LAGUNA BEACH : City Agrees to Back Housing Proposal

The City Council agreed Tuesday to spend $50,000 to launch a project that could provide low-income housing for the handicapped, including people who have tested positive for the AIDS virus.

The council’s unanimous action provides initial backing for an Orange County group that is attempting to secure $4 million in federal funds to provide such housing in Laguna Beach and elsewhere in the county.

The group, known as the Affordable Housing Project, will use the money to develop an application for a federal low-income housing grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The group’s goal is to provide 40 duplex or triplex units in Orange County, with at least 20 to be located in Laguna Beach, said Reed Flory, a financial and development consultant for the group. The other 20 units would probably be built in one or two of the other cities being asked to contribute.

“To the best of my knowledge, it’s the largest proposal in the state,” said Flory, a Laguna Beach resident.

While other cities will also be asked to contribute start-up funding, the Affordable Housing Project chose to appeal to Laguna Beach first because it has the most AIDS cases per capita in Orange County.

“Laguna Beach has the most need,” Flory said. “Without Laguna Beach’s initial support, we would have lost the majority of our volunteer board members, and I wouldn’t have proceeded.”

Flory said he will also ask Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Dana Point to donate a total of $50,000.