Minutes 05-23-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Jacobs: I have some questions, but I'd like to wait until after the public comments. Larry Wright: I'd like to open it up for public comment. PUBLIC COMMENT Robert Reda: Good evening, Commissioners, my name is Robert Reda. We decided that John's presentation makes sense to follow behind mine. I am signed in and sworn in as well. I'm presently on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. Last year, Habitat celebrated 25 years of assisting 200 deserving families with a hand up in helping them achieve their dreams of home ownership. Habitat and these families appreciate the tremendous support that the Board of County Commissioners has provided to us over the years. Your support has been instrumental in building new neighborhoods like Richmond Hills and revitalizing others such as Fairview. As you well know, land in Orange County that can be developed for affordable housing is very scarce indeed. Our site committee is constantly looking for potential sites for future homebuilding and we were very excited when the opportunity came up to purchase the property in Efland. Our goal as an organization is always to have four years' worth of building lots in our inventory, and Tinnin Woods will provide about two years' worth of building, so we plan to start building that area as was previously mentioned in approximately 2013. We are very excited about another program that Susan Levy mentioned earlier, A Brush with Kindness. This focuses on exterior repairs and landscaping improvements for the elderly and disabled. We will be extending this program to the Efland community when we start building homes in Tinnin Woods. This is something we are very excited about offering to the community in general. Finally, I would ask that you would approve our application for Tinnin Woods and we would like to thank you for your continued support of Habitat and Habitat's mission. John Sehon: Good evening, my name is John Sehon and I've been duly sworn. I'm a current board member of Orange County Habitat, past board Chair, and currently the Chair of the Site Planning Committee. I'm speaking in support of Tinnin Woods, an affordable subdivision with 28 family homes and rezoning of the site from R-1, one lot per acre, to R-8, which would allow Habitat to develop Tinnin Woods in the density of a little over three units per acre. We believe that Tinnin Woods meets the three findings of fact necessary to secure the Class A Special Use Permit as proposed. Tinnin Woods will maintain and promote public health, safety, and general welfare; maintain or enhance the value of contiguous property; and is in harmony with the area in which it will be located, specifically as it relates to the three findings. Finding #1, general welfare. Increasing affordable housing in Orange County is good for Orange County employers and for the economy. The demand for Habitat homes serving Orange County residents and workers who earn 65% of the adjusted median income continues to be strong and we turn down many qualified applicants. Most recently, we received 60 applications to provide homeowner slots and over 1/3 of those applicants met all of the qualifications. By the end of 2013, we will have completed a 15-unit development in Phoenix Place in southern Orange County. We will continue working at Fairview where we own about a dozen lots. But Tinnin Woods represents the next major source of building lots so that we can continue to provide affordable home ownership. Additionally, increasing density allows Habitat to be good stewards of land in Orange County. As a practical matter, to get more affordable homes on the ground here, our minds will need to be open to increased densities that current zoning may allow. Because underdeveloped sites that are on water and sewer are very scarce,