Agenda - 04-01-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 1 2 VOTE: UNANIMOUS 3 4 5. Public Hearings 5 6 a. Orange County Consolidated Housing Plan Update 7 The Board received comments from the public regarding the housing and non-housing 8 needs to be included in the Annual Update of the 2010-2015 Consolidated Housing Plan for 9 Housing and Community Development Programs in Orange County and proposed uses of 10 2014-2015 HOME funds. 11 Tara Fikes reviewed the background information from the abstract. She said her 12 department anticipates receiving the same amount in funding as last year ($333,418) for 13 acquisition, rental assistance, new construction and housing rehabilitation. 14 Commissioner Pelissier referred to the Plan to End Homelessness and asked if there 15 are any items in this grant to encourage permanent housing. 16 Tara Fikes said the housing department tries to make sure that the community knows 17 that there is interest in creating more permanent housing. She said there is a real push for this 18 during the preparation of the continuum of care application, and the hope is that this carries 19 over. 20 Commissioner Rich asked if there is anything additional or outside of the box being 21 done that is not listed in the plan. 22 Tara Fikes said she cannot think of anything at this point, but she will give this some 23 thought. 24 Chair Jacobs said the Senior Housing that was done with a private developer was a 25 major investment of housing bond funds. 26 27 PUBLIC COMMENT: 28 Mary Jean Sada said she is the chief operating officer of CASA, an organization that 29 develops and manages rental housing for mostly disabled and homeless citizens. She said one 30 of their tenants, John, a veteran, lost his job and then his housing. She said he ended up 31 camping in the woods for 4 years before an outreach worker found him and developed a 32 relationship with him. The outreach worker was able to put him in touch with the VA and then 33 with CASA. Mary Jean Sada said John now has his own apartment funded by the County 34 Commissioners. She said having a safe secure place enables him to cook, clean, and make all 35 of his appointments at the VA. She said John has expressed that the ability to only pay 30% of 36 his income for rent allows him to even get a burger once in awhile. 37 Mary Jean Sada said this is one example of the power of affordable housing, and she 38 advocates for these funds to serve the County's most vulnerable populations. She said housing 39 is one of the simplest solutions for homelessness. She advocated for funding for more 40 affordable apartments and for rapid re-housing. She said the rapid re-housing is beneficial 41 because it takes people out of the IFC shelter and places them in housing quicker, and it also 42 provides a bridge for some people to prevent them from becoming homeless. She 43 acknowledged Tara Fikes and her staff for their dedication and commitment to finding housing 44 solutions in Orange County. 45 Susan Levy, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity, said Habitat has developed 11 46 creative partnerships in 2013 to build 11 new homes. She said the families who purchase 47 these homes are hardworking members of the community. She said 9 of these homes were 48 built in Phoenix Place, and 2 of the homes were built in the Fairview Community in 49 Hillsborough.