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INFORMATION ITEM 1 <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> TO: Board of County Commissioners <br /> Bonnie B. Hammersley, County Manager <br /> FROM: Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile Home Park Work Group <br /> DATE: June 20, 2017 <br /> SUBJECT: Information Item — Update on the Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile <br /> Home Park Work Group <br /> Please accept the following memorandum regarding the Affordable Housing Land <br /> Banking/Mobile Home Park Work Group. <br /> Background <br /> For many years, there has been interest in addressing the vulnerability of residents <br /> living in mobile home parks in Orange County. The Orange County Board of <br /> Commissioners allocated $1 million in the FY2015-16 and FY16-17 budgets for a land <br /> banking program. This program was established by the BOCC to address land banking <br /> of mobile homes parks, and/or to assist in the acquisition of property for future <br /> residential development as an affordable housing alternative. The goal was for these <br /> funds to support the development of affordable housing by acquiring improved and <br /> unimproved land for current and future affordable housing developments. <br /> Mobile Home Park Work Group <br /> Following the establishment of the land banking program and designated funding from <br /> Orange County, local housing partners began to discuss and evaluate the opportunities <br /> and obstacles in redeveloping an existing mobile home park or developing new <br /> affordable housing addressing the needs of mobile home park residents at risk. Orange <br /> County Habitat for Humanity invited interested, local individuals to form an informal ad <br /> hoc committee that became known as the Affordable Housing Land Banking/Mobile <br /> Home Park Work Group. The work group consisted of local government staff, for-profit <br /> developers, and non-profit housing staff including: <br /> - Susan Levy, Habitat for Humanity - Judy Johnson, Town of Chapel Hill <br /> - Robert Downing, Community Home Trust - Edward Barberio, Town of Chapel Hill <br /> - Jess Brandes, CASA - Eric Chupp, Capkov Ventures, Inc. <br /> - Travis Myren, Orange County - Elam Hall, Eller Capital Partners <br /> - Craig Benedict, Orange County - David Beck, Self Help <br /> - Ashley Moncado, Orange County <br /> Over the course of several months the work group reviewed and discussed several <br /> issues facing mobile home park residents and owners. The main issue identified by the <br /> work group was that mobile home park residents, specifically in Chapel Hill and <br /> Carrboro, were faced with losing their homes and displacement as a result of <br /> redevelopment of the existing parks. In addition, these residents faced limited affordable <br /> housing options due to a lack of available mobile homes and/or mobile home spaces <br /> elsewhere and increasing housing costs in the Towns. <br />