The Ecker administration plans to conduct public hearings soon to develop a consensus on housing issues, an administration spokesman saidyesterday.

The ultimate goal, said county housing and community development coordinator Rochell Brown Jr., is to develop a "housing action plan" that will guide the council through its next comprehensiverezoning of the county.

Such a plan would deal not only with the housing needs of low-income people, Brown said, but also with the needs of new families, the elderly, single parents and employees new to the county.

"We need an accurate estimate of those needs now and for the next several years," County Executive Charles I. Ecker said.

Ecker has asked the Housing and Community Development Board and the county Housing Commission to conduct hearings in April and May and determine by June or Julywhat kind of solutions would be acceptable.

Meanwhile, a group of"affordable housing" advocates, including representatives of county government, the Columbia Housing Alliance, the Columbia Forum, and the Coalition of County Associations, met in Columbia Monday to plan a May 16 meeting to deal with the "needs, demands and goals" for affordable housing and to determine what government regulations need to be changed to accommodate those goals.

Ecker says he expects a housing report being prepared for the Columbia Forum by James Rouse's non-profit Enterprise Foundation will be included among the county findings.