Group Says Government Is Key to Low-Cost Homes : Housing: Speakers at rally address civil rights, finances and proposed solutions to decrease homelessness.

In the year since the Orange County Housing NOW! coalition held its last rally for affordable housing, the homeless on Orange County streets increased by 2,000, but only 100 new shelter beds were added, according to housing advocates.

Hoping to refocus attention on the issue, about 150 supporters of affordable housing gathered Saturday at W.O. Hart Park in Orange for the coalition’s third annual rally. They called on local, state and federal governments to find solutions to the problem that has left more than 2 million Americans homeless, including an estimated 12,000 in Orange County.

Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) said that in the state capital, officials are inattentive to the issue and make false assumptions.

“People assume that when you are talking about affordable housing in Orange County, you are talking about a $250,000 condo in Newport Beach,� Umberg said.

But he urged housing proponents to lobby officials in support of two bills. One that awaits Gov. Pete Wilson’s signature would require cities to spend, instead of accumulate, redevelopment funds set aside by law for affordable housing. The second bill currently in committee--introduced by Umberg and aimed at helping senior citizens--would control rents at mobile home parks across the state by tying rental increases to the consumer price index.

Working under the motto, “Housing is a right, not a privilege,� coalition spokesman Tim Carpenter said the governor showed a callous attitude toward civil rights when he vetoed AB 101--the legislation which would have outlawed job and housing discrimination against gays.

“We are here to let our state and federal officials know that we are not going to stand by and allow our governor to veto the civil rights of the people of California,� Carpenter said.

Other housing advocates also urged supporters to watch city councils that try to discriminate against the poor and homeless.

It was ironic that the rally was held at Hart Park, which has prompted complaints recently from nearby residents who asked the city to suspend a five-day-a-week feeding program for the homeless at the park.

To cut down on homelessness, some cities are considering single-room-occupancy hotels as possible housing solutions, said Jean Forbath, former director of Share Our Selves. But she warned people to ask questions about those projects.

“Find out how much they cost,� she advised. “SROs that are going to charge $350 (per month) are not going to get those homeless people off the streets.�

Ascencion Briseno, a Santa Ana resident who has put his name on an ongoing lawsuit challenging that city’s residential overcrowding ordinance, charged local officials with discriminating against low-income residents. Families, he said, are forced to double up in apartments because they cannot afford the rent.

City officials set occupancy limits, Briseno said, “And I ask the city, ‘Where are the salaries to pay the high rents?’ �

Speaking on behalf of the Orange County AFL-CIO’s Building Trades Council, Mike Potts said that the minimum wage is not keeping up with the local cost of housing.

“We have people building homes now who cannot afford homes,� Potts said. “We have people building homes who cannot afford one-fourth of a one-bedroom apartment.

Unless the government and private sectors join forces to resolve the housing shortage, the country cannot boast of its economic system, said Joe Caux, chairman of the Orange County Renters Assn.

“As long as we have people paying 50% or more of their income for rental housing,� Caux said, “as long as we have waiting lists of three to five years for needed rental assistance programs, as long as we have people who must choose to pay the rent or eat, and as long as we have people living on our streets, we have no right to boast. We should hang our heads in shame.�