3. SUMMARY OF HOUSING NEED

Assuring the availability of adequate housing for all social and economic segments of El Segundo’s present and future population is an important goal for the City. To implement this goal, the City must target its programs and monetary assistance toward those households with the greatest need. This section of the Housing Element is a summary of the major housing need categories in terms of income groups as defined by Federal and State law. It includes the City's share of regional housing need as defined by the Southern California Association of Governments' (SCAG) Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). The City recognizes the special status of lower income households, which in many cases are comprised of elderly or disabled persons, single-parent households, or military households. As summarized in Table 21, the areas of greatest housing assistance need include the following:

1. Households Overpaying for Housing - Approximately one-third of all households in El Segundo are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Of these overpaying households, two-thirds were renters, representing 36 percent of the total renter households in the City.

2. Special Needs Households - Certain segments of the population may have a more difficult time finding decent, affordable housing due to their special circumstances or needs. In El Segundo, the Needs Assessment documents the following groups with special housing needs:

· 1,120 households headed by elderly persons. Of these households, 454 consist of elderly persons living alone;

· 1,251 persons age 16 and over with physical disabilities;

· 575 female-headed households, over half of which (325 households) included minor children. Over ten percent of the City’s female-headed households with children were living in poverty;

· U.S. Air Force base military personnel;

· 7-10 chronic homeless individuals.

3. Age and Condition of Housing Stock - According to the Census, 68 percent of the City’s housing units are greater than 30 years of age, the age at which housing typically begins to require major repairs. This represents a significant proportion of the City's housing stock, and indicates that preventive maintenance will be essential to ward off widespread housing deterioration.

The City’s quarterly Code Inspection Compliance program identifies housing units that are in need of property maintenance or substandard. In all of 1998, the City identified 44 residential structures with code violations. These included properties containing units requiring substantial repair as well as rehabilitation. The highest concentration of residential properties cited for code violations are found in the northwest section of City.

4. Housing Costs and Affordability - Spring 1999 residential multiple listings in El Segundo document an average listing price of $457,573 for single family homes and $221,651 for condominiums. According to local realtors, the local housing market is “hot”, with units typically on the market less than 30 days. Single-family housing prices in the City are well above levels affordable even to moderate income households, and while 1-2 bedroom condominiums are generally priced at levels affordable to moderate income households, there is only one condominium project in the City containing 1- bedroom units. Thus, the high price of housing, along with the shortage of 1-bedroom condominiums, indicates that opportunities for home ownership in the City are limited for moderate income households.

Apartments provide the primary form of rental housing in El Segundo and rent for a median of $735 per month for a 1-bedroom, $1,050 for a 2-bedroom, and $1,700 for a 3-bedroom. While these rent levels are generally affordable to low income households, very low income households are priced out of the rental market even for one bedroom units. In addition, discussions with a local rental agency indicate that the demand for rentals is high in El Segundo, and the availability of vacant units are scarce.

5. Overcrowded Households - Household overcrowding in El Segundo is relatively nominal, with only 3.8 percent of the City’s households documented as having greater than 1.01 persons per room, compared to an overcrowding rate of 19 percent in Los Angeles County. Overcrowding among renter-households was more prevalent than among owner-households, with renters comprising 78 percent of the City’s overcrowded households. The low incidence of overcrowding in El Segundo is reflective of several factors: almost 50 percent of the housing stock has 5 or more rooms; relatively limited numbers of large family and minority households; and overall higher median incomes in the City.

6. Regional Housing Needs - The City is required to demonstrate in its Housing Element the availability of adequate sites to fulfill the City’s identified share of regional housing needs by income category.

SCAG is currently in the process of developing the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) model for the 2000-2005 period. Draft RHNA figures published by SCAG in June 1999 identify an overall construction need for 78 new units in El Segundo. This construction need is further broken down by income category: 14 very-low income, 11 low income, 16 moderate income and 37 upper income. The City has zoning in place to accommodate over 400 additional units. Over 300 of these are multi-family units at densities of 18-27 units per acre, thereby reducing development costs to levels affordable to low income households for rental housing and moderate income households for ownership housing.

Table 21

Summary of Existing and Projected Housing Needs

Overpaying Households

Special Needs Groups

Total

Renter

Owner

2,242

1,461

781

Elderly Households

Elderly Living Alone

Disabled Persons

Female Headed Households

w/Children

Military Personnel

Homeless

1,120

454

1,251

575

325

130

7-10

Units in Need of Repair

Housing Construction Need: January 1998 - June 2005

Total

Substandard, Need

Rehabilitation

Substandard, Need

Replacement

Total Construction Need

Very Low Income

Low Income

Moderate Income

Upper Income

Note: Special needs figures cannot be totaled because categories are not exclusive of one another.

Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1990 Report; El Segundo Police Department; City of El Segundo Quarterly Code Compliance Inspection Reports, 1999; SCAG 1999 Regional Housing Needs Assessment.