Letters to the editor

GMO is failing us
Editor: I have been a member of the Community Housing Committee for the past year. Our goal for Measure R was to ameliorate the housing crisis and find ways to incentivize affordable and middle income housing for Healdsburg residents. Here is why I believe the rigidity of the current GMO of 30 market rate units per year is failing Healdsburg residents and needs to be replaced with Measure R.
It discourages market rate rentals being built (zero in 16 years); no mixed development of various housing types is occurring; unaffordable, large, expensive homes continue to be built; local families and young folks are unable to find new rentals or small homes to buy; the middle class is unable to afford new housing options; housing growth is abysmal and fails to meet our diverse population needs; “No on R” opponents fail to provide viable housing options for all sectors of our local community.
The housing committee listened to you, the public, over the past year, and recommended: 1) doubling the state mandated affordable housing built from 15 percent to 30 percent (21 out of 70 units per year); 2) Adding a local preference clause for this affordable category; 3) encouraged apartments of 850 square feet and less, to keep costs and rents down; 4) developed a middle income affordable tier of 120 percent to 160 percent of median income for builders to build to as part of the affordable; 5) encouraged mixed housing development (small lot, multi-family, and cottage court) for all age levels and price points; 6) recommended Measure S for the ballot which will provide an additional funding source for affordable housing.
The Sorrento Square development on Healdsburg Avenue is not the future model that would fulfill the five objectives in the Housing Action Plan. An 1,850 square foot market rate home development would be that of a 1,000-1,200 square foot condo complex etc. under the new objectives. The density would be higher and costs lower, providing for potentially much lower price ranges, depending on size. The stated goal is for the city to negotiate with developers to build according to the Housing Action Plan that we recommended (please read those five objectives).
Does one think that Measure R apartments / small condos, one-third to one-half smaller would be high end housing or luxury housing as “no” opponents claim in letters and flyers? It is not true and a scare tactic. Again, our committee goal was to incentivize affordable and middle income housing. With long committee appointments, we will continue to track the city/private partnership to see that this will happen.
Lastly, the growth regulation ordinance of 70 market rate units per year can only be changed every eight years concurrent with an update of the Housing Element. Three council votes cannot change the cap on a whim, as “no” opponents repeatedly and erroneously claim; 57 of those 70 units are designated to be higher density smaller homes, townhomes, and multi-family units. Please help our community and vote yes on R.
Bruce Abramson
Healdsburg
Don’t fight today’s challenges with yesterday’s strategies.
Editor: I support Yes on Measure R. I am neither “a powerful development force” nor someone who stands to materially profit from the construction industry. I am a longtime stable renter and a 20-year Healdsburg professional employee who wants to continue to live in this community with other folks who are already here, including single retired people and young working families.
I support affordable housing in Healdsburg. By this I mean both subsidized affordable housing for the lowest income workers, but also housing that is affordable to the middle, which means something different. I attended hours of Community Housing Committee meetings, expert panels, open houses, workshops and city council meetings for over seven months to watch, listen, read and weigh in on the city’s efforts to address the local housing crisis. Concerned community members came together to brainstorm and strategize; creative solutions were encouraged. As a community participant in the open process, I believe that these outreach efforts were sincere and the resulting decision to update the Growth Management Ordinance and adopt the city’s first Housing Action Plan came from our best efforts to do right by our community and its future. We want to keep it vibrant with more housing and more flexible housing types.
I support the objectives of the 2017-2022 Healdsburg Housing Action Plan and the housing numbers it suggests. This plan was crafted with much community input after months of study. The HAP seeks to: Increase the quantity and quality of deed restricted affordable housing (200 new affordable units by 2022); encourage and facilitate private development of secondary dwelling units (125 secondary dwelling units by 2022); develop middle income housing (135 new units by 2022); encourage multifamily rental units (100 new rental units by 2022) and; encourage development of mixed product types (50 percent of all new units). We currently house 33 percent of our Healdsburg workforce. The city is aiming to house 40 percent of the Healdsburg workforce, a modest goal.
The people who share my yes on R views include four out of five city council members, all six Planning Commissioners, eight out of nine Community Housing Committee members. Four of five of the city council candidates, Hagele, McCaffery, Plass and Amato, also support yes on Measure R.
The Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) was passed by voters in 2000. Sixteen years later we have different problems and we need to try some new approaches. Let’s not fight the housing challenges of today with yesterday’s strategies and fear mongering. And I do think Measure S, a Transient Occupancy Tax to go toward affordable housing construction, is a drop in the bucket, but a step in the right direction and well worth supporting. Measure S goes hand in hand with yes on R and the Housing Action Plan and oversight by an engaged and alert community. Protect Healdsburg: Vote yes on R.
Holly Hoods
Healdsburg
Shape the future
Editor: Healdsburg will change over the next six years whether Measure R passes or fails. Buildings will be built at NuForest and other vacant and underutilized sites. What will those buildings contain? How should we, as a community, influence their content, their scale and their responsiveness to our larger collective needs and desires? These questions are at the root of my support for Measure R. I feel that it is far better to trust complex discussions and decisions about the future of our community to a robust participatory process, backed by a clearly and firmly articulated Housing Action Plan, than to trust our fate to the robotic dictates of the current Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) that only limits the pace of housing growth and is completely blind to such important factors as the type of housing proposed and its location.
A participatory process based on public hearings at the Community Housing Committee, the planning commission and the city council is not without risk. Citizens will still be required to be watchful and vocal participants, but we will at least have a true and timely voice in the content and character of proposed development rather than having to watch helplessly as the current GMO quietly dictates the future of our town. As a member of the Community Housing Committee for the past year, I have been part of a remarkable series of complex and nuanced public conversations on many aspects of housing in Healdsburg. I know from those conversations that, slogans aside, both sides in this debate want to “Protect Healdsburg” and support “Housing for Locals.” The question we face is how? Please consider supporting Measure R this November and being part of the process that shapes the future of our town.
Jon Worden
Healdsburg
For Naujokas
Editor: I write to wholeheartedly endorse Joe Naujokas for Healdsburg City Council. When I moved here in early 2000, I immediately fell in love with my new home. There was a warmth, an invitation to belong that I had rarely felt before. Little did I know that I had landed in what was to be known as “one of the best small towns in America.”
What makes this true? That which may be the very essence of its soul: all of us – the Healdsburgers – you, me, him, her. I believe that Joe uniquely understands that “all of us” leaves no room for “them” because even they are a part of us. Healdsburg es para todos. Healdsburg for Everyone.
Joe Naujokas is a man who has that rare combination of analytical intellect and an open, listening heart. Joe is beholden to no industry, no special interest. As a councilmember, he will have no need to recuse himself from any discussion or vote (as one should when they may stand to benefit from the results of said vote). There are no legal or financial issues in his past and he is profoundly tied to our community as a resident, volunteer, and activist. Joe makes time to listen to anyone and I know he will take all sides of an issue into account when he must make a decision.
I know most of the candidates for council quite well. I respect them all. I consider many of them friends. We have gotten to where we are today because of their dedicated service. Part of keeping the heart and soul of Healdsburg at the center of any discussion about growth, change, or (heaven forbid) improvement, is to remember that Healdsburg is for all – each and every one of us. Just as our city shifts and changes, so should the make-up of our city council. We must continue the addition of new voices and (more importantly) new ears on the dais. The wise heroes who have served us so well should trust that fresh blood brought into our political process will only strengthen our city for the challenges we now face sliding towards 2020.
Joe Naujokas will bring passion, honesty, independence, intellect, fairness and open ears and an open mind to our city council. I urge my fellow Healdsburgers to join me in voting for him on November 8.
Patrick Llerena
Healdsburg
Small town charm
Editor: It would be a shame if Nanci and Delores, who own Singletree Restaurant on the south end of Healdsburg Avenue, are forced to shutter their doors because of the roundabout construction in the next year. They say sales are down 50 percent. Singletree is a great example of a business in Healdsburg who caters to local residents. They actually know the names of their customers and greet them warmly upon arrival. If those who say the allure of Healdsburg is its small town charm and close community connections, then I invite all Healdsburgers to support Singletree Restaurant, even if it’s just to say hello and buy a cup of coffee. Nanci and Delores have nine employees and it would be awful if they lost their jobs. Here’s a tip: they serve eggs, homefries and toast for $4.95 weekdays from 8 to 9 a.m.
Gina Riner
Healdsburg
Impossible to walk
Editor: We also enjoy our trips to Singletree Cafe on Healdsburg Avenue but, with the construction, it’s almost impossible to walk to one of our favorite spots. Can the city do something to help direct pedestrians to Singletree and other businesses directly affected by the road work?
Denise Matlow
Healdsburg