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VI. Fair Housing Goals and Priorities <br />If implemented, the goals and strategies below will serve as an effective basis for affirmatively <br />furthering fair housing by reducing patterns of segregation, mitigating displacement, addressing <br />disproportionate housing needs, and increasing access to opportunity for members of protected <br />classes. The first six overarching goals below, multiple of which have several strategies listed for <br />implementation, are cross jurisdictional goals. Orange County and the participating jurisdictions <br />all have a role to play in implementing those goals. Following those goals, this section includes <br />individual goals for Orange County, the participating jurisdictions, and the housing authorities that <br />may not be applicable to other jurisdictions because they respond to local circumstances. <br />Cross -Jurisdictional Goals <br />I. Goal #1: Increase the supply of affordable housing in high opportunity areas. <br />Orange County's high and rapidly rising housing costs, along with the unequal distribution of <br />affordable housing across its communities, are the primary driver of most fair housing issues for <br />members of protected classes in the area. Hispanic residents, Vietnamese residents, and persons <br />with disabilities experience these problems most acutely. <br />Many households are rent burdened, and some households pay more than 50% of their incomes <br />towards rent. In many high opportunity areas, current payment standards are far too low for <br />families with housing choice vouchers to move to these areas. Additionally, there has been vocal <br />community opposition to affordable housing throughout the county. These data reflect a need to <br />expand the both the supply and geographical diversity of affordable housing. <br />a. Explore the creation of a new countywide affordable housing bond. <br />The State of California has approved several measures to issue bonds for affordable housing. Los <br />Angeles is in the process of implementing a $1.2 billion bond measure HHH that is expected to <br />create between 8,000-10,000 units of affordable housing. Orange County could also issue its own <br />bonds to meet the widening gap for affordable rental housing through a ballot initiative. <br />b. Provide low -interest loans to single-family homeowners and grants to homeowners with <br />household incomes of up to 120% of the Area Median Income to develop accessory <br />dwelling units with affordability restriction on their property. <br />In 2019, the California Legislature passed AB 68 and AB 881 which permit the placement of two <br />accessory dwelling units (ADUs), including one 'Junior ADU," on a lot with an existing or <br />proposed single-family home statewide. Due to high construction costs and high demand, the small <br />size of ADUs is not sufficient to ensure that they will be affordable by design. Instead, local <br />governments will need to provide financial assistance in order to incentivize homeowners to make <br />their ADUs affordable. Because it can be difficult for homeowners to access bank financing to <br />build ADUs, there is likely to be demand for such incentives among homeowners. As a condition <br />of receiving assistance, jurisdictions should also require homeowners to attend fair housing <br />training and to maintain records that facilitate audits of their compliance with non-discrimination <br />laws. Individual homeowners who do not have experience as landlords may have less knowledge <br />274 <br />75A-553 <br />