Co-Chairs Janet Ruggiero & Elizabeth Kemper, and members  Kathy Harryman, Maria Lago, Catherine Portman and Gil Walker were present.  

Dan Sokolow, City of Woodland Planning Department, spoke about issues the city considers key to increasing housing availability for middle-income working people , an area identified as lacking in our city and county. These include relaxation of zoning requirements when needed, availability of transportation, parking, and in-fill incentives for developers.  

It is difficult to attract developers interested in this type of housing because of lower profit margins in both sales and rentals. Nevertheless, there is always a need, and thus, a market, for affordable housing.  There are no price-control covenants for many rental developments, and some become unaffordable for residents unexpectedly. The city is trying to increase the supply of housing to control prices. Builders prefer Sacramento as it is more profitable. Woodland gives builders perks, but eventually prices rise. Because of the limited supply of mid-price buildings, developers cannot present comps to banks when trying to obtain construction loans.

 

The city has lowered impact fees for high density housing to encourage in-fill development. Other approaches considered are incentives for empty lot purchases for development, changes to laws governing Accessory Dwelling Units (i.e., mother-in-law housing) and grants and other aids to help construction of sites such as the Friends of the Mission development (Janet, Vice President) at Route 102 and Beamer. This is geared toward the mentally ill and will provide a campus setting with single and duplex pre-built housing. Walter's House will relocate to this site, freeing space at 4th & Hope. This is a housing-first approach to homelessness. The project may begin mid-2020.

Following Dan's presentation, we discussed the state position on housing and looked at LWVW's position from the 1982 study. We also read information from the San Diego area LWV.