For a Healthy Sonoma County

Issues - Affordable Housing

Affordable housing is critical if we are going to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and also make our community livable for all different economic groups.  It is imperative that working people be able to live in their own communities and not have to drive long distances.  There are many different ways we can increase affordable housing.  Below are some suggestions for policy formulation for affordable housing strategies, which were  created by HAG, Sonoma County Housing Advocates Group.

LAND USE

• Designate adequate supply of multi-family sites in every jurisdiction in Sonoma County

• Restrict some sites to low income multi-family housing

• Create affordable housing over-lay zones as an alternative or an adjunct to designating specific parcels for affordable housing

• Monitor for affordability compliance

• Use land owned by public sector jurisdictions

• Promote mixed-use development

HOUSING TYPES

• Serve population groups with special housing needs, such as the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly, farm workers, large households, and families with a female head of household, which are recognized as having special housing needs.

• Identify sites for emergency shelter, transitional housing, single-room occupancy, and supportive housing

• Create a Single Room Occupancy (SRO – Residential Hotel) Ordinance.  Defining this housing type and making it a permitted use will serve individuals or couples who are either in danger of becoming homeless, or are working their way out of homelessness.

• Accommodate Farm Worker Housing

• Encourage duplex studios and encourage second units and consider exempting or reducing the parking requirements for new second units and exempting them from growth management totals.

• Facilitate Infill Development

• Explore Adaptive Reuse

FINANCING AND FISCAL MECHANISMS

• Identify fiscal mechanisms to create a continuing source of revenue to produce affordable housing, such as a dedicated housing fund

• Commit some or all of the real estate transfer tax towards the fund and consider increasing the transfer tax.

• Commit some or all of the interest generated from municipal accounts towards the fund.

• Establish housing in-lieu fees through the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, and commit these fees to the fund.

• Establish a Job/Housing Linkage Fee on commercial development, and commit these fees to the fund.

• Dedicate a higher percentage of redevelopment area, tax increment financing towards the production or rehabilitation of affordable housing, as well as to any off-site improvements that may be conditioned on affordable housing development proposals.

• Waive or reduce permit and impact or connection fees.

• Waive or reduce fees for Affordable Housing

• Cut in half all fees for low-income studio and SRO Units

• Establish Inclusionary Housing requirements

• Spread the responsibility to help provide affordable housing beyond the development community