October 2022 Newsletter

Dear Generation,

While many housing challenges are similar no matter where you live in the state or even the country, those challenges are often the results of local policy. For example, even though redlining was a practice across the nation, it was not a national practice, it was a local practice, one that has enduring damaging and divisive results.  

Your local city council, and the Board of Supervisors, have tremendous control over what kind of housing we build, where we build housing, how fast or slow we build housing, and the resulting costs of that housing. Housing is one of the issues over which our local elected officials — and their appointed members of planning commissions and design review boards — have the most control.

Generation Housing is an independent nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates, but we do want to help make sure that you as voters are informed as to your local candidates positions on housing issues. With that in mind, we distributed a Housing Questionnaire to all of the city council candidates, provided equal time to complete those, including a small extension, and sent reminders about their due dates. The responses are posted below.There were some candidates who did not provide responses, and for them, we would direct you to their responses to the Press Democrat’s questionnaire responses, which included some housing discussion.

As we head into these last days of election season, we encourage all voters to make your voice heard across the ballot, and are also grateful for all the candidates who have heard and answered the call for public service. Together, we can create a community where everyone has a place to call home and can contribute to an equitable, healthy, and resilient Sonoma County.

In partnership,

Jen Klose, Executive Director

What’s Happening Locally?

The Housing Element process process continues to move forward in Sonoma County. The last remaining draft Housing Element’s are expected to be released soon for public input. This includes the County of Sonoma. So be certain to follow our social media for updates soon. We’re also providing all available information below.

• Cloverdale: A draft Housing Element is expected to be released on Thursday, October 27.
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Cloverdale specific action alerts!
• Cotati: A draft Housing Element was released on Tuesday, September 27 - you can review it here! 
• Click here to read the draft Housing Element
• The public comment period has been extended and will now end on Thursday, November 3: You can submit public comment by emailing Cotati@TheCivicEdge.com or mailed/delivered to Cotati City Hall (201 West Sierra Avenue) by Thursday, November 3.
• Click here to get Cotati specific action alerts!
• Healdsburg: A draft Housing Element was released on Friday, September 30 and you can review it here!
• Click here to read the draft Housing Element
• You can submit public comment by emailing HousingElement@Healdsburg.gov or mailed/delivered to Healdsburg City Hall (401 Grove Street) by Sunday, October 30.
• Click here to get Healdsburg specific action alerts!
• Petaluma: The City of Petaluma is currently reviewing both comments provided by elected and the public alike. These comments are being evaluated and integrated into the Housing Element before it is transmitted to HCD for the 90-day review.
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Petaluma specific action alerts!
• Rohnert Park: The comment period for the draft Housing Element closed on September 4 and has been submitted to HCD for review.
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Rohnert Park specific action alerts!
• Santa Rosa: A revised version of the draft Housing Element has been released and reflects informal comments shared by HCD. All changes are redlined to better enable additional feedback from the community. The HCD 90-day review period ends on Tuesday, November 1, so stay tuned for more updates soon.
• Click here for the HCD Housing Element Revised Draft
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Santa Rosa specific action alerts!
• Sonoma: The comment period for the draft Housing element closed September 16 and we have been informed that the City of Sonoma has officially transmitted their draft to HCD for the 90-day review. A redlined version of their draft has yet to be publicly released.
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Sonoma specific action alerts!
• Windsor: The comment period for the draft Housing Element closed September 23 - they continue to review the feedback provided by the community and aim to transmit their draft to HCD soon.
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Sonoma specific action alerts!
• County of Sonoma: The draft Housing Element is expected to be released on Thursday, November 3. 
• Click here to track their website
• Click here to get Unincorporated County of Sonoma specific action alerts!

To learn more about the Housing Element process and to track the progress for each jurisdiction, click here. You can find information about the Housing Element process here as well. If you want more information on how to get directly involved with Generation Housing’s Housing Element work, email us at info@generationhousing.org!

Downtown Santa Rosa Redevelopment Update

On October 11, 2022 the Santa Rosa City Council held the last of three study sessions which aimed to provide clear direction to City Staff on redevelopment of downtown Santa Rosa - this includes the relocation of the existing City Hall Campus, the surplusing of excess parking assets, and the consolidation of downtown public facilities. The final study session covered the Surplus Lands Act and combined both the information and direction from the prior study sessions. At the conclusion of this study session, City Staff was provided clear direction on which publicly-owned assets should be designated surplus and made available for redevelopment.

So what was the final outcome? After some deliberation, the Mayor and City Council provided the following direction for surplusing publicly-owned assets:

• YES to Whitehouse Surface Parking Lot 
• YES to Garage 5
• YES to Lot 11
• NO to Lot 6 
• It was deemed more likely this parcel will be developed in a timely manner if it is done through the traditional design review and permit process
• YES to Garage 9
• YES to Garage 12
• YES to City Hall site
• YES to relocating Santa Rosa Police and Fire Downtown Stations 
• Both facilities currently inadequate to accommodate the need of those departments
• Police Department would likely relocate to both a new facility on Stony Point Road as well as make use of office space at the Utilities Field Operations facility
• Fire Department would move further into Downtown Core
• YES to Central Library

We agree with Mayor Rogers' who stated “I would rather us try something and fail than continue doing what we have been doing for twenty years which has gotten us nothing.” We need to be bold, depart from the status quo, and embrace new approaches to achieving our shared vision for moving Santa Rosa Forward. #WeAreAllGenH 

For more information or to watch the recording of the meeting and review the materials, click here. Provided in the staff presentation is a map that illustrates where all of the above mentioned sites are located in the downtown area. 

Generation Housing has created endorsement criteria to help identify projects that will be prioritized for support. The endorsement criteria are designed with three key factors:

• Generation Housing’s guiding principles,
• Projects that will have a large impact in addressing local housing needs, and
• Projects that may require greater levels of support relative to other comparable projects.

The endorsement criteria are designed to serve as a tool for Generation Housing to prioritize allocation of its organization capacity in helping advance impactful projects for our community.

Gen H House Party + Celebration

Thursday, November 17th

5:30pm-6:30pm | Doors open at 5:00pm

coLAB, 427 Mendocino Ave, Suite 100, Santa Rosa

Join us for a quick catch up on housing happenings and Generation Housing's work around the county, and then take a moment to celebrate Ramon Meraz's birthday, #WeAreGenH style!

Together, each of you, all of us, and all residents of Sonoma County. We Are Gen H, and we all need affordable places to live. 

The “We Are Gen H” pro-housing campaign lifts up the experiences of workers, artists, and students in the community and organizes community members to take action and show support for more construction of more types of housing in Sonoma County. 

Generation Housing is honored to participate in the upcoming Dia De Los Cien event on Thursday, November 3.This event is in honor of Dia De Los Muertos, specifically the altar made in remembrance of those who have passed. This year, Generation Housing will housing champions who have made significant contributions to our community, especially in regards to housing and to honor individuals who hold personal meaning to the team members at Generation Housing.

Joshua Shipper has joined Generation Housing as our new Director of Special Initiatives. Joshua’s first charge will be to lead the Prohousing Initiative — an effort to assist local jurisdictions in adopting and implementing the policies needed to earn California’s “Prohousing Designation.” Achieving this state designation signifies a region’s deeper commitment to building housing for its entire workforce, fostering climate resiliency, and strengthening our regional economy. It also unlocks state funding that will significantly support housing development for years to come. 

Joshua comes to Generation Housing with community-based, academic, and policy experience working to understand how each generation defines what equity looks like for them. After helping to identify solutions to the growing racial wealth gap and home financialization trends shaping communities like West Oakland prior to 2010, Joshua completed his PhD in Political Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2018.  There he focused on American politics, race, and equity policy, contributing to survey and quantitative research on American attitudes shaping policies on wealth, taxation, and education. Applying those insights to politics and policy, Joshua taught political science courses in the Midwest while working to reform state funding for affordable housing with Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong. Now having returned to the Bay Area, he has most recently served as the Director of Data & Grants at the Committee on the Shelterless where he helped support evidence-based, housing-first solutions to homelessness in Sonoma County including through Project Homekey and CalAIM. 

Joshua is excited to bring his background in both policy and teaching to educate policymakers and the public on this new, statewide incentive. The first phase of our initiative will entail assessing each jurisdiction’s current status and prohousing score, followed by defining the “roadmap” each can use to meet this standard of housing affordability. Learning together with our partners and taking proactive steps to win this designation, Joshua will help cities identify the policy changes needed to empower local leaders to build housing where they now face deficits. Our initiative will also help each jurisdiction build a cohort of diverse participants to help every neighborhood contribute a share of new housing. Through this strategic engagement, we will foster community feedback where it is most needed, such as on the identification of suitable parcels for development and amenities that are most attractive to new households.

High rent costs and few housing options are fueling a homelessness crisis in the Bay Area's Sonoma County region | SF Gate

The decision by Sonoma County officials has some judicial precedent, but also, is an acknowledgment of a failing housing situation. Sonoma County is a high-cost region with few affordable housing units and even fewer rooms available in homeless shelters.

Build more housing to ease crisis? Poll shows how Bay Area residents resist | Mercury News

A Bay Area News Group survey found homeowners, Whites, the wealthy and older residents were more likely to oppose construction

Commentary: Sonoma Valley Collaborative calls for changes to draft Housing Element | Sonoma Index-Tribune

Sonoma Valley Collaborative’s forum of community leaders has asked for substantial changes to the City of Sonoma’s draft eight-year housing plan, called the Housing Element, in order to address the housing affordability crisis that affects every aspect of the Sonoma Valley community.

California passes law allowing affordable housing to bypass approval processes | Archinect

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a major reform to homebuilding in the state. The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, signed on September 28th, will override local zoning codes to allow for more affordable housing units to be built on land previously zoned for commercial use.

Gimme Shelter: How California’s new parking law could lower housing costs | Cal Matters

A new state law unravels decades of parking rules in California cities. On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast” CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and The Los Angeles’ Times’ Liam Dillon explain how that could trim housing costs

YIMBYism isn’t enough. Here's why we need LIMBYism, too | SF Chronicle

But as California sets out to boost its housing production, YIMBYism needs to evolve into something I call LIMBYism — locals in my backyard.

Merging Santa Rosa school districts could save $29 million per year, report says, but not everyone is in favor | Press Democrat

A recently released report, requested by Santa Rosa City Schools, concluded it could save tens of millions of dollars by merging with all or some of its nine feeder elementary schools.