DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Background
II
Renewal Enterprise District (RED)
County of Sonoma I City of Santa Rosa
MEMORANDUM
December 31, 2024
Maraskeshia Smith, Santa Rosa City Manager
Robin Stephani, Executive Director, Renewal Enterprise District Renewal Enterprise District, Assessments on Members
Launched in 2018 after the Tubbs Fire devastated our community, the Renewal Enterprise District (RED) is a Joint Powers Authority founded by the County of Sonoma and the City of Santa Rosa. Startup funding was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The founding members envisioned the RED as a tool to create a regional, coordinated, multi-jurisdictional entity to address housing development challenges and to increase the overall pace and capacity of housing construction county wide.
In 2021 the RED Housing Fund was launched with grants from Kaiser Permanente, Community Foundation Sonoma County, Summit State Bank, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The City of Santa Rosa and County of Sonoma each contributed $10 million toward lending capital.
Additional lending capital of $1 million each was provided by the Enterprise Foundation and the Local Housing Trust Fund. The Fund provides loans which accelerate the creation of infill, mid-to-high density housing near public transit, jobs, services, and other amenities that help build healthy, complete communities. In addition to launching the Fund, the RED has been working with housing advocates, developers, and the jurisdictions of the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County to collectively bring in over $125 million in leveraged capital, supporting total project costs close to $1 billion. Awards have also been earned for transit infrastructure and amenities, park improvements, and resident programs.
Success is being measured by the number of RED Housing Fund-assisted units produced as compared with the pace of construction over the prior decade. Per the City of Santa Rosa's housing dashboard, early data suggests this strategy is making an impact with five times the number of units in construction as compared to the last 5 years. Heading into 2025, the RED Housing Fund will have directly contributed to the creation of 389 units of housing with an additional 243 units in construction. This represents about one third of the overall development taking place in the City of Santa Rosa.
Member Assessments for Operational Funding
We continue in earnest to operationalize the RED's JPA powers to issue Essential Function Bonds to acquire, preserve or produce affordable, income-restricted housing. This effort was slowed down due to financial market conditions and several legal and policy issues that needed to be mitigated. As financial ATTACHMENT 2