The pandemic has brought to light the social and health inequalities that have been present in Orange County for a long time. To tackle these issues, the county has formed a task force to identify and reduce long-standing disparities. Mario Ortega, from Abrazar, an organization that helps low-income families and elderly people, particularly from the Latino and Vietnamese communities, has noted the county's unprecedented commitment to achieving health equity since the pandemic began. In addition to voting for a new mayor and four seats on the city council, the citizens of Orange are debating a potential housing development proposed by developer Milan Capital Management.
The project would involve constructing 128 single-family homes and open space on 109-acre land in the former Sully-Miller quarry, located on the east side of the city. Since early February, task force members have been meeting twice a month to discuss equity issues identified in Orange County. Research has revealed that there are social and racial disparities in Orange County during sudden spikes of COVID-19. To address these issues, the county has created the Orange County Equity Map which could enable the county, cities, and nonprofit organizations to better allocate resources to communities suffering from problems such as poor education, hunger, poor environmental conditions, and lack of affordable housing. Despite opposition from local residents, the Orange City Council approved the Milan project called The Trails at Santiago Creek last year. Orange County is taking steps to address community problems by forming a task force to identify and reduce long-standing disparities.
The Orange County Equity Map could help allocate resources to communities suffering from issues such as inadequate education, hunger, poor environmental conditions, and lack of affordable housing. It is up to the citizens of Orange to decide whether they want developer Milan Capital Management's proposed housing development or keep it as a sand and gravel quarry.
