After more than two hours of theoretical discussion about how to create more housing, it was the personal story of County Housing Advisory Committee Chair Jose Luis Barajas that brought the real-world need into sharp focus during a public meeting in Salinas on Monday, May 6.
Barajas, 25, recounted how when he and his family immigrated to the U.S. many years ago they lived in garages in Salinas. “That was an issue then and it’s still an issue now,” he said during a joint meeting of his committee and the Health, Housing and Human Services Committee. The failure to create more housing over many decades called for “dire action,” he said.
The joint discussion was billed as a listening session two days after the County released its 985-page draft 2023-2031 Housing Element, a state-mandated plan encompassing zoning and policies regarding the building of more housing. The county is required to plan for at least 3,326 units in the unincorporated areas, with 2,190 units designated for very low-, low – and moderate-income households in unincorporated areas in the eight-year period.
To do so requires zoning or rezoning land to allow for densities of 20 units or more per acre. A staff presentation provided some context: The East Garrison development, with 1,400 units on 244 acres, is 5.75 units per acre.
Several of the county’s most active developers told committee members they want to build more housing but are being held back by outdated policies and onerous requirements.
“The process of getting projects approved is quite difficult and quite costly. There’s a really high barrier to entry,” said Kathryn Avila of Avila Construction, noting that few developers have the upfront money to risk in the face of a possible denial down the road. “Sometimes a project dies before it even gets to you.”
Developers asked for changes that included a streamlined approval process with more projects OK’d by staff instead of through the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, as well as allowing for higher building height and less parking requirements.
They also said inclusionary housing, requiring for-profit developers to include low-income units in projects, has been a failure over the 45 years it’s been in place. By requiring those units, it makes it nearly impossible for a project to pencil out. “What you get is 100 percent of nothing,” said Mike Avila, owner of Avila Construction.
Developer Brad Slama called for the creation of a coalition of policymakers and developers to give a thumbs up or thumbs down at the beginning of the planning process, so that developers have the confidence to move forward. “The closer we are to ‘yes’ without having to invest a half a million to a million dollars” in environmental review and other work ahead of a final decision, the faster they can build, he said.
The link to the county’s draft housing element is available at bit.ly/MoCoHousingElement.
A 30-day public comment period ends June 6. The County Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the plan on Wednesday, May 15, followed by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 4.
(2) comments
First, thanks to Pam Marino for your continuing coverage of the housing issues we face in Monterey County, and especially for alerting us to this very important document. I followed the included link and have downloaded the impressive 985 page report, and I highly recommend others take a look as well. The sheer size and scope can seem a bit daunting at first, but so far I've found it to be a very thoughtful and well laid out presentation, which makes the job of reading and understanding the concepts, much easier. Interestingly enough, I'm finding the numbers presented through evaluation of current census data, to pretty much verify what most of us who live and work here already know, which is that the cost of housing has gone up at a much quicker pace than our earned income. And of course much of this can be attributed to the lack of affordable housing. Nothing new there, but what I'm hoping to discover somewhere in these pages are the proposals that might help alleviate at least some of that documented housing shortage. In any case, I would like to thank those involved with putting this report together, it was obviously a huge task, and I'm hopeful that this is a good starting point for moving forward with this important challenge.
Derek, your view on this is myopic. Inviting the world into a country spikes population and therefore housing. It is not a "lack of affordable housing," but instead an open floodgate combined with a sanctuary state creating a nefarious housing market.
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