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Determine what barriers exist for protected class members in the rental <br />market. The cost of rental housing outside the lower income, more racially <br />diverse areas are potentially a barrier to housing choice. Newer multifamily units <br />have been built in more suburban areas as well as near the new Concord Mills <br />Mall. The costs of these units is rather high and may be prohibitive for many <br />families. There is also a limited amount of Section 8 assistance, which may also <br />serve as a barrier to many families. There is a significant waiting list in Cabarrus <br />County for Section 8 assistance and it has increased over the past five years by <br />over half. <br />Are vouchers and Section 8 certificate holders able to find housing <br />throughout the community? If not, identify the barriers that face them. <br />Section 8 holders are able to find housing throughout the community; however, <br />units are more readily available in the municipalities. The greatest barrier is <br />finding units of adequate size to suit the families. Housing is very expensive in <br />this Cabarrus County. There is also a need for more Section 8 funding to assist <br />more families with housing choice. The demand for Section 8 housing is growing <br />and funding is not increasing. <br />Is steering an issue for protected class members? There is little evidence of <br />steering. There have been no reported cases for ten years to Cabarrus County <br />staff. Therefore, there is no way to determine if steering has occurred. <br />Is housing available for families with children and persons with disabilities? <br />According to the disability planning data, there were 10,998 people between 21- <br />64 that suffered from a disability. Many of these people suffer from mobility <br />disabilities. Eighteen percent of these individuals fall below 100% of poverty. <br />This information comes from the 2005 -2007 ACS PUMS Data. There is no <br />specific information on the quality or availability of housing for those with <br />disabilities and/or children, however nonprofits assisting those with disabilities <br />state that the current housing available is not adequate. Concord Public Housing <br />has units that are handicap accessible, however, there is a waiting list for those <br />units. Cabarrus County has a tremendous amount of multifamily units constructed <br />after the March 1, 1991 date that the Fair Housing Act of 1988 became effective. <br />This act requires that a portion of multifamily units must be designed so that they <br />may be adapted for handicap accessibility. However, the burden of paying for <br />necessary adaptations fall onto the person with the disability. This factor reduces <br />the realistic value of this program for providing housing for those with <br />disabilities, particularly, low income persons or families. Cabarrus County has <br />accurate records back to 1993 for multifamily permits. There have been 257 <br />multifamily buildings constructed since 1993. A large amount of those <br />multifamily units had more than eleven units, causing it to fall under the Fair <br />Housing Act regulations. This accounts for hundreds of multifamily units, many <br />of which are handicap adaptive units. Again, this may or may not provide <br />housing to low to moderate income disabled persons since they are responsible for <br />the cost of the adaptations and nonprofits that serve persons with disabilities <br />251Page <br />Analysis of Impediments March 2011 <br />Attachment number 1 <br />F -1 Page 75 <br />