Family among few who’ve found affordable housing in Healdsburg Family among few who’ve found affordable housing in Healdsburg

On one block of Sonata, Healdsburg’s most recently built subdivision, are six homes reserved for low-income families, among the dwindling number of “affordable” dwellings to be built in town over the past five years.

Those families have achieved a piece of the American dream that seemed all too far out of reach - home ownership.

“We applied and waited and waited and waited. When we found out we had one of the houses, we were kind of beside ourselves,” said Samantha Jacques, 30, a stay-at-home mother of two young children who lives in Sonata with her teacher husband, Craig.

The Jacques family was among 86 who applied to buy the half-dozen subsidized homes in the 37-unit development on West Grant Street, three blocks from the Healdsburg Plaza.

Depending on their incomes, the families were able to buy a new home in 2013 for between $158,000 to $253,000, a huge break compared to the typical market home in Sonoma County’s priciest real estate enclave, where the median price was $664,000 last year.

“We’d always visited Healdsburg and loved the community. We never thought we could live there,” Jacques said.

The affordable housing was created through a city requirement that developers set aside a certain number of units for low-income persons. Healdsburg’s “inclusionary zoning ordinance,” similar to that of many other cities and counties in California, requires developers of seven or more units to sell or rent at least 15 percent of their dwelling units or lots to moderate-, low- and very-low income households at affordable prices or rents.

If construction of the inclusionary units is not feasible, they can make in-lieu payments to develop affordable units elsewhere, or dedicate land for affordable housing purposes.

In the case of Sonata, the developer D.R. Horton Co., agreed to donate the land - a major factor in the high price of housing - for the six affordable units.

The land was deeded to Housing Land Trust of Sonoma County to administer and oversee the sale of the affordable homes.

“By removing the cost of the land upfront, that’s often close to $250,000,” said Devika Goetschius, executive director of Housing Land Trust.

To qualify for the affordable Sonata housing, applicants can make no more than $66,080 a year, or 80 percent of Sonoma County’s current median household income.

“This is an economic mechanism to make housing that is affordable to the working person. The price of the house is tied to the paycheck,” she said.

She noted that those who qualify need to have good credit history, the right ratio of income to housing, as well as debt to income, and qualify for a 30-year mortgage. “This is not a handout,” she said.

A teacher, a nurse, a mail carrier are among the breadwinners in the Sonata affordable units, she noted, and some volunteer in the community as baseball coaches, or Girl Scout leaders, for instance.

“It’s not just bricks and sticks. It’s about the quality of life, not just for adults, but children,” Goetschius said. “We are creating community wealth, when you invest in the community this way.”

The program also reduces the carbon footprint, she said, by having a workforce that can afford to live in town and not have to commute. The nonprofit, founded in 2002, has helped 55 low-income families buy homes in Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Cotati and Cloverdale.

It’s done by leasing the land to the homeowners for 99 years, with an option to renew. Residents and their descendants can use the land for as long as they wish, but have to live in the home as their primary residences. When homes are resold, the lease ensures the new owners will also be residents - not absentee owners.

A key benefit is the ability to ensure prices stay affordable, according to Housing Land Trust. When the homeowners decide to move, they can sell their homes. The non-profit agency has the right to buy each home back for an amount limited by a resale formula designed to give homeowners a fair return for their investment, while keeping the price affordable for future low- to moderate-income families.

The homeowner has the benefit of having equity and a possible small gain from the sale of the house. Upon resale, the home price is determined by what the family can afford, regardless of the housing market.

For the Jacques family, Sonata has been their only way into homeownership after being forced before to rent a house with Samantha’s mother in Petaluma.

“We’re so grateful to have this little home. It’s perfect for our family,” Samantha said of the three-bedroom, 1,040-square-foot home with a single-car garage and small yard, all within walking distance of parks and markets.

She is working on obtaining a teaching credential but also tutors a middle-?school child and has volunteered at the senior center.

Jacques said she has never lived in a community where she felt so connected to her neighbors, many of whom live in larger, market-rate homes.

“No one in the community knows we bought the house a lot lower than they did, unless we tell them. There’s no difference,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@clarkmas.