The elephant in the room

Recently there has been considerable attention directed towards Healdsburg’s lack of affordable housing, especially in regards to the “missing middle” working class families. This situation could be seen coming a long time ago and essentially took this long to boil over.
When city leaders, staff, expert housing consultants and most citizens took a closer look, it was pretty obvious there was an elephant in the room by the name of the Growth Management Ordinance.
The GMO does exactly what it was intended to do. It is an effective elitist tool that doesn’t manage growth, but controls growth by only allowing a select few new housing units to be built at a time, therefore directing their style and price to those who can most easily afford them.
This also causes a rising tide so that existing housing attracts higher prices. The instrument is rather blunt, so even when fewer houses than the limit allows get built during a downturn, that deficit cannot be made up at a later time. The GMO could not be more diametrically opposed to what the city, along with tenant rights groups and moderate housing advocates, is trying to accomplish.
When the ordinance passed as a reaction to the Parkland Farms subdivision in the north area of town 15 years ago, its opponents feared that it would change the dynamic of the town by limiting middle class working families who could not afford to live here anymore, thus reducing our school population and altering the fabric of the historical town.
This is exactly what has happened. The supporters of the ordinance often claimed that they did not want another “Windsor-like” development in Healdsburg ever again, and guess who is able to afford to live in Windsor but not in Healdsburg?
A case in point is the Parkland Farms subdivision itself that has been cast by the proponents of the GMO as an example of growth gone wild. However, the Parkland Farms area has become a vital component of the Healdsburg community.
It is where many young families find homes that are more affordable, there are large amounts of low income senior living, sweat equity homes, apartments and subsidized low income and moderate rate housing that were able to be built as part of the city’s requirements. Healdsburg schools would suffer and the city would be on an even quicker path to gentrification without this area.
The GMO stands squarely in the way of any chance to preserve/restore the Healdsburg that once was. Healdsburg’s yearlong public process to address the consequences of the original ordinance is an open process that is being sabotaged by a vocal elite who want to keep property values high and spread misinformation at every opportunity.
The City Council and staff are trying their best to keep the discussion focused to help our community, but we hear the most from those that question the open process as though it is mysterious and misguided.
Healdsburg also has an Urban Growth Boundary, zoning restrictions, density restrictions, lot setbacks and other building rules, impact fees, and other controls over development in town.
It has elected officials who live here, listen to locals, and try hard to do the right thing. They are not being swayed by any one group, although the task is not being made any easier by the vocal minority of housing critics.
Our existing neighborhoods are not in danger of significant changes. Our infrastructure, including water, sewer, electric and schools, can easily accommodate more working class families. We have a chance to maintain and improve our town by changing what is clearly wrong.
Reality Check: What Healdsburg citizens need to vote on is the elimination of the GMO. Small fixes and fancy wording won’t do what naturally occurring growth has done in the past and can again in the future. There is a need from people who work here for apartments and starter homes and the market will want to fill that need.
There are only a few places that such development could economically occur, so most of Healdsburg (you know, that cute neighborhood you live in) won’t be affected at all. Yes, these sort of developments will lower the value of your home or rental, the pain will be felt by all, but it will also benefit us all in the long run.
If you want some real information, check out the California Legislative Analyst’s Office reports by typing in “Perspectives on Helping Low Income Californians Afford Housing” and/or “Californian’s High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences” and also the liberal think tank SPUR reports including “What’s the Matter with San Francisco?” The main culprit is consistently the same.
Jim and Nancy have raised three children in Healdsburg, are tireless volunteers, and love our community.