[EXTERNAL] Housing Element Comment- FHANC
Savannah Wheeler <[email protected]>
Lun 23/01/2023 12:53
Para: Lyle, Amy <[email protected]>
CC: [email protected] <[email protected]>;Guerrero Auna, Beatriz < [email protected] >;Caroline Peattie < [email protected] > ® 1 archives adjuntos (196 KB)
FHAN(_PublicComment_SantaRosa_H E.pdf;
Dear Ms. Lyle,
Please find attached Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California's public comment on Santa Rosa's Adoption Draft Housing Element. Thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
Savannah Wheeler
Savannah Wheeler
Staff Attorney/Housing Counselor
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
1314 Lincoln Avenue, Suite A
San Rafael, CA 94901
(628) 226-3219
[email protected]
pronouns: she/her
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Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, and have received this communication in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Thank you. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 1314 Lincoln Ave., Ste. A, San Rafael, CA 94901 (415) 457-5025 TDD: (800) 735-2922 www.fairhousingnorcal.org [email protected] Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
SENT VIA EMAIL ONLY: [email protected]
January 23, 2023
Amy Lyle, Supervising Planner- Advance Planning
Planning & Economic Development
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Email: [email protected]
cc: HCD, [email protected]
Beatriz Guerrero Auna, [email protected]
RE: Santa Rosa’s 6th Cycle Housing Element Draft Revision Dear Ms. Lyle,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Housing Element (“Draft”). We appreciate all the work that has gone into producing this document, and we offer our comments on the annotated Draft for incorporation into a final document that moves Santa Rosa in the direction of significant progress to achieve housing justice and meet current and future housing needs. We stand as partners committed to this goal.
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting individuals experiencing housing discrimination and educating the community, including tenants, housing providers, and government employees, as to their rights and responsibilities under federal and state fair housing laws. The mission of FHANC is to ensure equal housing opportunity and to educate the community on the value of diversity in housing.
FHANC provides free comprehensive fair housing counseling services to individuals alleging housing discrimination in Sonoma County (except the incorporated city of Petaluma), Marin County, and Solano County (except the incorporated city of Vacaville). FHANC also provides other services, such as prepurchase and foreclosure prevention services and trainings to housing providers in other neighboring counties.
In addition to counseling and education services, FHANC recruits, trains, and employs fair housing testers in order to investigate claims of housing discrimination and to assist in conducting systemic investigations.
As noted by HCD in their letter dated November 1, 2022, “the Draft must include a complete analysis of affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH). Based on the outcomes of that analysis, the element must add or modify programs.”
Specifically, programs to affirmatively further fair housing must identify clear “metrics and milestones for determining what fair housing results will be achieved.”1 Furthermore, a recent survey of HCD reviews of draft housing actions from Southern California jurisdictions emphasizes that time bound actions with “specific commitments [from local actors], metrics, and milestones” are required.2
In order to meet the City’s requirement to affirmatively further fair housing, we urge the planning team to strengthen the AFFH analysis further, as well as adding programs to protect Santa Rosa renters, who comprise a large portion of the most vulnerable residents in the City.
Strengthen Fair Housing Education and Enforcement Goals and Programs We appreciate the City’s commitment to “continue to fund and support Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (Fair Housing)… on an annual basis to provide fair housing counseling services, tenant-landlord mediation, public education, and legal referrals for Santa Rosa tenants and landlords,” and look forward to continuing to work with the City to address pressing fair housing issues.
The Draft rightly recognizes lack of acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers as a major issue in the City. For example, the Draft indicates that a contributing factor to the “Disproportionate presence of Hispanic- identifying communities in low-resource areas” is “Lack of availability of rentals that accept HCV in moderate- and high- resource areas of the city.” Given that discrimination based on source of income (SOI) is illegal in California, the prevalence of rental properties in moderate and high-resource areas refusing to accept HCVs indicates a major gap in housing providers’ knowledge of their duties under fair housing law, as well as an increased need for enforcement against landlords who discriminate against voucher holders.
This suggests that a targeted fair housing outreach campaign is necessary not only in areas of poverty, but in moderate and high resource areas as well. While program H-36 commits the City to “actively emphasize and promote acceptance of vouchers to property owners in high-resource neighborhoods,” the Draft should go further by committing to providing fair housing education to housing providers and tenants in high-resource areas that recognizes refusal to accept HCVs as a violation of fair housing law. As this law is relatively new in California, such education and outreach regarding SOI discrimination to all facets of the community is necessary. To that end, FHANC is willing to partner with the City to assist with these efforts.
The high rates of SOI discrimination in the County have also been reflected in FHANC’s audits and investigations. FHANC has conducted investigations over the past several years to 1 Gov. Code § 65583(c)(10)(A)(iv).
2 ABAG, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Policy Tips Memo Learning from Southern California & Sacramento: Early Experiences in Complying with AB686.
determine the prevalence of discrimination in rental housing in Sonoma, Marin, and Solano counties. In 2019-20, FHANC conducted an audit to test for national origin and SOI discrimination3, and in 2021-22, FHANC conducted an audit to test for race and SOI discrimination4. Both of these audits revealed that Sonoma County had the highest rate of discrimination of the three counties, with evidence of discrimination found in 86% and 92% of tests conducted in each audit, respectively. In 2019-20, FHANC found evidence of SOI discrimination in 62% of tests in the county, national origin discrimination in 5% of tests, and both national origin and SOI discrimination in 19% of the tests. In 2021-22, FHANC found evidence of SOI discrimination in 88% of tests in the county, race discrimination in 63% of tests, and both race and SOI discrimination in 62% of the tests. FHANC continues to see increases in complaints of SOI discrimination, and in the past fiscal year FHANC received more SOI complaints than any other type except disability.
We therefore urge the City to strengthen its commitment to fair housing education, outreach, and enforcement activities in all areas of the City, with a particular focus on SOI discrimination. The City should include specific metrics and milestones and concrete, measurable goals to accompany their fair housing commitments.
Prioritize Specific Policies and Programs to Protect Tenants Program H-32 commits the City to continuing to provide services to tenants and “Exploring programs and/or policies implemented by other jurisdictions.” However, we urge Santa Rosa to commit to advancing specific policies and programs that offer strong tenant protections as a crucial component of affirmatively furthering fair housing. FHANC echoes the comments provided in Legal Aid of Sonoma County’s (LASC’s) December 14, 2022 letter regarding the need for specific tenant policies in the City. Santa Rosa should commit to enacting the following policies/ordinances to maximize housing opportunity and protect the rights of all tenants, including those of protected classes:
Fair Chance Ordinance: The use of criminal history in obtaining housing should be eliminated, given the disparate impact on people of color, using Berkeley, Oakland, and Seattle, and Alameda County as templates for such an ordinance.
Rent Stabilization: Further limiting the rent increase caps enacted by the state is crucial to address the displacement of the City’s low-income renters.
Just Cause Eviction: The City should commit to enacting a Just Cause Eviction ordinance, which would offer tenants, especially those of protected classes, crucial protection. One of the leading causes of evictions and displacement are the no fault just causes - substantial remodels, owner move-ins, and withdrawal from the rental market. These no-fault just causes are often used, and abused, by owners to remove tenants so that rents can be increased to market rate, further eroding affordable housing stock. Strengthening no-fault just causes for evictions – through higher relocation payments, longer eviction notice periods, and a right for a tenant to return at the 3 See 2019-2020 Audit Report: National Origin and Source of Income Discrimination in Rental Housing, https://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/resources--more-information.html 4 See 2021-2022 Audit Report: Race and Source of Income Discrimination in Rental Housing, https://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/uploads/1/7/0/5/17051262/race_and_soi_audit_report_2021-22_1.pdf. same rent at the time of displacement, apart from lawful, annual rent increases – are critical to a general plan that complies with state law and addressing the displacement of the City’s BIPOC and senior renters. A Just Cause ordinance should include:
• Substantial repairs - Repairs for health and safety concerns only and permits obtained before notice to vacate is served; tenant has the right to return under the same terms/rent, subject to allowable rent increases
• Withdrawal from the rental market - Clarify that a sale of the property is not “withdrawal” and is not a just cause for eviction; owner is required to file notice with the city/county; a longer notice period and the right to return for displaced tenants. • Right to Return if owner/owner’s family move out of the unit within 2 years, or if the owner/owner’s family fail to move into the unit within 30 days of the tenant’s removal.
Community or Tenant Right to Purchase (“COPA/TOPA”): As a key intervention against speculation, TOPA/COPA preserves currently affordable housing and generates new permanently affordable housing for future generations. TOPA/COPA expands stability and wealth-building opportunities for tenants by creating pathways to homeownership.
Tenant Bill of Rights: The purpose of a Tenant Bill of Rights (TBR) is to state unequivocally that all residents have the right to clean, safe, and secure housing, which includes but is not limited to:
• Anti-retaliation - Rebuttable presumption of retaliation if tenant asserts their rights, including but not limited to, requesting a reasonable accommodation, reporting sexual harassment, and otherwise filing complaints against housing provider staff within 6 months.
• Clean, safe housing - stronger protections for tenants from eviction if they deduct repairs from rent
• A rental registry.
• Tenant Commission- Seats reserved that represent low-income seniors, persons with disabilities, tenants in federally subsidized housing including LIHTC, and communities of color on a commission that provides information, referrals, and advice to tenants and advises City leadership on programs and policies affecting tenants. • Nonpayment notices - Require landlords to provide a 7-day warning letter before a 3-day notice to pay or quit.
• Protections for subletting - Subletting not a just cause for eviction IF the landlord unreasonably withheld consent following a written request by tenant, so long as the maximum number of occupants does not exceed allowable limits. • Protections for families - Addition of family members not a just cause for eviction, so long as the number of occupants does not exceed allowable limits. Protections for families - Addition of family members not a just cause for eviction, so long as the number of occupants does not exceed allowable limits.
The Draft should include the above policies and programs proven to improve and conserve existing, non-subsidized, affordable housing stock and address the unmet needs of low-income, protected class tenants in order to meet the City’s obligations under Housing Element Law.
Conclusion
Our agency is committed to housing justice and assisting the City to meet the current and future housing needs of Santa Rosa citizens. There is a tremendous opportunity with this Housing Element to outline specific, aligned, and actionable plans that will have widespread impact for years and decades to come. Santa Rosa should seize this opportunity to take the lead to outline and advance specific policies and practices to realize the goal of fair housing opportunity and housing justice for all who call Santa Rosa home.
Thank you for your work and time on this urgent and important opportunity.
Sincerely,
Caroline Peattie
Executive Director
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
Savannah Wheeler
Staff Attorney/Housing Counselor
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
From: Jenna Scott <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2023 9:06 AM
To: Lyle, Amy <[email protected]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] 1/26/2023
Hello,
The following is a comment on the Housing Element being presented to the Planning Commission today.
My name is Jenna Scott and I am a resident of Southeastern Santa Rosa, where a lot of new multifamily construction is taking place.
I rent an apartment here and work in Petaluma as a civil engineer. I chose my current apartment because it is a 15 minute bike ride from the Santa Rosa Downtown SMART station, and I was hoping to avoid regularly driving to work. However, those 15 minutes on a bike in Santa Rosa are frightening, infuriating, and exhausting. I have to cross both 101 and 12 to get to the station, and there are no crossings for pedestrians or cyclists that are both safe and efficient. Therefore, instead of spending 90 minutes biking and taking the train, most days I drive the 20 minutes to Petaluma.
I am telling you about my commute because it is directly related to my housing. By concentrating new multifamily housing development on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, the City has significantly increased the need for private motor vehicles which, aside from being awful for the environment, are expensive both initially and monthly. Truly affordable and attainable housing allows everyone to live happily and safely without needing to pay the many expenses of a car.
Another issue I have encountered is that my apartment door and several windows face west. This doesn't sound like much of a problem, but when the sun reaches a certain point, at about 12:30 in the afternoon, my apartment suddenly becomes much, much hotter. During the summer heat wave, when outside temperatures reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit, my apartment was at about 90 degrees. There is no AC in my complex, so I had several fans going and all of the curtains drawn. Still, the temperature kept rising and rising until I was physically unable to stay in my apartment during the day.
Additionally, on several of the hottest days, my front door, which, again, faces west, was exposed to so much sun and so much heat that the metal inside the lock expanded and jammed my door completely shut. My building super was forced to climb into my second floor apartment through the balcony and open my door from the inside.
The most infuriating part of this story is that directly to the west of my apartment they are building a 5-story apartment complex. You can literally track the shadow it casts as it reaches my stoop and a third of the way up my door, but because of the required setbacks, my door and apartment in general is never fully shaded.
I am telling you about my apartment troubles because my electricity bills were significantly higher during those weeks of sweltering heat. I spent more money at restaurants and cafes and other establishments trying to stay out of my oven of an apartment. I'm lucky that I'm a young, relatively healthy person who is able to pay those increased costs, but many in Santa Rosa are not.
Here is what I would like to see Santa Rosa do to significantly improve quality of life for many of its residents:
(1) Eliminate single-family zoning within a 2 mile radius of the SMART train station. This represents about a 45- minute walkshed; no building within this radius should be forced to house fewer people. (2) Analyze development standards to reduce cost and burden on developers and therefore residents. Building enough housing to keep all of Santa Rosa safe and content should take full priority over any aesthetic concerns. (3) Analyze development standards to take advantage of urban shadows. Santa Rosa is a city of 150,000; it's time we started acting like it. Buildings cast shadows, which keep temperatures down, which keeps people safe. We should not be avoiding casting shadows, but rather optimizing for energy efficiency rather than aesthetic concerns.
Thank you for your time.
Jenna Scott
(667) 203-7678
(she/her/hers)
-----Original Message-----
From: Dr. Morgan M <[email protected]>
Sent Thursday, January 26, 2023 3:48 PM
To: Lyle, Amy <[email protected] >
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Foster parents/prospective adoptive parents/kin raising kids in CPS Dear Ms. Lyle,
I am sorry that I missed the deadline to have reactions/request inclusion of ideas to the proposal by today's meeting.
I am an adoptive parent who adopted two kids from foster care and one who was a relative who lives with me during the four years that she was ward of the court.
As such, I sought financial assistance to enlarge my Santa Rosa home to have sufficient room for kids as 1225 sq ft wasn't enough. The permit process was FAR TOO expensive. As well, I tried again to get sibsidy, loan assistance, and more affordable permitting process for an affordable way to enlarge my home when the county requested Sonoma County residents step forward to provide emergency foster care for the many kids who were temporarily in Valley of the Moon awaiting foster care placement. The only assistance I was able to find was for ADU's, which would not be appropriate to house small children in foster care. I strongly urge the county to adopt measures that make it possible for homeowners to add onto their existing dwelling, sufficient rooms to take in children, who are in care and need safe placement. This is not a program that I know of, but I know there is great need. Sincerely, Dr. Morgan Marchbanks, Dr. Morgan Marchbanks
Sent from Dr. Morgan's iPhone