The Cost Is Too High

The debate over Orange County’s growth rate is helping to focus attention on a problem that is as serious as traffic jams: housing costs.

Only one resident in four can afford a home on the hot Orange County market, where the median resale price of a home in Orange County is now $198,000. It takes an annual income of about $55,000 to qualify for such a home; that prices most residents out of the market.

There is a direct link between traffic problems and the high cost of housing. People who work here but can’t afford to live here are forced to live in neighboring counties and commute to jobs, intensifying Orange County’s traffic congestion and air pollution.

Excessive commutes pose long-term economic dangers. The lack of an adequate local labor pool and tardiness, absenteeism and employee turnover resulting from commuting causes can force firms to move or expand elsewhere--or not come into the county in the first place. Local government can provide mixed-use zoning that allows for affordable housing in commercial and industrial areas; more such projects can help reduce commuting. The Board of Supervisors once required affordable housing but unwisely rescinded that goal from new projects. It should reconsider that action. The more commuters public officials and developers put on the road, the harder it will be for them to respond to the anger of traffic-weary residents.