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Supes OK new housing policies
Rules focus on unincorporated areas of county
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The Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved an updated set of housing policies on Tuesday that should make it easier to build farmworker housing and backyard "granny flats," and could also lead to a requirement that developments in unincorporated areas include units for low-income buyers and renters.
The provisions are in the latest Housing Element of the County General Plan, which was due for its every-five-years update this year. The board approved it by a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Peter Foy absent. Foy is recovering from knee surgery.
The Housing Element applies to the unincorporated areas of the county. According to goals set by the state and the Southern California Association of Governments, the county should allow at least 880 new dwelling units in the unincorporated areas by 2014. Nearly half should be affordable for households that make less than $63,600, which is 80 percent of the county's median household income.
The new rules will lift a requirement that lots be at least 40 acres in agriculturally zoned areas and 10 acres in open-space areas, if the property will be used for farmworker housing. It applies only to properties that are adjacent to cities. New rules for backyard flats will allow a second dwelling on lots that are more than 10,000 square feet.
Supervisor Steve Bennett also proposed "inclusionary zoning," a policy that would require developers to set aside a certain number of units as affordable housing. County planners will study a potential ordinance.
Supervisors OK new housing policies
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