Mayor July 17, 2008 William A. Phillips*

The Housing Elements for the cities and 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 Aliso Viejo disagrees with this finding as it relates to the City. The City's Housing Element is required by State law to address housing for special needs groups, including the senior population, within its jurisdiction. The City's current Housing Element identifies 4.3 percent of its households (692) as being 65 or older. Two thirds of these senior households (461) are homeowners, while the remainder (231) rent. There are two senior- living complexes in Aliso Viejo; The Covington and The Wellington. The Covington includes 180 units; 155 of which are for independent living. The Wellington provides 233 units for senior residents; approximately half are designated for independent living and the other half is for assisted living. These facilities were approved by the County of Orange prior to city hood and provide senior housing, but the City does not count these toward the affordability for seniors. The City's goal is address affordable housing for all income levels in the upcoming Housing Element cycle.

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. CITY OF ALISO VIEJO Response: The City disagrees with this finding as it relates to the City. The Housing Element is required by law to discuss and analyze population growth INCORPORATED JULY 1, 2001 and the housing needs of special needs groups, including the senior 12 JOURNEY • SUITE 100 population. The State's housing guidelines and the RHNA process, however, ALISO VIEJO is focused on the economic levels of families. The economic level of families CALIFORNIA 92656-5335 includes persons classified as seniors as well as those in younger age WWW.CITYOFALISOVIEJO.COM groupings. Until State law is changed to further segment and focus criteria on PHONE seniors, it is inappropriate to reprioritize local government efforts. 949. 425.2500 -- -- --- Fax 949. 425.3899 The Honorable Nancy Wieben Stock July 16, 2008

Not all Housing Elements are available online for easy access by the public. Response: The City disagrees with the finding as it relates to the City. The City of Aliso Viejo's Housing Element has been available online since 2005 for easy access by the public.

Municipalities are not proactive enough in encouraging the development of affordable senior housing. Response: The City disagrees with the finding. Because of the unique origin of the City of Aliso Viejo, there was no RHNA requirement for affordable housing in the City's current Housing Element. However, the City has still taken steps to ensure the construction of affordable units by including provisions for an overall 15% affordable designation for housing units approved in all development projects since the City's incorporation in 2001. Prior to incorporation, the County of Orange approved for the unincorporated area called Aliso Viejo, 5,823 affordable units (2,528 low income and 3,295 moderate income units - well above the County's 25-percent requirement) out of a total of 17,000 units. Affordable housing created through these developments is available for special needs groups, including low-income seniors. Furthermore, the City complies with State law which contains a 20% density bonus provision for senior citizen housing developments.