“Affordable housing” is a term that has taken on some negative connotations for some community members and the mere term can raise their concerns. It is notable that there are several “low-income” developments in Yorba Linda already and there is no evidence of any negative repercussions from those developments. See Exhibit F in this report for an inventory of those developments. Residents are encouraged to drive by those developments and observe for themselves if they see negatives with these developments.
Affordable housing also means different things in different contexts. For purposes of RHNA housing and housing designed to be affordable for low- and very-low-income residents, that only means that the zoning on a site must be 20 dwelling units per acre or more. The theory of that formula is that, if you spread the cost of land over more housing units, then the cost per housing unit can drop and become more affordable. That said, there is also ample evidence of many high-density developments in Orange County where the per unit rent or purchase price is still quite high.
Finally, affordability is calculated using certain income assumptions and that 30% of the household income is spent on housing. In this formula, and using the more recent data inputs from HUD, a very-low-income qualifying household with a family of four would have an annual income of up to $71,750. And low-income for a family of four would have an annual income of up to $114,800.