Head Start For Housing

If the people of Healdsburg truly want their children, young families and local workers to be able to rent and buy homes here, then it is time for new initiatives, real action and bigger efforts.
If the desire is to be less dependent on a single industry, then residential development and local services need to be encouraged the same way tourism has been encouraged here over the past three decades.
If Healdsburg seeks a future that closely resembles its small town, neighborhood-focused recent past, then it needs forward-thinking leadership and growth policies that are not based on old confrontations and expired limitations.
Just as Healdsburg has been a regional leader in promoting and developing a vibrant wine, hospitality and event economic sector, it can now complete a vision that makes room for workers, families and other kinds of commercial ventures.
To do all this, voters should grant its elected leaders of the city of Healdsburg new housing tools and some headstart funding.
That is why we recommend yes votes for Measures R and S on the Nov. 8 ballot. The only reasons we see why anyone would oppose these measures is because they favor no growth of any kind, or they do not trust their fellow citizens to stay committed to a more inclusionary vision for our town.
Measure R would lift the tight limits of the Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) adopted by voters in 2000. Measure R would retain an annual growth limit on total houses built but would encourage development of multi-units and low, very low, moderate and some market rate housing as well. Measure R would give both city planners and private developers new tools and incentives to build the kind of housing that the previous GMO restricted to zero for the past 16 years.
Measure S asks voters to support a 2 percent increase of the Transient Occupancy Tax, charged to overnight hotel and inn guests. Current city leaders have pledged to dedicate most of the new anticipated revenue of $530,000 to new housing programs for seniors, young families and the local workforce.
Healdsburg is not alone with its current set of housing problems that include high rents, record-high property values and shortage of buildable land. The median cost of a house now exceeds $800,000 here and the average rent is almost $2,000.
“Housing prices have skyrocketed, young families can no longer afford to live in Healdsburg and our middle income workforce has been priced out of the market,” states Healdsburg Mayor Tom Chambers in his ballot argument for Measure R.
Opponents of Measure R somehow seem to believe that continuing to do what’s been done for the past 16 years under the current GMO will somehow deliver different results in the future.
We disagree. And, all but one of the six men running for city council fully endorse Measure R, most citing it as their primary concern along with supporting a more diversified local economy.
A long series of public meetings was held over the past two years that has led to the Measure R proposal, which also includes a new Housing Action Plan (HAP.) The HAP sets specific goals and requirements for the town’s growth and development. Unlike the original GMO that had no voter oversight, the HAP must be reviewed or revised within eight years.
Healdsburg has done well to support the building of many affordable housing units over the past two decades. But it lost its major housing tool when the state eliminated local redevelopment agencies. That action took away millions in housing project tax credits and matching funds for mortgage assistance, owner-occupied home equity loans and senior housing support.
Supporting Measure S is one way to preserve, improve and expand Healdsburg’s future housing options. A yes vote for Measure R gives us more tools for the job.
~ Rollie Atkinson