Housing Study (Draft Report)

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LWV Woodland Report from the Working Group for Housing and the Unhoused

Current Local Housing Position: Adopted in 1982

Support provision of quality and safe housing for all persons in the community regardless of income or ethnic background.

Objectives:

a. Encourage the rehabilitation and revitalization of deteriorating housing.

b. Support Yolo County's Housing Code enforcement program to eliminate substandard rental housing units within the city.

c. Support the City's efforts to apply for and use as many state and federal housing programs as possible to improve and restore existing rental units, as well as build new rental units.

The following additions to the position have been discussed by the Housing Working Group over the last year:

Support new construction and the rehabilitation and preservation of quality and older housing for all persons in the community regardless of income, ethnic or racial background.
Under "a." add" Provide an effective and properly funded code enforcement program." And "Adequate funding for first time homeownership program"
For "b", there were questions as to who operates the Housing Code Enforcement program - the City or the County for rental housing. Should there be a rental inspection program?
For "c", there was a consensus that this position should be rewritten to properly address rental units both for new construction as well as reconstruction.

Other areas identified for inclusion in the policy:

Support of infill development including looking at reduced parking, sustainable and green design especially downtown
- Need for construction of more rental units including senior units.
- Housing should be linked to transportation corridors
- Need for more workforce housing and first time home buyers.
  - o Duplexes on corners and smaller homes in the 1300 - 1500 square foot range
    - Encourage the construction on empty lots
    - Encourage different types of housing, accessory dwelling units, co-ops, court yards units, rooming houses
    - Address rising rents with rent control
    - Housing for the unhoused with rehabilitation programs and job training
    - Make sure create walkable neighborhoods
    - How can we reduce the cost of housing?

The Working Group held two more meeting in November and October. The group continued to discuss the information they had received regarding the current housing numbers and the Housing Element RHNA allocation to the City of Woodland.

A few of us were able to attend the LWV Davis presentation on Housing in November 2019 to hear Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law - a book on the manner in which the American government deliberately imposed racial segregation on housing. There no further meetings held due to Covid 19.

The Housing Working Group will meet via Zoom starting in September. Proposed dates are September 22nd , October 27th and December 1st. We would hope to hold a meeting of the full League to discuss the proposed policy changes in January. More information as to the time will be sent at prior to the meeting date. All League members are encouraged to attend.

Housing Element Update

The City of Woodland will need to update the Housing Element by August 2021 and submit it to HCD for their approval.

Greg Chew, Senior Planner with SACOG spoke to the League on October 10, 2020 and explained the role of the Sacramento Area Council of Government in the development of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and its allocation Woodland and Yolo County.

SACOG plays a key role in the State's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process. Every eight years, the State of California's Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) provides SACOG with a regional determination, which represents the number of units the region must plan for. The Final SACOG Regional Determination for Cycle 6 of RHNA (2021-2029) is 153,512 units for the SACOG region.

SACOG is then responsible for developing a methodology for allocating that number by income category to each city and county in the region. Once jurisdictions have their RHNA, they must adopt a Housing Element that demonstrates how they can accommodate their RHNA in their zoning.

On November 21, 2019, the SACOG Board of Directors approved RHNA Methodology Option C for the RHNA Methodology Cycle 6 (2021-29). This action provides the number of total housing units that each jurisdiction in the SACOG region must zone for during the 8-year period. The total allocation for each jurisdiction is broken down into four income categories. The lower two income categories ("Low Income" and "Very Low Income") are combined to comprise the number of higher density dwelling units that each jurisdiction zone for during this period. The SACOG Board adopted the Regional Housing Needs Assessment Plan on March 19, 2020. The numbers allocated to the City of Woodland for this next cycle will be 3087 units with 399 in the low income and 663, the very low income range. This also includes an allocation of 601 units for Moderate income and 1,424 units in Above Moderate. This is a 46% increase from the last Housing element cycle. The City of Woodland is working on revising its Housing Element to address the new allocation as well as other changes required by recent Housing Element law amendments.

General Housing Facts

City Housing Element Adopted in 2017 as part of the General Plan and it will need to be revised in 2021.

There are 21,031 housing units in Woodland (2019) according to the Housing element, based on 2010 figures:

Total Units:

19,845 Housing units
12,633 Single Family (SF) Detached
1,313 SF Attached
451 containing 2-4 units
4,067 containing 5+ units
681 mobile homes.

55.9% were owner occupied with 44.1% rentals.

There are presently 172 homes for sale in Woodland with the median price at $413,809 (Zillow)

43 Rental units available in Woodland. Average rent is $950 for a one bedroom.

LWV California Housing Position

Position in Brief: Support of equal opportunity in housing. Support of measures to provide state programs to increase the supply of safe, decent, and adequate housing for all Californians. Support for action at all levels of government for the provision of affordable housing for all Californians. Positions:

Programs and policies to provide equal opportunity for access to housing without discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation or disability.
An overall state plan for development with integration of housing, land use and transportation and with attention to factors such as natural resources and basic human needs.
State financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, tax incentives and other means to encourage housing construction and rehabilitation.
Broad state guidelines for use of these funds with more local decision making.
Use of fiscal incentives and disincentives to encourage enforcement of state housing law.
Enforcement of use of redevelopment set-aside funds for low and moderate-income housing.

Standardization and modernization of local building and zoning codes to conform with a state code that:

Is enforced by trained inspectors;
Encourages new and innovative building materials and methods that can be used to cut housing construction costs;
Encourages the use of density bonuses; mixed, cluster and inclusionary zoning; second units; infill development; air rights; and increased density along transportation corridors.
Protection of the rights of both tenants and landlords.
Removal of barriers that inhibit the construction of low and moderate income housing including eventual elimination from the Constitution of the provisions for voter approval before a low-rent housing project may be developed, constructed, or acquired by a public body.
Education of state and local communities concerning need for affordable housing and methods by which this can be attained.

Adopted 1970; Updated 1973, 1993; Readopted in 2017. Updated in 2019.
For more information, contact jmruggiero [at] sbcglobal.net)">Janet Ruggiero or busybeth [at] wavecable.com (Elizabeth Kemper)