LOS ANGELES — The high cost of housing in Orange County created an obstacle for the University of California, Irvine when it sought to recruit talented faculty and administrators. So state university leaders created a nonprofit that built a sprawling suburban development, dubbed University Hills, laced with nature trails, swept by Pacific Ocean breezes and boasting some of the state's top K-12 schools.
Homes there are sold below market rate, a boon for academics who couldn't otherwise afford to live in one of the nation's most expensive housing markets. But there is a cost: Strict rules on resales mean buyers will never see a fraction of the capital gains compared with if they had bought and sold on the open market.
Democratic Rep. Katie Porter bought a home in the faculty community in 2011, when she began teaching at UC Irvine's law school. She and her family have continued to live there since she was elected to Congress four years ago and took an unpaid leave from the university. Now, her opponent in the November election is calling Porter's continued residence in the faculty housing an "insider deal" because she no longer teaches at UCI. Porter's housing arrangement was first reported in an article by The Associated Press.
