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20 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT <br /> NORTH CAROLINA <br /> November 28, 2022 <br /> Orange County Planning Board <br /> 300 West Tyron Street <br /> Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> RE: Orange County Housing Department support for ADU amendment <br /> Dear Chair Beeman and Planning Board Members, <br /> Thank you for your consideration of the amendments to the Orange County Unified <br /> Development Ordinance (UDO). The Housing Department enthusiastically supports these staff- <br /> initiated amendments. <br /> As a prosperous county with a higher median household income than the North Carolina <br /> average, Orange County faces challenges in providing housing options at prices below a fair <br /> market rate. "Affordable housing" is housing that is affordable to households with low incomes, <br /> meaning that these households pay no more than 30% of their income for housing costs like <br /> rent, mortgage, and utilities. In 2021, an Orange County renter earning the mean wage ($13.93) <br /> would need to work 63 hours per week (1.6 full time jobs) to afford the Fair Market Rent for a <br /> standard two-bedroom apartment ($1,134). For the fiscal year from July 2021—June 2022, <br /> Orange County approved 291 new single-family residential homes with an average value of <br /> $429,469.50 (note: this is the value of the home construction cost, not the home's sales price); <br /> and 150 new residential additions with an average value of$87,057. As established in the chart <br /> below, these home prices are generally beyond the abilities of the mean wage earners in <br /> Orange County to purchase or rent. <br /> Orange County North Carolina (statewide) <br /> Fair Market Rent ("FMR") $1,134 $960 <br /> for a 2-bedroom apartment <br /> j <br /> Income Needed to afford a 2- $45,360 $38,400 <br /> bedroom apartment at FMR ($21.81 per hour) ($18.46 per hour) <br /> Mean Wage earned by renters $16.37 per hour $13.93 per hour <br /> Mailing Address Hillsborough Office Chapel Hill Office <br /> P.O.Box 8181 300 W.Tryon Street 2501 Homestead Road <br /> Hillsborough,NC 27278 Hillsborough,NC 27278 Chapel Hill,NC 27516 <br /> Telephone(919)245-2490 • Fax(919)944-8496 <br />