens of Norfolk; these are our neighbors.''
The proposals of the report were a package that, on the one hand, encouraged public-housing residents to get better education and jobs, while also suggesting that public housing resemble a more typical working-class neighborhood in its income and racial balance.
The recommendations are meant to benefit public-housing residents, said Assistant City Manager Sterling Cheatham, who presented the report to council.
One recommendation was for residents to write and sign a ``social contract'' with housing administrators that establishes a plan to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
The recommendation that public housing be transitional would not apply to disabled or elderly people.
The committee, formed last March, was composed of 35 citizens representing a broad mix of income and race that ranged from public-housing residents to a college president. Members included Peter Decker, a Norfolk attorney; Marian Flickinger of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers; G. William Whitehurst, a former congressman; James Koch, president of Old Dominion University; and Elzie Stewart, a resident of Tidewater Gardens and president of its residents' group.
The task force had a number of subcommittees, each of which made recommendations. These included subcommittees on legislation, education, values and economic opportunity.
The values subcommittee reported that many public-housing residents have positive values that support building a safe and self-reliant community.
The subcommittee on physical design recommended that more existing public housing be remodeled to fit into existing neighborhoods so it would not be so readily identifiable as public housing. A model for this, the report said, was Diggs Town, where front porches were put on brick apartments and streets carved out in front of the homes.
The report also included a survey of the attitudes of public-housing residents and statistical information on public-housing residents. The report said that 94 percent of public-housing residents have lived in public housing for more than five years, three out of every four heads of households are unemployed and most are single women.
Statistics included in the report suggested that the income of public-housing residents has declined over the last 15 years, while the income in most other city neighborhoods has risen, often substantially.
After adjusting for inflation, census data showed that the median household income in Young Terrace had declined 35 percent, from $7,932 in 1979 to $5,133 in 1989. Calvert Square showed a nearly identical decline.
Meanwhile, the average household in Edgewater had grown from $28,587 in 1979 to $47,757 in 1989. Larchmont went from $24,679 to $28,333 and Lafayette-Winona went from $27,622 to $34,492.
Riddick also suggested Tuesday that the council study ``whether the city could absorb some of the functions'' of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which manages public housing.
On this, Riddick gained some support from Collins, who said he had heard complaints that the NRHA, a quasi-independent agency, owned too much land and was too autonomous.
``We need to take a real good look at the overall operations of the NRHA,'' Collins said.
Mayor Paul D. Fraim cautioned that federal regulations sometimes require the existence of a housing authority to be eligible for funds but said he would schedule time to talk about the issue. by CNB