Divide widens on how to alleviate Sonoma County’s housing crunch

A sharp divide emerged Thursday between two Sonoma County supervisors over how to best alleviate the affordability crisis afflicting the local housing market.

At an all-day housing summit in Santa Rosa, Supervisor Shirlee Zane's vision clashed with Supervisor Susan Gorin's over actions the Board of Supervisors could take to help rein in sky-high rents and spur construction of new housing units within and outside city limits.

Zane, who will be chairwoman of the board next year, said the county must focus foremost on enacting policies and identifying new financing to fast-track development of low-income and workforce housing. The county should team up with cities to drive dense development in city centers, she said.

“Elected officials and political leaders have got to develop a backbone and stand up to these people who say ‘Not in my backyard,’?” Zane said. “It really is a battle and it is going to take some effort to combat that negative neighborhood attitude that any new affordable housing is going to drive down property values.”

Gorin said increasing the supply of affordable housing is crucial, but the county should not “ramrod” projects through. And, tenant protection measures, such as policies that protect renters from steep rent increases and unjustified evictions, could play an important role in addressing the housing crisis.

“Neighbors have serious and legitimate concerns about issues like density and parking. … People love this place for a reason - it’s our quality of life,” Gorin said. “At the same time, tenants are experiencing significant pressures like dramatic rent increases, and that’s why we’re hearing calls for rent stabilization. We need to look at all of these solutions, because no one of them is going to solve all of our needs.”

Zane said she does not favor rent control or tighter limits for landlords seeking to evict tenants.

Other ideas that surfaced Thursday include creation of a housing trust fund, which could make loans and grants to increase the supply of affordable housing and fund homelessness assistance programs. There was also significant interest in using vacant county-owned land for new housing projects and requiring projects in unincorporated communities along the Highway 101 corridor to be built at maximum density. The debate mirrors discussions underway across the county about how to develop new housing and stave off the practices by some landlords seeking maximum profits from their rentals.

Santa Rosa Councilwoman Julie Combs, a strong supporter of rent control and tight limits on evictions, said Santa Rosa must find a way to reinstate its rent control policy and the requirement that landlords provide tenants with a reason for eviction.

“We absolutely need these protections in place,” Combs said. “Landlords are price-gouging and a large number of the people who were protected over that short window are being evicted or having their rents raised significantly.”

The measures are frozen until Santa Rosa calls a special election asking voters to uphold or overturn the city’s rent stabilization ordinance, which was challenged by opponents seeking a referendum.

Don Schwartz, Rohnert Park’s assistant city manager, said the best way to address the rising cost of living is to simply build new market rate housing.

“That is the most important part of the solution,” Schwartz said. “It will also help low-income people.”

Schwartz referenced a 2016 report from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office that said “considerable evidence” suggests market-rate housing actually reduces housing costs for low-income people.

Daniel Sanchez, director of government affairs for the North Bay Association of Realtors, an industry trade group, voiced a similar argument Thursday. He underscored the point Zane stressed that the most effective way to address rising rents is to rapidly increase the local housing supply.

“All housing types are necessary, but in order to achieve that, elected officials have to be willing to stand up to the pressure from NIMBYs,” Sanchez said, using an acronym that stands for “not-in-my-backyard” opposition. “This is not just an issue in Sonoma County, we’re seeing it across the state and especially along the California coast.”

But Ann Colichidas, a Sonoma Valley housing advocate, said interim measures are needed to protect people being forced out of their homes.

“At this point, tenants have no protections and landlords know it, so when something bad happens, they have no place to go,” Colichidas said. “It needs to stop.”

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 707-526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @ahartreports.