1 From: BILL WOODBRIDGE <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, September 6, 2025 3:04 PM
To: City Clerk Group; [email protected]
Subject: CAPER: NO housing or rental assistance - ZERO
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Dear City Council and Cassidy Le Air:
As a senior living on social security (no pension) in Goleta, I am very concerned that the CAPER draft indicates that ZERO housing assistance or rental assistance for low/mid income residents has even been planned for the city over the past 5 years, much less established. I realize it states you leave that up to outside contractors, but that is an extremely PASSIVE way to approach the biggest problem we have in this city. Heritage Ranch will eventually only provide 106 low income apartments, and they probably will not allow pets, even cats. We NEED THOUSANDS of units! Rents are being increased at 10% per year, even on long term senior renters. That is forcing many of us out of the area.
My social security does not even cover my rent ($2700 p/m) for a small 1 bedroom 50 year old apartment with no air conditioning and no covered parking. My social security only goes up by 2.5% per year. This is not sustainable. I don’t need a low income unit to move to. I just need rental assistance for the rent where I am. But the HUD rental assistance wait list has been closed for years, may never reopen, and even if it does, there would be years of waiting before getting any assistance.
It is baffling that you prefer to spend funds on sidewalks, skylights, libraries ($7 million) and playgrounds when thousands of essential workers, seniors and other people are unable to afford or pay their rent in this town. So they must either commute 40-60 miles each way to work, or leave the south county completely.
I request that you pass a regulation limiting the annual increase in rents for seniors to 4% per year. I request that you budget a great deal of the grant money towards rental assistance for essential workers and seniors who cannot afford to move yet cannot afford the rent where they are. I also request that you immediately and aggressively pursue planning and construction of low and middle income housing that are more than just little shoe boxes providing no storage, no open space, no yard space or dignity for the residents.
This is a long overlooked, shoved-under-the-carpet problem. Now it is a crisis.
I am sorry I cannot attend the City Council meeting on September 16th. It is the only time this year I will be out of town.
Thank you for your consideration.
Bill Woodbridge
805-679-5372