Agenda - 02-03-2004-7a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Orange County, NC Consolidated Plan for 2000 -2005 Executive Summary Background 2 Located in North Carolina, Orange County includes not only the towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough, but also Chapel Hill, the home of the largest campus of the State university, The presence of university students, more affluent and transient than other county residents, has created an imbalance in terms of housing and community development needs. Orange County must, therefore, concentrate its efforts on serving a strong urban community and rural areas as well The important housing issues in Orange County have not changed. The high cost of homeownership has left many families out of the housing market or sent then: to surrounding counties to buy homes and commute into Orange County for work The rental market, inflated by the ability of UNC CH students able to pay higher rents, is beyond the means of families with intones below 50% of the area median. For families in need of three or more bedrooms, verb, little housing stock exists. The number of women and children staying at the homeless shelter- continues to increase dramatically, and transition from the shelter into permanent housing in Orange County is nearly impossible since no transitional housing exists Housing for special interest groups such as the elderly, persons that are developmentally disabled, and persons with alcohol or chug addiction, is limited in Orange County. Community Profile Orange County, North Carolina includes the incorporated Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough, and is the home of the largest campus of the State university system — the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The County is a part of the Raleigh- Durham - Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that comprises six counties in the Research Triangle Area with a population of 1.1 million people. The region is highly rated as a place to live and do business. In addition, Orange County, in particular, has the most expensive cost for new housing in the region and Chapel Hill is among a few larger cities in the state rated high on the cost of living index. Further, the County enjoys a low unemployment rate of approximately one (1) percent, These "firsts" present a challenge in addressing the housing needs of Orange County residents. In 2000, the population of Orange County is estimated to be 111,982. That represents a 19% population growth since 1990, with an anticipated growth of 8% through 2005. Of that number, approximately 77 percent were White, 16 percent were African American, and 7 percent were of other minority groups including American Indian, Asian, and Hispanic. The fastest growing segments of the population are of Asian and /or Hispanic descent whose population has more than doubled since 1993.