Minutes 05-23-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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regular meeting in order to receive the Planning Board recommendation and any additional submitted written comments. Mr. Chair, unless you have any specific questions of ine, I'll step down and let the applicant make a more formal presentation. David Rooks: Mr. Chair and members of the respective boards, I am David Rooks, I am an attorney in Chapel Hill, and I have the privilege of representing Habitat for Humanity. My role here tonight is limited, it is simply to observe the quasi-judicial procedure. I will be introducing two speakers who will present on behalf of the applicant under sworn witnesses. The first will be Ms. Susan Levy, who is Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity and the second is Mr. Tracy Parrott, who is with Summit Engineering and will provide the technical expertise for the application. Once they testify, I will actually come back and enter information into the official record. Susan Levy: Good evening, I'm Susan Levy, I'm Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity and I have been duly sworn. I will start out with our Mission Statement, I think many of you know that Habitat is a non-profit organization that has been providing affordable housing opportunities for over 25 years now in Orange County. We recently celebrated our 25th anniversary and have built more than 200 homes here in Orange County, and positively impacted the lives of over 550 Orange County children. We are an affiliate of a much larger organization, Habitat for Humanity International, which has a presence in over 90 countries and all 50 states. More than 400,000 homes have now been built worldwide since 1976 and Habitat for Humanity is actually the eighth largest homebuilder in the United States. The reason that we're here, the reason that Habitat for Humanity exists is that we provide affordable housing opportunities and we work very closely in partnership with the County to do that. We have been the recipient of funds over the years for the Orange County Housing Bond program, through the Orange County HOME program, through the State CDBG program, and Chapel Hill's Community Development program there in order to further the wishes and desires of the County. I'm just quoting here the Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan. The overall goal of the Housing Element is: "Opportunity for all citizens of Orange County to rent or purchase safe, decent, accessible, and affordable housing." I'll also refer you to the Orange County HOME Consortium Consolidated Plan for 2010-2015, which is the plan that HUD requires that the County put together of all the jurisdictions here in Orange County that distribute HOME funds, which are used to further affordable housing. I'll just read this very briefly for those that are facing forward. As mixed use/mixed income communities continue to add amenities to new home construction, home costs continue to rise in Orange County despite the current housing market slowdown. As the population of Orange County continues to grow, the lack of affordable land has become a major barrier to the development of Affordable Housing, especially when taking into account that the Town of Chapel Hill and the County will not develop infrastructure beyond the Urban Services Boundary. There are a limited number of developers and builders who are capable of building Affordable Housing. The profit potential for middle and upscale housing draws most builders to