Farmworker Housing
The region’s elected officials know: Monterey County’s $4.2 billion agriculture industry can’t operate without employees, and there are no employees without housing. The industry paved the way (Tanimura & Antle and the Nunes Company built projects, now Scheid Vineyards is looking to build 500 units in Greenfield), and freshman California Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, made farmworker housing a top priority by introducing the Farmworker Housing Act of 2019. It was signed into law in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom and streamlines the process for ag employers to build more housing near farmland. More good news came in January, when the Monterey County Planning Commission voted unanimously to add 112 beds to the existing 200-bed El Toro Rancho housing community. Expect more positive votes in favor of adding housing for the region’s hardest-working employees.