Commentary 9-1-16

Healdsburg at a crossroads
What kind of city will Healdsburg be in the future? The current debate and ballot measures regarding housing have heightened the awareness of our housing crisis, but I think the issue is larger than just housing. I see the issue as putting the soul and character of our town at risk. It is both fundamentally simple and complex.
This part is simple. If we continue with the current Growth Management Ordinance (GMO), we will continue to build expensive single family homes with often absentee owners. People who make up the essence of the community, who live, work and volunteer are slowly being pushed out of town. No higher density and diverse projects can be built under the current GMO, since the building allocations are too few and they are not dependable after approval due to the three year sunset provision.
The city has done an admirable job in building state defined affordable housing over the last 20 years as compared to other Sonoma County cities. Clearly, there are many folks locked out of the market because their income is too much to qualify for the affordable housing, yet not enough to buy at market rate. Smaller and more reasonably priced housing for young folks just getting into the housing market has not been built at all over the last 20 years. That’s what we need. We need younger people in town to maintain our vitality and keep Healdsburg real, which I equate to our small town character. So, the current GMO is far from perfect. It certainly didn’t cause the entire problem, but it obviously exacerbated our housing crunch.
The new GMO is also not perfect and it’s relatively complex. The City of Healdsburg is trying to break new ground and get aggressive about our housing problems. Measure R is a great new and innovative approach with the companion Housing Action Plan to help define and demand what we want. And, inclusionary housing will double from 15 percent to 30 percent. I am absolutely convinced that we will lose our remaining small town charm if we do not demand and allow higher density housing. I am not talking about ugly concrete monoliths from big cities in the 1970s and 1980s. I am suggesting well designed and articulated housing seen in college towns throughout the U.S.
If folks in Healdsburg don’t demand this type of housing, then I am sad to say goodbye to the family oriented aspects of Healdsburg. We need to recognize that many younger folks want to live in smaller housing with less dependence on cars. The area around the SMART train station is perfect for smaller and more affordable housing. Imagine a young couple with one vehicle living in the south part of town. The SMART train will allow some to commute to Santa Rosa or Marin without driving.
If Measure R does not pass, participation in Little League, the football Bulldogs, and the Future Farmers Fair will continue to drop. School enrollments will continue a slow decline, with the end result being the conversion of our city to a Carmel-like hamlet. It’s not too late for Healdsburg, but we need to act decisively and boldly.
It’s easy to get caught up in the “the sky is falling” mentality of the opposition. But the fear tactics of runaway growth are not consistent with the growth regulator provision of the Housing Action Plan and the modest size of land parcels available for development.
I am hopeful that Measure R will pass so we can truly manage our growth, and not merely control it with a blunt instrument. We need to utilize the remaining land within our city limits more efficiently, which means being able to build something other than large single family homes.
Measure R is the result of high quality work by a dedicated public, our housing committee, city staff and the city council. It’s time to update our approach to growth and vote yes on Measure R.
Jeff Civian is a member of the Healdsburg Planning Commission and Healdsburg Housing Committee