Orange County Grand Jury • 2007-2008 • Agency Response
Response to: NO COUNTY FOR OLD BOOMERS When Orange County Baby Boomers Retire, here Will They Live?

City of Cypress*

Published: July 29, 2008 4 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 4 findings

F1
The Housing Elements for the Cities and the County of Orange do not reflect that the number of affordable senior housing units in Orange County will not accommodate the projected population. Response: The City of Cypress disagrees partially with this finding, as far as it applies to the City of Cypress, since we cannot answer for the Housing Element provisions of other Orange County jurisdictions. The City's existing Housing Element, as well as the current draft 2008 Housing Element Update, both contain detailed descriptions of the City's special needs populations, including seniors. Specifically, the Housing Needs Assessment of the Draft 2008 Housing Element Technical Report includes statistics for the current senior population, existing senior housing facilities and resources, and City programs planned to meet the anticipated senior housing needs during the 2008-2014 Todd W. Seymore, Mayor Doug Bailey, Council Member Leroy Mills, Mayor Pro Tem Phil Luebben, Council Member Prakash Narain, M.D., Council Member The Honorable Nancy Wieben Stock ٠ July 29, 2008 planning period of the proposed Housing Element Update. For example, the assisted housing inventory includes senior housing projects with affordability and handicapped accessibility provisions.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
type, location, and cost in the 2008 and future years' development of the Housing Element. The Honorable Nancy Wieben Stock July 29, 2008 Response: This recommendation has been implemented by the City of Cypress to the fullest extent possible based on currently available data. The Draft 2008 Cypress Housing Element Update, Technical Report Section II, Housing Needs Assessment includes the current affordable senior housing inventory by type and location on Table II-22. The current costs are not listed because they vary in accordance with the applicable funding assistance programs. Table II-24 of the Draft Technical Report lists the severe housing cost burden by type and tenure, including the elderly. Also, the City's projected need for affordable housing in all four income categories set forth by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is shown in Table II-26 of the Draft Technical Report. This includes affordable housing for special needs groups such as seniors.
F2
The Housing Elements for the County of Orange and the cities do not focus sufficiently on or analyze the population growth and housing needs of the aging baby boomer generation. Response: The City of Cypress disagrees partially with this finding with respect to our City, because the existing Cypress Housing Element and the proposed Draft 2008 Housing Element Update both discuss seniors as a growing segment in our community. In compliance with State Law, the Special Needs Populations section of the Draft 2008 Cypress Housing Element Technical Report includes needs provisions for the City's existing and anticipated senior population. This includes the "baby boomer" generation discussed in the subject Grand Jury report.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Include sufficient data in the Housing Element to acknowledge the imminent growth in the county's aging population. This data is to include the current population and the growth trend of the aging baby boomer generation as well as the current median income and the income trend of the senior population. Response: This recommendation has been implemented by the City of Cypress to the fullest extent possible based on currently available data. The Draft 2008 Cypress Housing Element Update, Technical Report Section II, Housing Needs Assessment, provides a detailed demographic profile of our city's population growth and trends, including age characteristics to acknowledge the shift toward a more mature population involving the baby boomer generation. Local demographics also indicate the majority of senior households are homeowners, showing that this population has aged in place. Table II-2 of the Draft Technical Report shows that the City has approximately 4,879 senior persons (age 65 or older) residing in the City, which is 11 percent of the City's population. Table II-11 contains additional data regarding special needs populations and Figure 3 illustrates the distribution of senior households throughout the City. Additionally, Page II-30 of the Draft Technical Report states that the most current HUD published 2007 Area Median Family Income (MFI) for a four-person household in Orange County is $78,000. Table II-9 lists the income levels by housing type, including the percentages for elderly households. Put all Housing Elements online on each city's website.
F3
Not all housing Elements are available online for easy access by the public. Response: The City of Cypress disagrees partially with this finding, since our City's existing Housing Element and the Draft 2008 Housing Element Update are both easily accessible for downloading and review on the Community Development Department page of the City's website at www.ci.cypress.ca.us. Municipalities are not proactive enough in encouraging the development of
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Response: This recommendation has been implemented by the City of Cypress. As previously mentioned in the response to Finding F-3, the City's existing Housing Element and the Draft 2008 Update and Technical Report are currently posted on the City's website. Confer with developers to establish the needs for affordable senior housing
F4
affordable senior housing. Response: The City of Cypress disagrees partially with this finding, because our City and Redevelopment Agency have assisted in the development of senior housing projects in the past and continue to encourage future senior housing projects. As shown in Table II-22 of the Draft 2008 Cypress Housing Element Update, Technical Report, the City has three (3) existing senior housing projects providing 309 rental units (including 116 units affordable to a mix of low, very low, and moderate income households) that are clustered near the Cypress Senior Center. Additionally, the City provides financial assistance programs to help senior homeowners with limited income means and physical constraints to conduct physical repairs to maintain their existing affordable homes. Responses to Grand Jury Recommendations: Include the current and projected affordable senior housing inventory by
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
and to encourage investment in future projects. . The Honorable Nancy Wieben Stock July 29, 2008 Response: This recommendation has been implemented by the City of Cypress. As previously mentioned in the response to Finding F-4, the City and Redevelopment Agency have assisted developers of three (3) senior housing projects with affordable units in the past (as listed in Table II-22 of the Draft 2008 Cypress Housing Element Update, Technical Report) and continue to encourage future senior housing projects. Additionally, Table III-2 of the Draft Technical Report lists the housing types permitted in the City, including second units and community care facilities which would accommodate the elderly special needs. Further, Table IV-4 includes financial resources available for senior housing activities. If you have any questions regarding the responses provided in this letter, please contact Ms. Kori Nevarez, Associate Planner, at (714) 229-6724 or via email at [email protected]. Sincerely, Clymire Todd W. Seymore Mayor City of Cypress TWS/TJC/KN/nv City Council cc: John B. Bahorski, City Manager Ted J. Commerdinger, Director of Community Development Ann Avery Andres, Foreman, Orange County Grand Jury, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701 . .

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.