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Orange County Legislature creates bipartisan Housing Task Force to study affordability
Summary
The Legislature voted unanimously to create a bipartisan Housing Task Force to examine county-level measures to address housing affordability and zoning barriers; sponsors said the task force will review best practices and potential incentives.
The Orange County Legislature on Feb. 6 approved a resolution creating a bipartisan Housing Task Force to study housing affordability, zoning and county actions that could incentivize more affordable housing.
The resolution, introduced by Legislators Ramos, Totel and Sutherland with broad bipartisan cosponsorship, passed on a roll-call vote of 17 ayes. Sponsors said the task force will bring experts and local officials to the table to review tools other counties have used and to craft county-level recommendations.
"We all know nationwide there's a major housing shortage, especially here in Orange County," Legislator Sasse said during floor remarks. "People just can't afford to buy a home. A lot of it does come down to municipal home rule and zoning, but we want to take a look at housing in Orange County, what we're doing right, and perhaps look at some suggestions how can we make things more affordable for folks here in Orange County."
Legislator Ramos said he "echo[ed]" those sentiments and expressed support for collaborative solutions at the county level. Legislator Luhan described rising rents in his district and framed the task force as a vehicle to move from conversation to concrete budget or policy proposals: "This task force might actually get us to really put our money where our mouth is," he said.
The resolution's language (as read on the floor) creates the Housing Task Force Committee pursuant to section 2.02 q of the Orange County Charter and Article 4, paragraph g of the legislative manual. The transcript records sponsors and wide cosponsorship from Republican and Democratic members; no specific funding allocation for the task force was read into the record during the Feb. 6 meeting.
Legislators said neighboring counties have begun similar efforts and some have provided funding or incentives for housing that the task force may examine. The motion does not, in the text read on the floor, change municipal zoning authority; speakers explicitly noted municipal home-rule limits when framing the committee's scope.
