Draft Housing Element: Hot off the presses document ready for review
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: April 23, 2008
Hot off the presses at 113 pages long, the City of Santa Paula 2008-2014 Draft Housing Element Update has been released for review.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
Hot off the presses at 113 pages long, the City of Santa Paula 2008-2014 Draft Housing Element Update has been released for review.
By law, the Housing Element component of the city’s General Plan must be updated every six years to establish the city’s policies, programs and quantified objectives to meet the housing needs of Santa Paula’s population. Methods used range from home preservation and ownership programs to inventorying the city’s vacant and underutilized land for housing needs.
The city has held two workshops - double what is required by law - to garner input for the Housing Element.
The Draft Housing Element also covers city demographics as well as statistics on present residents, ranging from income to numbers of persons living in households. The document notes that Santa Paula has a “relatively high level of household overcrowding and housing overpayment,” a limited supply of large rental units, and the “desire to achieve a more economically balanced community,” among other issues.
At the two public workshops, many speakers said that Santa Paula must build more high-end housing while others urged that lower-income units continue to be built.
The Draft Housing Element identifies strategies and programs that focus on conserving and improving existing affordable housing, providing adequate housing sites, assisting in the development of affordable housing, removing governmental and other constraints to the housing development, and promoting equal housing opportunities.
The draft notes that, “Demographic shifts are taking place in the city impacting housing needs,” including a growing Hispanic population - in 1990, 59 percent of the city’s population was of Hispanic origin, and by 2000 71percent; and the city is home to an increasing number of younger families, as reflected by the growth in both the young to mid-adult and school age populations between 1980 and 2000. “The provision of adequate affordable housing, including larger rental units and first-time homeownership opportunities for younger growing families, is thus an important issue facing Santa Paula,” the draft report states.
At the April 7 City Council meeting there was criticism of the city by the Santa Paula Ministerial Association, which has been working on homeless issues. Association President Carolyn Price noted the group’s previous request for homeless housing required by new state law.
“We understand you submitted the draft without a site” for a homeless shelter identified in the document, noted Price. “We are very concerned; your job is to take care of all the people of Santa Paula.”
City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz noted that the Draft Housing Element had not yet been circulated, and that the Council had requested that staff receive more guidance from the state on the issue. Once the Draft Housing Element goes through the review period, Bobkiewicz said it would come back to the Council.
“Will that be on your agenda?” asked Price, and Bobkiewicz assured her that the issue would be agenized as well as publicized.
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