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EXHIBIT D-8 Language addition on Page 3C-15 regarding property tax impact on <br />aging long-term homeowners <br />I.Orono's local needs assessment program has identified a strong need for a broader range of <br />housing choices, not the least of which is senior housing, and a strong need for substantial <br />housing rehabilitation. <br />In many cases, this need can be traced back to the major development surge that occurred in Orono <br />between 1946 and 1955. These post war years were when most of our population increase occurred <br />as returning servicemen purchased former seasonal lake cottages and turned them into year-rornd <br />residences. They raised families and stayed in their home. These people are now retired and on fixed <br />incomes. They are often widows or widowers without ready resources. This phenomenon also <br />accounts for Oronc's relatively low persons per household figure. A modest numbc. of these long <br />term Orono residents are living in substandard conditions by todays standards. These Orono residents <br />are particularly affected bv Minnesota’s property tax system in which taxes are ever-increasing due <br />to skvrocketin2 property values. Often, fixed incomes force retired residents to choose between <br />selling their homes or foregoing certain expenses such as upkeep of their residence in order to pav <br />taxes. They need help or they will be forced from their homes with nowhere to go. Demographically, <br />Orono’s older-than-average population is aging and will in the next two decades be seeking housing <br />alternatives that provide for a much wider range of lifestyles than are currently provided. <br />Thus, Orono has identified one of our greatest needs as housing rehabilitation for senior-citizen <br />homeowners and for alternative senior housing accommodations in the immediate lake area. A <br />second pressing need is for a wider range of housing options for middle income residents, such as <br />those who grew up in Orono and would like to raise a family here, but cannot find suitably priced <br />homes. A third identified need is for the empty nesters or professionals whose lifestyle better <br />matches the amenities of attached unit housing.