AGENDA ITEM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE*
title
Town’s Public Housing Program Annual Plan, Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP)
presenter
RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT*
Loryn Clark, Deputy Town Manager and Interim Director of Housing and Community Development
Angela Gerald, Housing Officer II, Housing and Community Development
Andrea Mebane, Housing Officer I, Housing and Community Development
STAFF RECOMMENDATION*
Staff recommends that Council approve the Public Housing Annual Plan and ACOP.
body
LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT*
The Town Council serves as the board of the Town’s Public Housing Authority (PHA), which oversees the Town’s public housing program. A PHA board is responsible for overseeing the department’s operations and governance of a local housing authority, including setting policies, approving budgets, and ensuring compliance with federal regulations.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT*
The Town owns and operates a portfolio of 296 public housing units located in 12 neighborhoods. Our oldest communities were built in 1967 and our most recent were built in 1994. Our public housing stock is aging with many units in need of major renovation or redevelopment.
In April 2024, we merged the former Public Housing Department with the existing Affordable Housing and Community Connections (AH&CC) Department (now called Housing and Community Development). This moved the public housing team to be a division of the Housing and Community Development Department and further aligned all the Town’s affordable housing functions within one team.
Our public housing program operates as an enterprise fund with annual funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of approximately $1.3 Million in operating subsidy and approximately $1.2 Million in capital funding to support extraordinary maintenance and renovation projects. The Town also relies on rental revenue in the annual amount of about $1.35 Million to support operations.
Our public housing program currently receives no direct budgetary supplement from the Town’s general fund beyond staff time for some administrative and accounting functions.
Annual Plan
Each year, the Town is required to submit an Annual Plan to the HUD. The Plan serves as the documentation of a PHA’s operations, programs, services. The Plan also highlights any changes in polices from previous years.
The Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP) is a component of the Annual Plan. This document outlines a PHA’s policies such as eligibility, tenant selection, admissions preferences, waitlist procedures, rent determination, utilities, occupancy guidelines, grievance procedures, pet ownership, and community service requirements.
We held two required public meetings to receive input on the Annual Plan and proposed changes to the ACOP (February 19 and February 26). Comments received from the meeting will be attached to our submission of the plan to HUD by April 17.
For Fiscal Year 2027, we plan to continue to make progress on meeting the goals of our 5-year plan. This includes:
- Achieving standard performer status as evaluated by HUD in their Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) for the public housing program
- Rehabilitation work such as replacing outdated appliances, renovating both vacant and occupied units to meet modern standards,
- Strengthening connections with our residents through expanded engagement activities
- Continue to focus on key indicators such as rent collection, recertification of resident eligibility, and vacancy reduction
Over the next five years, we will continue initiatives to preserve our aging housing units and utilize available capital funds to address major deficiencies such as flooring, siding and HVAC systems.
Additionally, we will continue to develop creative ways to enhance resident independence, including establishing self-sufficiency programming through strategic community partnerships.
Proposed Changes to ACOP
This year, we propose changes to the ACOP to better align with best practices in public housing management, and to prioritize housing for Orange County residents.
Applications for residency are reviewed and scored by our staff based on multiple factors. We propose to modify the evaluation criteria as follows:
|
Eligibility Criteria |
Previous Policy |
Proposed Change |
|
Orange County Resident • Other County Resident • Out-of-State Resident |
60 points 40 points 30 points |
60 points 0 points 0 points |
|
• Working (Includes Disabled/Elderly) |
35 points |
45 points |
|
Homeless • Victim of Domestic Violence • Involuntarily Displaced |
35 points 20 points 20 points |
35 points (includes displacement and/or victims of domestic violence) |
|
Veteran |
15 points |
15 points |
|
Paystubs required for verification of income |
2 paystubs Most recent checking and savings account statement |
4 paystubs 3 months of checking account statements 2 months of savings account statements |
|
Improper trash disposal fee |
$25 |
$50 |
|
Guest policy |
10 days in a 12-month period |
10 consecutive days or 30 cumulative days in a 12-month period |
|
Pets |
Must apply for pet ownership and provide certification of vaccinations; must be spayed or neutered $150 pet fee for a dog or cat 1 dog or cat per household Maximum weight - 30 pounds Exclusion of certain breeds |
Propose adding: Must provide a picture of pet prior to move-in No livestock, farm animals (chickens, pigeons, hens, roosters, goats, pigs) $10 monthly pet fee $25 pet waste removal fee per occurrence, due 14 days from notification |
|
Criminal exclusionary period: Sex offender, conviction of production or manufacturing of methamphetamines |
Life |
Life |
|
Criminal exclusionary period: Drug related, eviction from federally assisted housing, criminal activity that threatens other tenants, staff or others, criminal sexual conduct |
10 years |
3 years |
|
Criminal exclusionary period: currently engaged in illegal use of drugs |
n/a |
3 months |
Next Steps
If the Council approves the resolution, our staff will prepare a final Annual Plan, ACOP and Lease Agreement for submission to HUD by April 17.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
2026-27 Public Housing Annual Plan
Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP)
Public Housing Five Year Plan