Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Gordan said that she would like some of the categories of appointments to be <br />broader. She asked why there was a specific position for someone in the land development field. <br />The Board agreed that there would be a minimum quorum of five for the board. <br />Commissioner Gordon suggested deleting item 'e' on page four, which states: "In making <br />appointments to the Board, the Orange County Board of Commissioners shall consider the <br />recommendations of the Agricultural Preservation Board." She said that this should be in the Board of <br />County Commissioners' procedures, not the Agricultural Preservation Board's procedures. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis asked that this ordinance be reviewed and cleaned up. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if this tracked any legislation, and Geoffrey Gledhill said yes. <br />Geoffrey Gledhill said that the legislation should be included with the ordinance when it <br />comes back to the Board. <br />The Board agreed that the ordinance should be consistent with the Board's procedures. <br />The staff will revise the ordinance and bring it back to the Board for consideration. <br />b. Community Revitalization Loan Program <br />The Board was to consider approving operational guidelines for the Community Revitalization <br />Loan Program, however, this item was postponed to a future meeting. <br />Commissioner Brown has questions about this item and will submit those in writing. <br />c. Orange County Fair Housing Plan <br />The Board considered approval of the Orange County Fair Housing Plan. <br />Human Rights and Relations Director Annette Moore made this presentation. She explained <br />how much aloes-income family would have to pay above their annual salary to buy a home in Orange <br />County. She also said that there was a general lack of awareness about the Fair Housing Act and the <br />Orange County Civil Rights Act. Based on the findings, the Human Rights and Relations Department <br />recommends: 1) providing one-on-one consultation to landlords to encourage participation in the Section <br />8 Program; 2) working with the University to promote development of adequate campus housing in order <br />to free up local rental units and make them more affordable; 3} working with HUD to ensure that fair <br />market rents reflect actual market rents in Orange County; 4) meeting with local bank executives to <br />formalize participation in publiclprivate partnerships that further housing opportunities; 5} creating public <br />policies that link public deposits to financial institutions that commit to meeting community reinvestment <br />needs of the County; 6} developing reasonable and evaluative criteria and producing an annual report for <br />the Board of County Commissioners on lending practices of financial institutions operating in Orange <br />County and ceasing to do business with institutions failing to employ inclusive lending practices; 7) <br />building incentives and prescriptions into Orange County regulation for planned unit development that <br />promote affordable, non-segregated hauling; 8) studying and promoting other land use strategies that <br />encourage development of affordable housing; 9) increasing educational opportunities through fair <br />housing workshops, forums, and presentations; and 10) adding source of income to the civil rights <br />ordinance in conducting fair housing testing to ensure compliance with the civil rights ordinance. <br />Commissioner Brown was concerned with the accuracy of the data, since it was based an the <br />1990 census. She noted several statements that did not seem accurate. She said that she would <br />submit some questions and she would like this information corrected and brought back. <br />John Link suggested that the County Commissioners share written comments with Annette <br />Moore. <br />Commissioner Gordan made reference to the paragraph about impediments. She said that <br />this is talking about impediments to affordable housing, and fair housing is different from affordable <br />housing. <br />Annette Moore said that the plan is supposed to give an open choice to all individuals. She <br />said that she would work with Tara Fikes to clarify the statement about impediments. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that this document predisposes that the government is always at <br />fault and developers are not at fault. He is pleased that same of the goals were some that he suggested. <br />These goals have to da with trying to address some deficiencies in the way barriers were identified. He <br />asked the staff to look in the document for places that imply that unfair housing is the government's fault. <br />He said that the County is looking for ways to provide fair and affordable hauling, but the development <br />community is not always cooperative. <br />