ORANGE : Affordable Housing Plan Is in the Works

The city soon may be asking developers to devote as much as 20% of future projects to affordable housing.

The new affordable housing plan, which was reviewed by the City Council this week, is voluntary.

The proposal relies on incentives such as density bonuses to entice builders to meet the 20% goal for projects involving more than 10 units. Density bonuses would, among other things, allow developers to construct more units than permitted by zoning codes in exchange for including affordable housing.

Affordable housing is a “decent quality dwelling” that a person can afford to rent or buy without spending more than 30% of their income, according to a city staff report.

For Orange County, a family of four earning the median income of $52,700 should pay no more than $1,317 a month for housing, according to city figures.

City officials are hoping their affordable housing plan will be of particular benefit to seniors, disabled people, single-parent households, large families and homeless people--all of whom are in crucial need of affordable shelter.

For example, about two-thirds of the 4,000 single-parent households in Orange pay more than 30% for housing costs. And an estimated 8,600 low-income city residents spend more than 30% of their incomes on housing.

The Planning Commission is expected to consider the affordable-housing proposal at a public hearing sometime this summer.