Commentary: Two-for-one at Montage

Thanks to the city for holding the Montage information session last Wednesday. The broad interest and variety of critical questions show that the public is not only watching but wants a speedy resolution that preserves the affordable housing site at Montage and other community benefits written into the development agreement.
At the core of the dispute are 14.2 acres reserved for affordable housing.
Montage does not want to transfer the title to the land to the city as agreed; instead, the developer wants to make a single in-lieu payment of $7.35 million to compensate the city for the value of the land, as well as the cost of other improvements already committed to (public park, grading, road, hiking trails and fire substation).
If the city were to consider this tradeoff (which they should not do), even a doubling of the offered in-lieu payment would not sufficiently compensate for the lost opportunity. An estimate obtained by the city values the land alone at $15-$16 million, which clearly demonstrates the extent to which the developer low-balled the city.
The fact is that only the Montage site can be graded and shovel-ready for affordable housing development without delay. In order to reach an agreement with the developer, city staff came up with an elegant two-part solution:
●     At the Montage site, the city would build 70 to 80 homes for middle-income workers like our firemen, police, teachers and nurses. These houses could be sold at a price point of roughly $500,000 and be ready in 2023. Because the site is highly subsidized, it is also attractive for developers, which allows the city to negotiate very favorable terms.
●     This opens the second part of the solution: The city could enter into a deal in which the selected developer would acquire an additional property for low-income housing. Alternatively, the city could consider selling the Montage site to a “missing-middle” developer and use the proceeds for a future low-income housing project.
Such a 2-for-1 solution would allow more low- and moderate-income people to live and work in Healdsburg, they would pay taxes here and also be able to participate in communal life — all goals of the city council’s Strategic Plan.
While the city is anxiously awaiting the revenue stream from the Montage Luxury Resort, the council should not enter into compromises that will further delay the realization of negotiated community benefits, including the Community Park and especially the fire station and the connection between Parkland Farms Blvd and Passalacqua Road. These are critical to the public safety of a large number of Healdsburg families. All of the developer obligations should be priced in 2020 dollars with escalation clauses and the funds escrowed for future execution.
Healdsburg 2040 hopes that the city council acts swiftly and decisively to take title to the affordable housing site and resolves other obligations that will ensure that community benefits can be realized as intended by the development agreement.
Healdsburg 2040 is a group of interested citizens advising the city on the implementation of the SDAT report. The group is made up of four individual work groups, addressing arts and culture, housing, the General Plan and parks and connectivity. For a list of the members of Healdsburg 2040, visit healdsburg2040.org. The group can be reached at [email protected].