MISSION STATEMENT: The Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (DCPHD) is dedicated to promoting the improvement, conservation and revitalization of Arlington's physical and social environment.

FY 2006 PRIORITIES: DCPHD's priorities are:

• Columbia Pike: Continue to implement the recommendations of the Columbia Pike Initiative, including amendments to the Form-based Code and General Land Use Plan Amendments, working with property owners on development proposals, construction and completion of the work of the Streetspace Planning Task Force, ongoing community outreach and education and updating plans for a potential housing study option.

• Long-range Master Planning: Continue efforts to strengthen long-range planning efforts in support of the County's effort to update the elements of the Comprehensive Plan through completion of a revised Clarendon Sector Plan; completion of the Nauck/Four Mile Run/Shirlington Land Use Study; implementation of revitalization strategies in the Nauck Village Center and Shirlington Road Corridor; completion of the Fort Myer Heights North Study and implementation of the Virginia Square Sector Plan; and completion and implementation of the Historic Preservation Plan.

• Neighborhood Support: Continue to strengthen the County's residential and commercial neighborhoods through existing and expanded programs including Neighborhood Conservation Plan development and project implementation; Commercial Revitalization Program  project funding and development;  development of the Annual Plan and Neighborhood Strategy Area (NSA) Strategic  and Priority Plans, and civic engagement initiatives in newly designated areas.

• Affordable Housing Development: Support the achievement of the County's goal of 400 committed affordable housing units (CAFs) through review and analysis of affordable housing plans; evaluation of project financing options including new mechanisms; marketing housing programs; negotiation of developer contributions; and administration of County and Federal financing programs.

• Development Process: Coordinate the development review process to achieve improved management of residential (infill) and by-right development, and do a thorough review and evaluation of site plan development projects in concert with adopted County policy.

• Code Compliance: Ensure that inspectors and plan reviewers are trained and certified in the International Codes; continue implementation of a coordinated, inter-agency approach to chronic problem propertiesthat fully utilizes available tools. Continue to implement a coordinated full code inspection program, which focuses on combining inspections with housing services to bring multi-family units with a history of code violations up to the minimum code standards. Continue to implement the Chronic Vacant Properties Program.

• Community Outreach: Improve outreach to the community through continued offerings of the Neighborhood College and associated Mentoring Program; participation in the Walking Town Meetings; enhancement of the Department's web page and use of its Community Forum element; and gauge citizen satisfaction through surveys and other means.

• Information Technology: Continue to improve the Department's use of technology resources; continue to improve the Department's web page as an information source and communication tool; enhance the capabilities of the permitting system, Housing Data System, Neighborhood Conservation project management database; and the Historic Resource Survey database; make better use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) for mapping and analysis; launch the Tablet PC project; devise a records management and storage program and pursue appropriate funding; and continue to explore opportunities for online services.

PRINCIPAL PROGRAMS: The principal programs that DCPHD manages are:

Director's Office/Administrative Services Division:

• Leadership, policy guidance, coordination

• Personnel and payroll administration

• Budget and financial management

• Technology management and planning

• Comprehensive training and organizational development

Planning Division:

• Planning Program
  • Current Planning
  • Master Planning, including the Columbia Pike Initiative
  • Planning Research, Analysis and Graphics

• Zoning Administration Program

• Community Code Enforcement Program

Inspection Services Division:

• Code Compliance Section

• Plan Review Section

• Permit Processing Section

Neighborhood Services Division:

• Neighborhood Conservation

• Neighborhood and Commercial Revitalization

• Historic Preservation

Housing Division:

• Housing Development Section

• Housing Planning Section

• Housing Services Section

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)

The program and budget narrative for the FY 2006 Proposed Budget for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program ($2,172,742, 11.0 FTEs) that is administered by this Department, is included in Section N.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGET CHANGES: The FY 2006 General Fund proposed budget for the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (DCPHD) is $11,111,833, which reflects a three percent increase ($314,969) over the FY 2005 budget of $10,796,864. The budget reflects:

• The increase in personnel ($348,105) is due to normal step increases and salary and benefits adjustments. The FY 2006 proposed budget also reflects the transfer out of an Information System Analyst position to DTS, the transfer in of a position from DES to be the Assistant to the DCPHD Director, and the transfer in from DES of a 0.1 FTE to the Planning Division's Community Code Enforcement Program to make a part-time Community Inspector position full-time.

• The net decrease in non-personnel ($33,136) is primarily due to the reduction of telephone charges by DTS.

• Fee revenue for FY 2006 is projected to increase four percent ($187,800) due to a fee increase in the Planning Division and an increase in projected construction and permitting activity in both the Planning Division and the Inspections Services Division.

• Grant revenue received for the administration of the federal HOME program (10% of the annual grant amount) is expected to decrease $5,980 with the FY 2006 grant ($1,201,029). The $500 Community Code Enforcement grant revenue is proposed at the FY 2005 level.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

FUTURE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS: The following factors may impact the DCPHD budget in the future:

• Training/Organizational Development: Funding is needed to support Department-wide training and organizational development initiatives to further increase skills, career progression and to support workforce planning. In addition, the adoption of the 2003 Codes (which is scheduled for adoption by the State in 2005) will require ongoing training for technical staff charged with enforcing those Codes.

• Information Technology: Continuing enhancements to the Permits Plus system will be needed including hardware and software upgrades; in addition, funding will be needed to support the operations of the Tablet PC program which allows in-the-field inspections and live data entry to Permits Plus. Lastly, the state-mandated requirement to store and track an ever increasing amount of paper records related to site plans, use permits and other zoning information will be a challenge until the Office obtains the resources to participate in the enterprise records management systems (ERMS). There are no current resources to undertake development of a records management system.

• Staffing and Other Resources: To continue to provide quality service and to keep pace with increasing workloads, it is anticipated additional staff will be needed throughout the Department; specifically:
  • Zoning Office - The continuing addition of new use permits and site plans is stretching the existing resources of the Zoning Office. The ability of inspection staff to effectively monitor projects on a proactive basis and to ensure compliance with County Board approvals will be reduced without additional resources given the increasing number of site plans.
  • Code Enforcement - The County's increased emphasis on proactive code inspection and the number of use permits with conditions to be enforced (including at night), combined with the existing Full Code Program, will continue to place a strain on this program's resources. In addition, financial resources for clean-up of properties and demolitions will continue to be needed in the future as this becomes a more integral part of the work done.
  • Inspection Services - Additional permitting staff will become necessary to help meet the increased daily workload demands. Currently, support staff are pulled from their primary duties to assist as needed. In addition, the amount of high-rise construction activity and residential renovation has increased the daily average number of inspections from 180 per day to 200 in the fourth quarter of FY 2004. Additional staff resources will be needed to fulfill requests within a timely manner. Last, additional staff will be needed to investigate illegal construction projects and community complaints, and to review site plans.
  • Neighborhood Services - As bond funds increase, the number of participating neighborhoods in the Neighborhood Conservation program has increased. This is placing additional workload burdens on staff. In addition, under the new NSA program strategy, all eleven Neighborhood Strategy Areas will receive some level of assistance through the program so as to "leave no neighborhood behind". CDBG and staff resources are extremely limited and expectations within these areas will outpace the ability of both to continue to be effective. Last, completion of the resource survey, additional district and landmark designations, completion and implementation of a historic preservation plan, development of priority criteria to evaluate those historic resources identified in the resource survey, and growing support for National Register Listings and tax credit projects will put additional pressure on limited staff resources.
  • Housing - Additional program staffing and support will be necessary in order to meet the targets for the Housing Policy goals.
• Revenue: A $20 million credit facility to enhance the Affordable Housing Investment Fund is being considered in FY 2005; application and loan origination fees may be charged to offset a portion of the cost of program implementation. If this were to occur, it may have an affect on the FY06 budget. In addition, decreasing federal funding for the CDBG Program and regulatory limits on use of the funds for planning and administration may require future General Fund support for management, planning and administrative costs of the Housing Division and the Neighborhood Services Division currently covered by the grant.