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23 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 a. Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice <br /> 3 The Board received a report and considered voting to approve the FY 2015-2020 <br /> 4 Analysis of Impediments to fair housing choice, and authorizing the Manager to certify the <br /> 5 necessary documents. <br /> 6 Audrey Spencer Horsley, Orange County Housing, Human Rights, and Community <br /> 7 Development Department Director, reviewed the following information: <br /> 8 <br /> 9 BACKGROUND: As the lead agency of the Orange County HOME Consortium, the County <br /> 10 administers funding allocated through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban <br /> 11 Development's (HUD's) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). The County also <br /> 12 occasionally receives Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. As such, the <br /> 13 County is a Participating Jurisdiction (PJ). In addition to the allocation of these block grants, the <br /> 14 County's Housing, Human Rights and Community Development Department operates as a <br /> 15 Public Housing Authority (PHA) through its administration of the federal Housing Choice <br /> 16 Voucher program. All PJ's and PHA's are required to engage in activities that "affirmatively <br /> 17 further fair housing". To meet this long-standing obligation, the County completes and submits <br /> 18 an Analysis of Impediments (A.I.) to identify barriers to fair housing choice and for planning an <br /> 19 approach to take meaningful actions to overcome these barriers. This analysis is completed <br /> 20 every five (5) years, consistent with the County's quinquennial submission of its Consolidated <br /> 21 Plan for Affordable Housing. <br /> 22 <br /> 23 The County's objectives parallel HUD's objectives to: <br /> 24 • Promote fair housing choice for all persons; <br /> 25 • Provide opportunities for inclusive patterns of housing occupancy regardless of race, color, <br /> 26 religion, sex, familial status, disability and national origin; <br /> 27 • Promote housing that is structurally accessible to, and usable by, all persons, particularly <br /> 28 persons with disabilities; and <br /> 29 • Foster compliance with the nondiscrimination provisions of the Fair Housing Act. A draft A.I. <br /> 30 was made available for public comment beginning Friday, August 14, 2015 and continuing until <br /> 31 5 p.m. on Monday, September 14, 2015. Electronic copies of the draft plan were available to <br /> 32 the public via the County's website. Hardcopies were made available at the County's <br /> 33 Department of Housing, Human Rights and Community Development, the Townships of <br /> 34 Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough, the Chapel Hill Public Library and each branch <br /> 35 of the Orange County Public Library. In addition, a newspaper posting soliciting <br /> 36 comments was issued in the News of Orange, the Durham Herald Sun and La Noticia, <br /> 37 a Spanish bi-lingual newspaper. There were additional surveys returned by non-English <br /> 38 speaking community members and one public comment received. These surveys and <br /> 39 the public comment were inserted in the Final A.I., which is available on-line at the <br /> 40 following URL: <br /> 41 http://www.orangecountync.gov/departments/hhrcd/Final_Orange_County_2015_Al.pdf <br /> 42 <br /> 43 Commissioner Pelissier referred to page 5 of the summary hand-out from Audrey <br /> 44 Spencer-Horsley, and asked why more than one person per room is considered a housing <br /> 45 problem. <br /> 46 Audrey Spencer Horsley said she can get the definition and reasoning for one person <br /> 47 per room and report back to the Board. <br /> 48 Commissioner Pelissier referred to impediment#5 on page 6, that notes a need to <br /> 49 improve public policies that affirmatively further fair housing, and asked if there are any <br />