Affordable Housing

By Jane Parker

I have the will, the vision, and the leadership to ensure that a strong affordable housing policy is enacted and enforced by the County. The County can, and should, take a leadership role in aggressively addressing the affordable housing crisis in Monterey County.

The first step toward addressing the affordable housing situation is a clear set of definitions and goals, so that our commitment is clear and measurable. Because of the urgency in Monterey County I believe we need to include workforce and moderate income housing in our formulations in addition to very low and low income set asides, raising the percentages of "below-market rate" housing to at least 40 or 50 percent.

Studies conducted for communities here in our County indicate that these levels of affordable and workforce housing are possible. There are many communities across the country and the state that have been working creatively to address situations very similar to our own where the cost of land, rather than construction, tends to put housing out of reach of the average person living and working in the area.

Solutions fall into three broad categories:

· Trust funds for purchase of land, · Trust funds and other financial support options for individuals, · And regulatory adjustments.

The Clark report, which focused on our area, suggested the following ideas to increase the availability of affordable housing: Housing Trust funds, Community Trust Funds, combinations of the two, permanent deed restrictions, transfer taxes, silent second mortgages and other loan strategies, developer fee reductions, lease/purchase options, employer assisted housing, and sweat equity. We can use these and other mechanisms, to provide an adequate supply of affordable housing; and we must ensure that a significant proportion remains affordable in perpetuity.

There seems to be a lingering belief that affordable housing means tenements. The new urbanism, traditional neighborhood, mixed income designs that are now recognized as effective models for affordable housing. These developments allow for higher levels of affordability, integrating diverse incomes effectively avoiding the risk of creating ghettos. The County should invest in demonstration projects to address and allay community concerns about mixed income, mixed use neighborhoods.

Clearly, the provision of affordable housing options is a case of "where there's a will, there's a way."