Healdsburg City Council punts on November election for affordable housing bond

The Healdsburg City Council failed to reach a consensus Monday night to place an affordable housing bond on the November ballot, possibly kicking the action to a special election in the spring or summer next year.

In spite of repeated calls for urgency by proponents, the two dissenters on the council were not swayed to move forward with a ballot measure that would have raised property taxes to generate $10 million for low-income housing.

The bond measure would have produced roughly 50 units of new housing for local workers, city staff estimated during the meeting, which drew a full crowd of about 50 people to the council chambers.

Mayor Brigette Mansell called the special meeting to consider a citywide bond measure after the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors abandoned a plan last month to ask voters for $300 million to address the ongoing housing crisis. The council was presented with five options for a housing bond, ranging from $10 million to $50 million - and associated annual tax hikes on a $500,000 property of $130 to $650 a year - before settling on discussion of a potential $10 million bond.

The county’s failed attempt to place a housing bond on the ballot has created a conversation about meeting the community’s needs for affordable housing, Councilman Shaun McCaffery said.

“There’s an opportunity here,” he said. “There is a narrative, there is an expectation of this.”

During a nearly hourlong public comment period, eight residents urged the council to refrain from a hasty decision without enough data on the city’s housing needs or vetting how the funds would be spent. Some opponents took issue with the size of the expected tax burden on property owners.

“I want to make perfectly clear I’m a big supporter of affordable housing,” said Jim Winston, of Healdsburg. “I think that what I’m struggling with is the sticker shock. It would seem to be using the credit card approach of, ‘Give it to me now and I’ll pay you back later.’ But you’re really putting everybody else in debt in perpetuity.”

Vice Mayor David Hagele and Councilman Joe Naujokas ultimately agreed the housing bond needed more study and required a clearer sense of which future projects the money would fund. That, they each stated, created the best chance for eventually getting a bond approved by Healdsburg residents.

“I want to make sure that we’re not looking at this as yet another false dichotomy,” said Naujokas. “It’s not either we do a bond, or we don’t. We’ve got some options in front of us, and I’m firmly in the camp of, ‘What’s the rush?’?”

Six residents urged the council to act quickly and put the housing bond on the November ballot. Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Julie Combs - who will help finalize her own city’s affordable housing bond tonight - and a spokeswoman for Supervisor Lynda Hopkins also offered support for the proposed ballot measure.

The council did not vote on the measure when it became clear they were split on the issue, which needed four votes to advance to the ballot. Mansell and McCaffery supported placing a $10 million housing bond on the November ballot, while Hagele and Naujokas preferred additional study. Councilwoman Leah Gold was absent.

“If not now, when?” Mansell challenged. “When are we going to do it? Money is essential in doing anything, and you have to put it forward. I’m dang ready to pay that extra assessment, because I know that it’s going to go to the issue that this community embraces. This is an emotional topic, and I absolutely agree that time is of the essence.”

The council could call a special election next spring to give residents a chance to vote on a bond for affordable housing. The issue is expected to go before a city committee on housing this fall.