FAQs

The Affordable Housing for Religious Institutional Lands (AHRIL) Program promotes affordable housing on eligible property owned by religious institutions in unincorporated Orange County.  The program streamlines the approval process and allows residential development regardless of underlying zoning, helping create new opportunities for affordable housing.

Orange County is experiencing significant population growth and rising housing costs. The AHRIL program is one strategy under the County’s Housing for All 10-Year Action Plan to expand affordable housing options by removing regulatory barriers and activating underutilized land.

The AHRIL program is made possible by a Florida state law sometimes referred to as the “Yes In God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) law, which allows local governments to approve affordable housing on qualifying religious-institution property even if residential development would not normally be permitted under current zoning.

State law allows government jurisdictions to permit housing units on land owned by religious institutions as long as at least 10% of units in the project are affordable. Orange County’s AHRIL program requires 100% of units to meet the County’s affordability standards, ensuring the program directly expands affordable housing supply. While the law doesn’t dictate additional measures such as review time periods or compatibility standards, Orange County established a comprehensive and detailed program with guidelines based on our specific needs.

Orange County worked closely with a variety of stakeholders while developing the AHRIL program to ensure the framework was practical, equitable, and responsive to community needs. County staff engaged affordable housing developers, religious institutions, members of the Interfaith Community Council, and housing policy organizations to gather feedback on program design, affordability standards, development feasibility, and long-term implementation.

These conversations helped shape key elements of the program, including eligibility requirements, compatibility standards, and the streamlined administrative approval process. Stakeholder input ensured the program supports partnerships between faith-based organizations and affordable housing developers while maintaining compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods.

The program is designed for partnerships between religious institutions and affordable housing developers.

Eligible properties must:

• Be owned by a religious institution at the time of application
• Contain, or be adjacent to, an established place of worship
• Be located within Orange County’s Urban Service Area

Projects may include up to 10 acres of land for residential development within a larger religious-institution property.

The program includes a streamlined administrative review process, which generally includes:

1. Pre-application meeting with County staff
2. Technical staff review
3. Execution of an affordability agreement
4. Administrative approval by the Planning, Environmental and Development Services Director
5. Standard development permitting review

Yes. Projects must comply with development standards designed to ensure compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods, including requirements related to density, height, infrastructure, and parking.

Affordable units will be protected through legally binding agreements that ensure housing remains affordable for a specified period of time.

These projects are expected to be privately developed, typically through partnerships between affordable housing developers and religious institutions. Financing may include traditional affordable housing funding sources and programs available to developers.

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved the AHRIL program in March 2026, and it launched in early March 2026.

The program helps by:

• Expanding the supply of affordable housing
• Creating opportunities for faith-based organizations to support community needs
• Reducing regulatory barriers that slow housing development
• Encouraging housing in areas with access to jobs, services, and transit