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1 <br />O R A N G E C 0 U N T Y 11 <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1 <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: FEBRUARY 24,1992 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item # <br />SUBJECT: MINIMUM HOUSING CODE AMENDMENTS <br />DEPARTMENT: PLANNING PUBLIC HEARING —X —Yes No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Planning Director Extension 2592 <br />Revised Ordinance <br />G.S. 153A -123 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />G.S. 153A -351 <br />Hillsborough - 732 -8181 <br />Part 6 of Article <br />19 Durham - 688 -7331 <br />Mebane - 227 -2031 <br />Chapel Hill - 967 -9251 <br />PURPOSE: <br />To receive citizen comment on proposed ordinance <br />modifications to the "Minimum Housing Code ", which <br />would, upon adoption, clarify its administration, <br />enforcement and interpretation by staff and the <br />public. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />In 1984, the Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />adopted a "Minimum Housing Code ". It was recognized <br />by the community that there were dwellings unfit for <br />human habitation due to unsafe structural conditions; <br />fire hazards, inadequate light and ventilation, <br />inadequate sanitary facilities and other inimical <br />conditions detrimental to the welfare of the occupants <br />and the public. <br />The 1987 Orange County Low and Moderate Income Housing <br />Task Force Report substantiated the continued <br />existence of substandard housing. "A total of 513 <br />residential structures (2.4% of county's housing <br />supply) still lacked indoor bathrooms. Nearly 12% of <br />Orange County homes lacked heating systems and had to <br />rely on space heaters and other similar sources of <br />warmth. In one township, 34% of the inhabited <br />structures fell into this category. In all townships <br />but Chapel Hill and Eno, the level was at least 20%." <br />Furthermore, there is an increasing rate of <br />depreciation in the overall stock of housing. The <br />