Low Income Housing in Irvine

panda

Well-known member
Mike, I was a bit suprised to see the link that you posted about low income housing. I thought that there was only one low income housing coming into woodbury, but your link showed several low income housing developments planned all around Irvine.

Mike, I wanted to ask you an honest question if this bothers you in any way. You've put down $800,000 in your new Woodbury home so that your daughter could grow up in safe environment with access to some of the best schools in OC, but i did not read in your low income housing link that the low income housing children will be attending different schools other than the Irvine school district. I think your decision to buy Sonoma was a genuine decision where you planned on developing deep roots and good family memories in Woodbury for many years to come. I enjoy trying to predict where Irvine is headed in the future.. but to be honest at this moment, I have no idea as Foreign cash buyers come into play, where at the same time there will be several low income housing developments coming into the area, which we have never seen in Irvine before.

Mike, I would really appreciate your honest thoughts about how you feel about this sensitive topic?
 
Hello Panda,

I know this is for Mike but I just want to understand your question. Yes it is sensitive, it is ok to talk about it and I am not offended by it in anyway. I didn't know this at first also, but there are low income housing at most of the apartments in Irvine. There are exceptions and I don't know which complex. Call me naive, but I don't see having low income housing has effects on being safe environment or attending same schools or family memories or putting $800,000 down etc...

This is a honest question and I am not trying to be politically correct about it. Just trying to understand what you are asking I guess. Are you looking at this from an investment perspective?
 
I'm not Mike either -

One of the reasons I pulled my child out of private school and put him into public school was the homogeneity - every child was the same - same background (more or less) similiar socio-economic status (or uber-rich) - this was giving him a false sense of what life is about.

Public school (unfortunately maybe??) has exposed him to more than I would like for a 7-year old but now he knows that not everyone is rich, not everyone has a happy mommy and daddy, has a stay-at-home mommy and not everyone lives in their own home but have to instead rent from the Government.

If Irvine is giving hard working families the opportunity to send their children to great schools by making it affordable for them to live there - then I'm all for it.

g
 
[quote author=fe9000 board=irvinere thread=636 post=7155 time=1267578843]Hello Panda,

Call me naive, but I don't see having low income housing has effects on being safe environment or attending same schools.

Really? I didn't know that low income housing already existed in Irvine. I just thought i read somewhere on IHB or OCR that the Irvine Company lost some legal battle to prevent low incoming housing to come into the area. I guess TIC is now forced build out these low income units. I get the impression that TIC is really trying to keep this in the down-low. I was just a little suprised to see how many were planned from Mike's link that's all.

I guess having one or two low income housing locations would not have a big impact in Irvine's safe environment, schools, and desirability. However if there is a lot of future low income housing coming into Irvine.. you can be the judge.
 
[quote author="bones"]
[quote author="Panda "]

Mike, I wanted to ask you an honest question if this bothers you in any way. You've put down $800,000 in your new Woodbury home so that your daughter could grow up in safe environment with access to some of the best schools in OC, but i did not read in your low income housing link that the low income housing children will be attending different schools other than the Irvine school district.
[/quote]

Panda, what are trying to do, make Mike feel bad because he could afford a home in Irvine and you can't? You think low income housing children are stupid and criminal, and will thus bring down the quality of the schools and make them unsafe?
[/quote]

lol. Bones. hahahaha. Your post is really funny. Yeah. you got me. i am too poor to afford a home, yet a small 1 bedroom condo in Irvine built in the 60s, therefore i will not be investing there, nor moving there. It really sucks to be a Panda. huh?

Did i really say that I think low income housing children are stupid and are all criminals, and will thus bring down the quality of the schools and make them unsafe? ???
 
Is "low income" housing the same thing as "affordable" housing? I read that the county is going to require Irvine to build a certain number of affordable units, but I don't know if that's necessarily low income (such as housing projects). Anyone know?
 
[quote author="jumpcut"]Careful, Panda might announce he's leaving again...and next time he might stay away for 4 days instead of 3. <!-- s:( --:mad:<!-- s:( -->[/quote]

hey jumpcut.. if you've been following IHB for the past 3 years, you'll realize that I've got pretty thick skin. Probably the only one dude that actually hurt Panda's feeling in the past is Graphix. I kinda miss that guy now? Where is he these days?

In all seriousness.. I will be taking a break from TI as soon the little twin Pandas arrive (anytime now <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->) because i don't i think will have any time.
 
Panda - good to have you back. Good luck with your set of bambinos - unfortunately i cant say i envy that upcoming situation. Call me selfish, but kids take too much time. Regarding your initial question, it does come off as though you think that low income = bad/criminal/unsafe. That is how i interpreted it. Probably not your intent, but that is how it comes off.
 
[quote author="Panda "]
[quote author="jumpcut"]Careful, Panda might announce he's leaving again...and next time he might stay away for 4 days instead of 3. <!-- s:( --:mad:<!-- s:( -->[/quote]

hey jumpcut.. if you've been following IHB for the past 3 years, you'll realize that I've got pretty thick skin. Probably the only one dude that actually hurt Panda's feeling in the past is Graphix. I kinda miss that guy now? Where is he these days?

In all seriousness.. I will be taking a break from TI as soon the little twin Pandas arrive (anytime now <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->) because i don't i think will have any time. [/quote]

Twin Pandas? That's awesome. Congrats! Are they your first? Kids do take a lot of time and it is very tiring. However, as soon as you see their smile, and hold them in your hands. It will be worth it and you will love it.
 
All cities and counties in the state of California are required by state Housing Element law to provide housing for residents in their communities at 5 income levels, from extremely low income to market rate. Each community's housing element plan is good for between 5 and 8 years. It is not the Irvine Company that lost a lawsuit with regards to affordable housing (at least not recently - that was back in the 1970's). That was the City of Irvine that was denied the opportunity to have it's affordable housing allocation for this new housing element period (2009 to about 2014) changed by the state. That allocation was assigned by the Southern CA Association of Governments, which by state law is the sole judge of this allocation, with little recourse for cities or counties that feel the allocation is unfair. Because SCAG saw that Irvine has a ton of land (Great Park land primarily), it decided that it was Irvine's responsibility to bear the brunt of the entire county's affordable housing allocation. That not only sucks for Irvine, but means that almost every other city in the county (and the county itself) are largely off the hook - totally ridiculous.

All that being said, Irvine is one of the best cities in O.C. as far as advancing affordable options for people at all income levels. The notion of "affordable housing" means many different things to many different people. Ask for a definition of the idea from 10 people and you'll get 10 completely different answers. But, to anyone who subscribes to the notion that any community is better when there is a diversity of people from all walks of life, the idea of housing for those at all income levels seems like a no brainer.
 
[quote author="qwerty"]Panda - good to have you back. Good luck with your set of bambinos - unfortunately i cant say i envy that upcoming situation. Call me selfish, but kids take too much time. Regarding your initial question, it does come off as though you think that low income = bad/criminal/unsafe. That is how i interpreted it. Probably not your intent, but that is how it comes off.[/quote]

Perhaps i am the only fool who was suprised by all the new low income housing locations that where zoned to be built on Mike's prior "low income housing" link that he posted. If Mike has no problems with it, Panda's got nuttin to say. <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) --> Have a good night everyone.
 
[quote author="fe9000"]
[quote author="Panda "]

hey jumpcut.. if you've been following IHB for the past 3 years, you'll realize that I've got pretty thick skin. Probably the only one dude that actually hurt Panda's feeling in the past is Graphix. I kinda miss that guy now? Where is he these days?

In all seriousness.. I will be taking a break from TI as soon the little twin Pandas arrive (anytime now <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->) because i don't i think will have any time. [/quote]

Twin Pandas? That's awesome. Congrats! Are they your first? Kids do take a lot of time and it is very tiring. However, as soon as you see their smile, and hold them in your hands. It will be worth it and you will love it. [/quote]

Hey fe9000.. thanks! <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) --> Yup these little ones will be our first and my wife and I are equipped and ready for war <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->

I've always loved kids so hopefully when i see their smile and hold their little tiny hands it will be all worth it <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->
 
[quote author="traceimage"]Is "low income" housing the same thing as "affordable" housing? I read that the county is going to require Irvine to build a certain number of affordable units, but I don't know if that's necessarily low income (such as housing projects). Anyone know?[/quote]

There are low income housing for rent and affordable housing for purchase. Not sure how they are different, they have max income requirements just different level. I want to say they are different then housing projects then again I am not an expert and I could be totally wrong.
 
[quote author="Panda "]
[quote author="fe9000"]

Twin Pandas? That's awesome. Congrats! Are they your first? Kids do take a lot of time and it is very tiring. However, as soon as you see their smile, and hold them in your hands. It will be worth it and you will love it. [/quote]

Hey fe9000.. thanks! <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) --> Yup these little ones will be our first and my wife and I are equipped and ready for war <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->

I've always loved kids so hopefully when i see their smile and hold their little tiny hands it will be all worth it <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->[/quote]

Trust me, it will be. I can say that I have not had a good night sleep for the past 7 months with our little one. So yes, you need to be ready for war! <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->
 
[quote author="passingthrough"]All cities and counties in the state of California are required by state Housing Element law to provide housing for residents in their communities at 5 income levels, from extremely low income to market rate. Each community's housing element plan is good for between 5 and 8 years. It is not the Irvine Company that lost a lawsuit with regards to affordable housing (at least not recently - that was back in the 1970's). That was the City of Irvine that was denied the opportunity to have it's affordable housing allocation for this new housing element period (2009 to about 2014) changed by the state. That allocation was assigned by the Southern CA Association of Governments, which by state law is the sole judge of this allocation, with little recourse for cities or counties that feel the allocation is unfair. Because SCAG saw that Irvine has a ton of land (Great Park land primarily), it decided that it was Irvine's responsibility to bear the brunt of the entire county's affordable housing allocation. That not only sucks for Irvine, but means that almost every other city in the county (and the county itself) are largely off the hook - totally ridiculous.

All that being said, Irvine is one of the best cities in O.C. as far as advancing affordable options for people at all income levels. The notion of "affordable housing" means many different things to many different people. Ask for a definition of the idea from 10 people and you'll get 10 completely different answers. But, to anyone who subscribes to the notion that any community is better when there is a diversity of people from all walks of life, the idea of housing for those at all income levels seems like a no brainer.[/quote]

Great post. Thank you.
 
[quote author="bones"]
[quote author="Panda "]

lol. Bones. hahahaha. Your post is really funny. Yeah. you got me. i am too poor to afford a home, yet a small 1 bedroom condo in Irvine built in the 60s, therefore i will not be investing there, nor moving there. It really sucks to be a Panda. huh?

Did i really say that I think low income housing children are stupid and are all criminals, and will thus bring down the quality of the schools and make them unsafe? ??? [/quote]

It does sound like thats how you feel, and yeah, that's pretty much what you said.
[/quote]

Bones, let me tell you a story. There was a guy named Mike who grew up from a upper-middle income family. He was extremely smart, top 1% of his class, a leader in several clubs, and worked his A$$ off to get admitted to Stanford, his dream school which was realized. Another guy named IHO grew up in the hood, but he was also extremely smart and worked his butt off to be top in his graduating class and was admitted Stanford with 70% of his tuition subsidized because nor IHO or his parents could afford the tuition. Tenmagnet in the other hand, was lazy, unmotivated, never studied, and throughout high school all he did was party. He graduated with a 1.4 GPA and an SAT score of 700. Somehow he found about a special program where he can admitted to Stanford through the back door. He would have all the access of same classrooms, facilities, etc. as Mike does for only 1/3 the cost. If i were in Mike's shoes, It wouldn't bother me one bit that IHO got admitted to Stanford, as money was the only issue for his admission. As for the Tenmagnets, If I were Mike, i would be pretty upset. If Stanford started to admit a large percentage of Tenmagnets through the backdoor policy.. I would only assume that the outstanding reputation of Stanford would also go down as well.

Of course there are the Pandas, who love to play and enjoy the comforts of his rich powerful dad who has some mad connections into Stanford. Panda also has a 1.4 GPA and a 700 SAT score, but his rich and powerful dad put some serious money under the table and got him admitted... Sorry... this is another story for a different time. ;D <!-- s:D -->:D<!-- s:D -->
 
Juding from the responses, it looks like some in this thread are not looking at this from the angle of exclusivity. I think what Panda may be getting at is that any product can command a higher price (and retain its value) when exclusivity is at play. Imagine some of the most desirable real estate in the country... now ask yourself if it is intertwined with low-income housing. I would say, overwhelmingly, not. The same goes for any product, whether it's real estate, a limited edition item, luxury goods, etc. In retaining value, image is everything.
 
I think it's sad that there even needs to be housing subsidies for working professionals. I was thinking back at my childhood and what my friends' parents did and I doubt they could afford to move to Irvine now and they would probably qualify for low-income housing. One was a single mother who was a nurse, another was a young associate professor at UCI with a stay-at-home wife, a couple of teachers and one social worker. In high school I also had one friend whose mother was a waitress and lived in a subsidized apartment in Westpark. He ended up going to UCLA and then started a successful business. His sister became a lawyer.
 
Affordable housing does tarnish the image of a community. It is very obvious in VOC's reputation. Residents and prospective homebuyers keep their criticisms in their heart rather than talking about it. It is not a politically correct thing to say.

The Irvine Company is aware of its impact and hid its location from all site exhibits and PR materials. You really have to try hard to dig up the info. A majority of the buyers and neighbors don't even know about it. The construction operation would be well hidden and takes a separate entrance point. It will be well screened and heavily landscaped along its edges.
 
[quote author="jumpcut"]
[quote author="fe9000"]

There are low income housing for rent and affordable housing for purchase. Not sure how they are different, they have max income requirements just different level. I want to say they are different then housing projects then again I am not an expert and I could be totally wrong.[/quote]
I'm pretty sure the affordable housing in Irvine has minimum income requirements, as well as maximum income ceilings, so it's unlikely you'd have unemployed or welfare recipients living there.[/quote]

All affordable housing, at least in CA, is built largely with a combination of federal and state loans designated for affordable building. A multitude of factors determine whether a particular new affordable development will be rental or for sale (site location, local codes, state and federal funding requirements, etc.). Regardless of the type of housing, however, the exact type of government loans that a development will get require that income requirements be set at a certain level. It is then the local jurisdiction and the developer/property manager that will be responsible for managing the intake process.

Also, as an FYI, most affordable loans require affordable deed restrictions of at least 55 years. Much of Irvine's older affordable home stock is set to expire soon, as older loan and funding programs only required 30 years. The city and Irvine Land Trust are trying to preserve some of that from converting to market rate. Any new developments will fall under the 55 year rules.
 
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