Agenda - 04-23-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 1 Commissioner McKee clarified that he is not criticizing any county actions. 2 3 Commissioner Dorosin said the Board needs to re-visit the policy of this model with high 4 end condo units and the sustainability issues that come with requiring unit set-asides. He said 5 that integrated housing is desired, but issues like this and problems with homeowner 6 association dues can outweigh the different price point units. He said there should be more 7 control over how the units are designed and function in the future. He said the Board needs to 8 really look at how it is using financial and political resources. 9 Commissioner Rich said this discussion always occurs when development projects 10 come forward. She said that the affordable housing program always wants units, but a plan 11 needs to be made that considers a balance of the issues. 12 Commissioner Dorosin said the lesson learned with Abby Court is that the homeowners 13 associations are controlled by the majority of the unit holders; and the majority is not the 14 affordable housing residents. This means that those low income residents are at the mercy of 15 the association. 16 Chair Jacobs said Orange County government does not require any condo units; that is 17 done by the towns. He said Robert Dowling did ask the towns to re-visit this issue. He said 18 unless they engage the municipalities in this discussion, affordable housing in the southern part 19 of the county is not under the Board's purview. He said perhaps promotion of high density 20 housing is desired so that affordable units are possible; however this means the Board needs to 21 have its own policy. He said that, with this building, he would like to see if there are any other 22 systems like this that will become an issue a year from now. 23 Commissioner Rich said the Bosch washers and dryers are the same situation. 24 Chair Jacobs asked if anyone has done a comparative analysis of the pitfalls of these 25 units, 26 Robert Dowling said an analysis has not been done. He said there has been a transfer 27 fee tax implemented that will support affordable units, and as units sell, these fees will help. He 28 said that there will be special assessments and there is money for some of these unknowns, but 29 there is not enough money to pay for the HVAC units. 30 Commissioner Price clarified that if the Board goes along with this request, the money 31 will pay for new units, not repairs. 32 Robert Dowling said CHT could handle the small repairs. 33 Katherine Doom said AHAB did ask extensive questions during their tour of 34 Greenbridge. She said that there are no good answers here. She said AHAB spoke with 35 owners of units and saw both a low end and a high end unit. She acknowledged that there is 36 not a good way to resolve this issue. 37 Tara Fikes said the recommendation of AHAB is for these funds to be set aside for the 38 requested services. She has talked with the Orange County Finance Director, who said it is 39 okay to move forward. She said the recommendation is for approval of the requested funds. 40 Katherine Doom said there was no way to avoid hurting the homeowners if the funds are 41 not approved. 42 Commissioner McKee said Robert Dowling mentioned another style that could possibly 43 be put in the units. He requested that Robert Dowling let the Board know the answer as to 44 whether this could be done. 45 46 - HOME Program — Live/Work and First-time Homebuyer Requirements 47 48 Tara Fikes said the second letter in front of the Commissioners came from CHT and 49 highlights the difficulties CHT is having in selling homes. She said the request is for the HOME 50 review committee to be relieved of the Live/Work clause (having to work and live in Orange 51 County). She said the request is that if a buyer cannot be found in Orange County within 90 52 days, CHT would like to look outside of Orange County to broaden the pool of purchases. She