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31 <br /> AP-75 Barriers to Affordable Housing <br /> Introduction <br /> In 2020,the Orange County HOME Consortium worked with the Center for Urban and Regional Studies <br /> at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to conduct an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing <br /> Choice (AI).The Al includes an analysis of Orange County laws, regulations, and administrative policies, <br /> procedures, and practices that affect the location, availability, and accessibility of housing.The Al also <br /> includes an assessment of conditions, both public and private,that affect fair housing choice. <br /> The Al identified the following impediments to fair housing: <br /> • A lack of affordable housing has resulted in severe rent burdens among many renters, <br /> especially those with low and moderate incomes.A majority of renters in the county are rent- <br /> burdened—spending over 30%of household income toward rent and utilities; this figure <br /> exceeds 85%for households earning below$35,000 and is still over half for households earning <br /> $35,000—$49,999. Meanwhile, over 80%of households earning under$20,000 are severely rent- <br /> burdened (meaning they pay over half their income toward rent and utilities), as are nearly 40% <br /> of households earning$20,000—$34,999. <br /> • African Americans and Hispanics face difficulties receiving conventional mortgage loans.The <br /> denial rate for first-lien, conventional mortgages for African Americans is consistently over four <br /> times that of Whites, and the denial rate for Hispanics is between two and four times that of <br /> Whites as well. The most common reasons for denial, as noted in the HMDA data, are credit <br /> history for African Americans (33%of all denial reasons) and debt-to-income ratio for Hispanics <br /> (49%of all denial reasons). <br /> • Based on the number of fair housing complaints filed, disabled persons face difficulties <br /> accessing fair housing. Nearly half of all fair housing complaints filed in the 2010-2018 period <br /> were filed due to discrimination based on disability. Given that the county's population with a <br /> disability is approximately 12,500, and that over a quarter of the elderly are also disabled,this is <br /> a significant barrier to fair housing. <br /> • There exists a lack of subsidized rental properties outside the Towns of Chapel Hill and <br /> Carrboro.The only public housing in the county is located in Chapel Hill, and the vast majority of <br /> other subsidized properties are located in either Chapel Hill or Carrboro.To that end, six <br /> subsidized developments exist in Hillsborough, one exists in the Orange County portion of <br /> Mebane, and only one subsidized property exists in unincorporated Orange County. <br /> • Zoning throughout the county largely restricts the development of denser, more affordable <br /> housing. Only a handful of areas in the county are zoned for moderately dense residential <br /> development (over four lots or units per acre), and resident opposition can complicate or inhibit <br /> the development of denser housing in those areas. Given the high cost of land in service-rich <br /> neighborhoods of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, low-density zoning can prevent the construction of <br /> affordable housing. <br /> Actions it planned to remove or ameliorate the negative effects of public policies that serve <br /> Annual Action Plan 28 <br /> FY 2024-2025 <br />