Grand Jury City of Watsonville Response to Grand Jury Report 'Irwin Ortiz' via Santa Cruz Grand Jury Thu, Sep 7, 2023

While all city and county planning departments have demonstrated a good understanding of the new State housing laws and the need to facilitate more housing, the failure to do so in a timely manner has served to further decrease the availability of housing and further increase the need and cost of more housing. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): With housing a priority at the state level, the state legislature has passed a slew of new housing regulations each year that require in-depth review and legal interpretation prior to local adoption. The City strives to adopt local ordinances that comply with state law as soon as possible, however we are cautious to wait to adopt regulations until we are confident that they follow the intent of state law. This is partially why these state laws override local zoning control until such time that cities do adopt their own local ordinances in compliance with state regulations. For example, if a local jurisdiction has not updated their Density Bonus ordinance to comply with new state regulations, then a developer would simply utilize the state law rather than the local ordinance. Finally, government does not build housing. The role of local government is to ensure that there is land available to build housing and to ensure that we have regulations that promote the development of quality housing for residents. We are dependent on private sector developers and property owners to build housing.

While all local municipalities have voiced support for prioritizing housing for local workers, only some of them have clear local preference guidelines that give some priority to local workers. Without clear guidelines and incentives, new housing is more likely to be purchased by those who do not live and work here. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The City provides local preference in the purchase of below-market-for-sale housing developments in Watsonville, because these projects do not utilize state or federal funding that would prohibit the practice. The Affordable Housing Program requires the creation of a lottery for the affordable units in a new subdivision, whereby tickets are given to those that: 1. Live in the City of Watsonville (1 ticket) 2. Work in the City of Watsonville (1 ticket) 3. Live and work in the City of Watsonville (3 tickets) The City also requires local and bilingual marketing efforts. To the extent allowed by applicable law, developers are required to make reasonable efforts to sell affordable units to buyers who live or work within the Watsonville City limits. To the extent necessary to ensure compliance with State and Federal fair housing laws, developers are required to employ bilingual staff to market the affordable units and prepare and use bilingual sales and marketing materials for the affordable units. The City also provides greater financial assistance to assist eligible homebuyers to purchase homes in the City of Watsonville in accordance with the requirements of the City of Watsonville’s Affordable Housing Ordinance. Applicants must provide valid evidence that they reside and/or are employed within the Watsonville City limits at the time of loan application, to be eligible for the higher loan limits. In addition, the City has local preference requirements for rental projects; to wit, affordable rental units shall be marketed exclusively to existing City of Watsonville residents for two (2) weeks before any marketing to other persons (Watsonville Municipal Code, Chapter 14-46.140(g)(4)); and for projects requiring a five (5%) percent set aside for Section 8 vouchers, those Section 8 units must first be made available to the County of Santa Cruz Housing Authority for at least one-month period from the date of marketing for a new unit ((Watsonville Municipal Code, Chapter 14-46.040(a)(1)). For 100% affordable rental housing projects, preferences are dictated by the funding sources for the project. For instance, the Joe Serna Fund is earmarked for the provision of units for farmworkers, whereas there are other funds for kids aging out of foster-care, or housing for homeless. However, even in these projects, local preference is not allowed to be used because it is considered a discriminatory practice.

All municipalities are trying to identify and facilitate the building of housing projects, but most of that is done independently of the other municipalities or with outside partners. Since workforce housing and transportation gridlock is a county-wide problem, all county municipalities need to work more closely together and with property owners to develop housing solutions. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Planning staff have opportunities to regularly meet with planners from other jurisdictions through a variety of different agencies, including the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC),the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), the Housing for Health Partnership, and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP). AMBAG holds regular meetings for planning directors and senior planning staff. The Housing for Health Partnership is a county-wide collaboration of agencies focused on addressing homelessness. In addition, the planning directors from all Santa Cruz agencies meet several times a year to collaborate and share ideas. Ad-hoc collaboration occurs across agencies as well in an effort to share knowledge and best practices. Santa Cruz County abuts the City of Watsonville, and there have been two affordable housing projects that the two agencies have coordinated to bring to fruition, known as Pippin 1 and Pippin 2. Pippin 1 was a 46-unit project that included 26 units in the County and 20 units in the City of Watsonville. Both jurisdictions had to coordinate permitting and inspection authority for the project, which the City annexed after completion. Pippin 2 is the 80-unit extension of this project built entirely within the County, however the City is expected to annex this project as well after completion. The project has been designed to meet City standards for streets, sidewalks, solid waste, etcetera, as the housing project will be ultimately serviced by the City.