ORANGE COUNTY ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE August 6, 2020
REGIONAL PROPOSED AI GOALS AND STRATEGIES
To address the contributing factors described above, the AI plan proposes the following goals and actions:
Regional Goals and Strategies”
Goal 1: Increase the supply of affordable housing in high opportunity areas.1 Strategies:
1. Explore the creation of a new countywide source of affordable housing.
2. Using best practices from other jurisdictions, explore policies and programs that increase the supply affordable housing, such as linkage fees, housing bonds, inclusionary housing, public land set-aside, community land trusts, transit-oriented development, and expedited permitting and review.
3. Explore providing low-interest loans to single-family homeowners and grants to homeowners with household incomes of up to 80% of the Area Median Income to develop accessory dwelling units with affordability restriction on their property.
4. Review existing zoning policies and explore zoning changes to facilitate the development of affordable housing.
5. Align zoning codes to conform to recent California affordable housing legislation.
Goal 2: Prevent displacement of low- and moderate-income residents with protected characteristics, including Hispanic residents, Vietnamese residents, other seniors, and people with disabilities.
Strategies:
1. Explore piloting a Right to Counsel Program to ensure legal representation for tenants in landlord-tenant proceedings, including those involving the application of new laws like A.B. 1482.
Goal 3: Increase community integration for persons with disabilities.
Strategies:
1. Conduct targeted outreach and provide tenant application assistance and support to persons with disabilities, including individuals transitioning from institutional settings and individuals who are at risk of institutionalization. As part of that assistance, maintain a database of housing that is accessible to persons with disabilities.
2. Consider adopting the accessibility standards adopted by the City of Los Angeles, which require at least 15 percent of all new units in city-supported Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects to be ADA- accessible with at least 4 percent of total units to be accessible for persons with hearing and/or vision disabilities.
1 The term “high opportunity areas” generally means locations where there are economic and social factors and amenities that provide a positive impact on a person’s life outcome. This is described in more detail in Section iii, Disparities in Ac cess to Opportunity.
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Goal 4: Ensure equal access to housing for persons with protected characteristics, who are disproportionately likely to be lower-income and to experience homelessness.
Strategies:
1. Reduce barriers to accessing rental housing by exploring eliminating application fees for voucher holders and encouraging landlords to follow HUD’s guidance on the use of criminal backgrounds in screening tenants.
2. Consider incorporating a fair housing equity analysis into the review of significant rezoning proposals and specific plans.
Goal 5: Expand access to opportunity for protected classes.
Strategies:
1. Explore the voluntary adoption of Small Area Fair Market Rents or exception payment standards in order to increase access to higher opportunity areas for Housing Choice Voucher holders.
2. Continue implementing a mobility counseling program that informs Housing Choice Voucher holders about their residential options in higher opportunity areas and provides holistic supports to voucher holders seeking to move to higher opportunity areas.
3. Study and make recommendations to improve and expand Orange County’s public transportation to ensure that members of protected classes can access jobs in employment centers in Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine.
4. Increase support for fair housing enforcement, education, and outreach.
CITY OF COSTA MESA PROPOSED AI GOALS AND STRATEGIES
1. In collaboration with the Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA):
a. Attend quarterly OCHA Housing Advisory Committee to enhance the exchange of information regarding the availability, procedures, and policies related to the Housing Assistance Voucher program and regional housing issues.
b. Support OCHA's affirmative fair marketing plan and de-concentration policies by providing five-year and annual PHA plan certifications.
c. In coordination with OCHA and fair housing services provider, conduct landlord education campaign to educate property owners about State law prohibiting discrimination based on household income.
2. Through the City's fair housing contractor:
a. Provide fair housing education and information to apartment managers and homeowner associations on why denial of reasonable modifications/accommodations is unlawful. b. Conduct multi-faceted fair housing outreach to tenants, landlords, property owners, realtors, and property management companies. Methods of outreach may include workshops, informational booths, presentations to community groups, and distribution of multi-lingual fair housing literature.
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