Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
September 8,2008 Assembly of Governments Meeting <br /> Approved: November 10,2008 <br /> Page 12 of 25 <br /> For Affordability: <br /> 1. Offer subsidies in order to increase the pool of applicants. <br /> 2. Raise 80% median income cap (to include people who make 100%+ of median income. <br /> (There are, however, problems with this idea; mainly, maintaining 5-01(c)(3) status.) <br /> For the Partnership to End Homelessness: <br /> 1. In addition to developing new housing for the chronically homeless population in the <br /> County, there may also be opportunities to utilize (lease or purchase) vacant units in <br /> existing apartment complexes. <br /> 2. Consider a "scattered site model" versus a "concentrated" approach to housing <br /> chronically homeless individuals. <br /> Ms. Bratsch stated all of these recommendations would take funding as well as responsible and <br /> consistent planning over time. To that end, she said the Task Force was putting forward the <br /> following: <br /> Funding Recommendations: <br /> 1. The Towns and the County should consider an Affordable Housing Bond Referendum. <br /> The County voters have approved two referendums — in 1997 ($1.8 million) and 2001 ($4 <br /> million) — that have provided funding to local affordable housing initiatives. <br /> 2. Apply an Affordable Housing Transfer Fee: For future developments, a transfer fee <br /> would be imposed by the developer on the sale/resale of market-rate properties. The <br /> revenues generated from this fee would be dedicated to the affordable units within the <br /> development. <br /> 3. A Payment-in-Lieu system (PILS) should be considered for all developers of new <br /> housing units in all towns, including the County. This PILS would allow developers to <br /> make a financial contribution to the work of affordable housing rather than provide <br /> affordable dwelling units. Elements of this system would include the following: <br /> a. Any money generated from this scenario could be deposited in a trust fund for use to <br /> address the affordability/maintenance issues of the Land Trust as well as other <br /> housing non-profit organizations including initiatives of the Partnership to End <br /> Homelessness. <br /> b. Jurisdictions could consider either making 15% of homes in a subdivision affordable <br /> to those at 80% of median income or allow some combination of actual units and <br /> payment-in-lieu payments. <br /> c. The PILS should be administered in a responsible manner. This would involve an <br /> assessment of the number of affordable units currently provided by required set- <br /> asides and the associated maintenance costs to determine if the community would be <br /> better served by additional units or the payment-in-lieu. <br /> d. The specific details should be left to County and Town Managers and their attorneys. <br /> b) Discussion <br /> 9:27:49 PM Alderman Broun wondered if the Task Force had thought about the different <br /> categories of affordable housing. Alderman Gist responded she had served on the Task Force, <br /> 12 <br />