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Government programs utilizing CDBG and HOME HUD funding and other <br />sources impact only a small percentage of those in need of assistance. <br />Increased support from volunteers and community resources will be <br />needed to close the gap between total needs and resources available. <br />Impact: Neighborhoods and homeowners and renters must devise a <br />means for residents and landlords to keep pace with the maintenance <br />demands of housing, an aging housing stock, and support those persons <br />unable to maintain their properties on their own. This will enhance and <br />support a healthy neighborhood "Image and Identity" and help attract new <br />residents and retain existing residents and businesses. An essential <br />component of this recommendation will include becoming healthier, <br />sustainable neighborhoods, able to meet the essential quality of life needs <br />of its residents and to improve the physical character of the neighborhood. <br />In some neighborhoods, these attributes are viewed as negative and <br />uninviting both internally by its residents and externally by the community <br />at large. Some neighborhoods are viewed as unsafe and a haven for <br />criminal activities. Whether this is reality or a perception, it has a <br />detrimental effect on the image of the neighborhood either way. <br />Neighborhood assets must be protected and improved. Structures should <br />be strategically removed if found to no longer contribute to the well being <br />of the community. Maintaining vacant lots, including clearing weed, litter, <br />and junk, and maintaining tree growth, would immediately improve the <br />appearance of neighborhoods. Existing regulatory efforts need to be <br />expanded and additional resources allocated to support enhanced code <br />enforcement throughout the City. Other amenities such as providing <br />streetscape enhancements in the medians and pedestrian areas along <br />residential streets, adding street lighting, sidewalks, shrubs, and new <br />development on vacant lots, would significantly improve the <br />neighborhoods. Most of all, there is a need to revive the "sense of <br />community and trust" and encourage participation and cooperation from <br />104 <br />