{"id":23756,"date":"2026-03-10T10:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?post_type=press-release&#038;p=23756"},"modified":"2026-03-10T10:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:05:53","slug":"orange-county-board-of-county-commissioners-approves-affordable-housing-on-land-owned-by-religious-institutions","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2026\/03\/orange-county-board-of-county-commissioners-approves-affordable-housing-on-land-owned-by-religious-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange County Board of County Commissioners Approves Affordable Housing on Land Owned by Religious Institutions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-23597\" src=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color.png 648w, https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color-228x300.png 228w, https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/26.01_OC-Logo-V-Color-600x790.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Orange County, FL<\/strong> \u2014 Orange County\u2019s Board of County Commissioners today approved a new program allowing religious institutions to put affordable housing units on their property with a streamlined approval process.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County\u2019s Affordable Housing for Religious Institutional Lands (AHRIL) program is enabled by a new state law that supporters have informally dubbed the \u201cYes In God\u2019s Backyard\u201d (YIGBY) law. The law allows local governments to approve affordable housing on qualifying religious-institution property even if residential development would not normally be permitted under current zoning.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County\u2019s AHRIL program goes beyond state minimum requirements by mandating that 100% of units meet Orange County affordability standards. AHRIL is another strategy under the County\u2019s Housing for All 10-Year Action Plan, advancing its goal of producing or preserving 11,000 affordable housing units by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the program through this FAQs sheet: <a href=\"https:\/\/ocfl.box.com\/s\/brq6q8wuio0k70xuji6lpxpcny436cbi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/ocfl.box.com\/s\/brq6q8wuio0k70xuji6lpxpcny436cbi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orange County, FL \u2014 Orange County\u2019s Board of County Commissioners today approved a new program allowing religious institutions to put affordable housing units on their property with a streamlined approval process. Orange County\u2019s Affordable Housing for Religious Institutional Lands (AHRIL) program is enabled by a new state law that supporters have informally dubbed the \u201cYes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-23756","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Affordable Housing on Land Owned by Religious Institutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Orange County\u2019s Board today approved a new program allowing religious institutions to put affordable housing units on their property.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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