Orange County NC Website
17 <br />For Affordability: <br />1. Offer subsidies in order to increase the pool of applicants. <br />2. Raise 80% median income cap (to include people who make 100%+ of median income. <br />(T'here are, however, problems with this idea; mainly, maintaining 5-01(c)(3) status.) <br />For the Partnership to End Homelessness: <br />1. In addition to developing new housing for the chronically homeless population in the <br />County, there may also be opportunities to utilize (lease or purchase) vacant units in <br />existing apartment complexes. <br />2. Consider a "scattered site model" versus a "concentrated" approach to housing <br />chronically homeless individuals. <br />Ms. Bratsch stated all of these recommendations would take funding as well as responsible and <br />consistent planning over time. To that end, she said the Task Force was putting forward the <br />following: <br />Funding Recommendations: <br />1. The Towns and the County should consider an Affordable Housing Bond Referendum. <br />The County voters have approved two referendums - in 1997 ($1.8 million) and 2001 ($4 <br />million) -that have provided funding to local affordable housing initiatives. <br />2. Apply an Affordable Housing Transfer Fee: For future developments, a transfer fee <br />would be imposed by the developer on the sale/resale of market-rate properties. The <br />revenues generated from this fee would be dedicated to the affordable units within the <br />development. <br />3. A Payment-in-Lieu system (PIES) should be considered for all developers of new <br />housing units in all towns, including the County. This PIES would allow developers to <br />make a financial contribution to the work of affordable housing rather than provide <br />affordable dwelling units. Elements of this system would include the following: <br />a. Any money generated from this scenario could be deposited in a trust fund for use to <br />address the affordability/maintenance issues of the Land Trust as well as other <br />housing non-profit organizations including initiatives of the Partnership to End <br />Homelessness. <br />b. Jurisdictions could consider either making 15% of homes in a subdivision affordable <br />to those at 80% of median income or allow some combination of actual units and <br />payment-in-lieu payments. <br />c. The PIES should be administered in a responsible manner. This would involve an <br />assessment of the number of affordable units currently provided by required set- <br />asides and the associated maintenance costs to determine if the community would be <br />better served by additional units or the payment-in-lieu. <br />d. The specific details should be left to County and Town Managers and their attorneys. <br />b) Discussion <br />9:27:49 PM Alderman Broun wondered if the Task Force had thought about the different <br />categories of affordable housing. Alderman Gist responded she had served on the Task Force, <br />12 <br />