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limited exception to this trend. Market -rate multifamily housing is also more likely to be <br />accessible, though to a lesser standard than publicly supported housing, due to the design and <br />construction standards of the Fair Housing Act. Multifamily housing tends to be concentrated in <br />communities of color, but there are some predominantly White communities that have significant <br />amounts of luxury multifamily housing that may be accessible and affordable to middle -income <br />and high -income persons with disabilities. These areas include Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods (which <br />primarily consists of a large retirement community), Newport Beach, and Seal Beach. Overall, <br />permitting more multifamily housing and assisting more publicly supported housing in <br />predominantly White communities with proficient schools would help ensure that persons with <br />disabilities who need accessibility features in their homes have a full range of neighborhood <br />choices available to them. <br />Location of Employers <br />The location of employers is not a significant contributing factor to fair housing issues in Orange <br />County. There does not appear to be any clear relationship between patterns of occupancy by race <br />or ethnicity and where major job centers are in Orange County. In fact, there are areas of Hispanic <br />population concentration, particularly in Anaheim and Santa Ana, that are located near major <br />employment centers. Additionally, heavily Hispanic communities in Orange County have greater <br />access to job centers in Los Angeles County than do predominantly White communities due to the <br />routing of Metrolink through the central portion of the county rather than along the coast or through <br />the hills. <br />Location of Environmental Health Hazards <br />The location of environmental health hazards is a significant contributing factor to fair housing <br />issues in Orange County. Heavily Hispanic communities in Orange County bear the brunt of <br />environmental harms although exposure primarily stems from vehicle emissions, the location of <br />major freeways, and the settling of smog in the area between the coast and the hills rather than the <br />location of major industrial facilities. As a county that developed as a predominantly suburban <br />area, there is not a long history of heavy industrial activity in the area. Of the county's five <br />Superfund sites, one — Orange County North Basin on the border of Fullerton and Anaheim — is <br />located in a heavily Hispanic area. In light of these circumstances, efforts to reduce vehicle <br />emissions and efforts to increase access to coastal and hillside communities for Hispanic residents <br />would be most likely to reduce environmental health disparities. <br />Location of Proficient Schools and School Assignment Policies <br />The location of proficient schools and school assignment policies are significant contributing <br />factors to fair housing issues in Orange County. The schools with the highest proficiency in Orange <br />County are generally located in coastal areas and hillside areas rather than in the center of the <br />county, though Irvine is an exception. This distribution of proficient schools maps on to patterns <br />of residential racial and ethnic segregation, with disproportionately White population in areas with <br />high performing schools and relatively low Hispanic population in those areas. Public education <br />322 <br />75A-601 <br />