If last Monday’s city council meeting demonstrated anything about Healdsburg’s housing issues, it was that housing is complicated. Whatever variable you address – land availability, zoning, building regulations, deed restrictions, capital and financing options, unit size, unit price, or AMI (area median income), each is connected to the others.
While the growth management ordinance (GMO) allows only 30 residential permits per year, modifying it to allow more (60 or 40 or ?) multi-family residences doesn’t address all the moving parts. Capital will flow to where there is the least resistance.
There was much back and forth in the council’s discussion about a ballot measure to allow middle income rental properties. But it barely acknowledged that whatever changes were made to the GMO, builders will seek opportunities to make a profit, avoiding highly regulated environments that impact their margins. Unless the builders are the community itself.
Putting a measure on the ballot this November isn’t a sound idea. I believe the GMO needs to change, but because residential building is a complex, multidimensional problem and just changing the GMO will not guarantee the desired results.
The GMO can only be modified in a general election, so the city could wait and take the next two years to design a program to get the housing we need. Such an effort has the greatest promise of convincing voters that the GMO should be modified. There is no guarantee that voters will approve a change to the GMO, but if there is a clear path to building housing to address specific needs, I think voters will appreciate that and vote to amend it.
Indulge me in a scenario outlining what could be done in the next two years. Two pertinent facts — the amount of land currently zoned for multi-family housing is around 25 acres, 17 of which are owned by the city. There just isn’t much property on which multi-family housing could be built today.
Secondly, Healdsburg businesses are experiencing serious challenges to find employees. The consequences of the housing shortage — the price of Healdsburg rentals and the long commutes from communities where more affordable rentals are available — make taking a job in Healdsburg onerous.
Come along with me on a fantasy.
First, the city deeds the Montage 14 acres to the Housing Land Trust of Sonoma County. The city already has a working relationship with them that has secured the land under which about seven homes are built, insuring control of their affordability far into the future.
The strategy outlined here responds directly to the needs of hotels, restaurants, hospitals, clinics, schools, and public safety entities to house employees. Led by the chamber of commerce (or a new housing authority), businesses in Healdsburg participate in raising the funds to construct the 100-200 units that those 14 acres might accommodate. In exchange for an interest in those housing units, they lease them back, long term, at a rate which covers the cost to build.
They then offer them to employees at a rate which covers their lease obligation, plus a delta which goes into a savings account for the employees. The employer covers their liability and encourages their employees to save for the future. The city makes a concrete effort to address the shortage of housing that is affordable. These units are affordable because the cost of land has been taken out of the equation.
Healdsburg is ahead in its state-mandated obligation to build subsidized affordable housing. The council proposes modifying the GMO to build housing for the “missing middle,” but without a plan to directly address those specific needs, changing the GMO has less chance to actually solve the problem.
Without taking the time to design a solution to the staffing issues experienced by employers, doctors, nurses, teachers, firefighters, cooks, servers, public safety staff and bussers will continue to find themselves priced out of the housing market in Healdsburg.
A proposal like this avoids imposing restrictions on housing that make it difficult to build and difficult to control who benefits. Changing the GMO to build rentable multi-family housing directly addresses the problem that affects the viability of the entire community. Without healthy commercial enterprises, the city can lose its charm, its reputation and its business entities.
Tell our city council not to rush to change the GMO, especially if there is a minimal chance to actually solve the housing crisis.
Richard Burg is a Healdsburg resident.
