01-24-2000 Council Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

V 3. Middle income persons are increasingly unable to afford housing suitable to their needs and wishes. The gap between the price of housing and incomes has been steadily widening, with ever greater numbers of people priced out of the housing market. The result is that even the middle income family is faced increasingly with substantial difficulties in finding affordable housing which is suitable to its needs. This is of particular concern in Orono. whprp fully 1/3 of the housing stock is valuable lakeshore property, and the developing off-lake housing in rural Orono has been skvrocketinp in value due to a keen dema nd for the low-densitv lifestyle and amenities. This Housing Plan is an indication of the ongoing policies and concerns of Orono residents toward solving our own housing problems. This Ph n is a refinement and restatement of the planning direction established in the 1974 Orono Village Comprehensive Guide Plan and the 1980 Orono Community Management PInn and is prepared and presented for the following purposes: 1. The Housing Improvement Plan is intended to provide a review of Orono's existing housing stock. As an outlying municipality on the d eveloping fringe of the Metro area, especially one with miles of desirable lakeshore, it is easy to forget or to overlook the true housing situation in Orono. By providing a brief review of e.xisting housing statistics, one quickly realizes that Orono is not a typical "new" suburb of middle income monotony. 2. The Housing fmprorcmmt Plan is intended to be a management tool for City officials. City staff and other parties interested in improving the condition of Orono's available housing supply. As such, the Housing Plan includes goals and policies aimed at guiding housing improvement consistent w ith our Land Use Plan, local housing needs, and the Metropolitan Council s policies for low and moderate income housing. The Housing impros eiiieiit Plan is the housing element of tmr Orono's Community Management Plan, designed to advise the Metropolitan Council of our hou.«ing needs and intentions. The Metropolitan Council is the responsible regional agency charged with reviewing subsidized housing plans and ^.i^grams foi the jica the housing element of local land use plans asirequired bv the Metropol itan Land Plannino Act. This plan is designed to advise the Metropolitan Council of our existing housing situation, our analysis of local and Lake Minnetonka area housing needs and our proposed programs for meeting those needs. 3. CMP3C - 2