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Figure 24: Ratio of All Jobs to Homes in Sonoma County Jurisdictions Source: California Department of Housing and Community Development, Annual Progress Reports, Generation Housing
Disparities in Access to Opportunity: Fair Housing Issues and Contributing Factors Any shortfall in resource levels that might exist in the moderately resourced areas can be attributed to the City’s limited capacity for assistance of households in need of these resources. Application processes for housing in higher resourced areas pose a high barrier for lower-resourced residents and requires more robust administrative assistance to ensure the households that are most like to experience additional challenges with accessing education, healthy environments, public transportation, economic development opportunities, and access to jobs. The small size of the City also restricts its access to financing affordable housing on small sites that could provide housing near resources for at-need residents. Therefore, the two contributing factors to fair housing issues related to access to opportunities are:
• Capacity for assistance
• Access to financing for small sites
4.5.5 Disproportionate Housing Needs, Including Displacement Disproportionate Housing Needs generally refers to a condition in which there are significant disparities in the proportion of members of a protected class experiencing a category of housing needs when compared to the proportion of members of any other relevant groups, or the total population experiencing that category of housing need in the applicable geographic area. For purposes of this definition, categories of housing need are based on such factors as cost burden and severe cost burden, Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
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overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing conditions. This section analyzes these four housing needs categories as they apply to the City of Sebastopol.
Cost Burden and Severe Cost Burden
Housing cost burden is commonly measured as the percentage of gross income spent on housing, with 30 percent threshold for 'cost burden' and 50 percent the threshold for 'severe cost burden.' A lower-income household spending the same percent of income on housing as a higher-income household is therefore more likely experience a ‘cost burden.' Some of the implications of high-cost burden can include housinginduced poverty, where overspending on housing leaves households little financial resources for other expenditures, and reduced savings which can impact asset accumulation.
Home prices have skyrocketed in the last decade; however, most homeowners have mortgages with fixed rates or own outright and are therefore less likely to be impacted by market increases. Renters on the other hand are subject to rent increases based on market rates and tend to experience more cost-burden. This is the case in Sebastopol where 39.9 percent of renters are either cost-burdened (i.e., spend between 30%-50% of income on rent) or severely cost-burdened (i.e., spend more than 50% of income on rent) compared to 32.2 percent of cost burdened or severely cost-burdened homeowners (Figure 25) Roughly two-thirds of homeowners can afford housing by HUD standards (i.e., spend no more than 30% of income on rent) while only half of renters can afford housing in Cotati.
Figure 25: Cost Burden by Tenure in Sebastopol
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019) Housing cost burden for lower income households puts them at greater risk of housing insecurity and/or eviction. Over half of extremely low-income households in Sebastopol are severely cost-burdened and almost all are cost-burdened to some Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
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extent. The proportion of severely cost-burdened households becomes exponentially smaller as income increases (Figure 26). Within highest income households, only 11 percent are cost-burdened and less than one percent are severely cost-burdened.
This indicates that the lowest income households are in the greatest need of affordable housing in Sebastopol.
Figure 26: Cost Burden by Income Level in Sebastopol
Source: Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) ACS tabulation, 2013-2017 release Compared to Sonoma County, renter- and owner-occupied households in Sebastopol experience housing cost burdens at lower rates except in the category of owneroccupied households experiencing severe cost burden. In the State of California, there are slightly more owners and renters experiencing over 30 percent cost burden than in Sebastopol, while the number of extremely cost burdened homes in Sebastopol also outnumbers the State. Renter households experience ‘cost burden’ and ‘severe cost burden’ at higher rates than owner-occupied households at the city, county, and state levels.
Table 40: Cost Burden by Tenure in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, and California Cost burden > 30% Cost Burden >50%
Sebastopol
Owner-Occupied 29.31% 14.80%
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Renter-Occupied 45.34% 28.57%
Sonoma County
Owner-Occupied 29.68% 12.49%
Renter-Occupied 50.37% 25.67%
California
Owner-Occupied 30.19% 13.03%
Renter-Occupied 50.61% 26.28%
Source: HUD CHAS Data; ACS 2014-2018
Overcrowding
Overcrowding is defined as housing units with more than one person per room, including dining and living rooms, but excluding bathrooms and kitchens.
Overcrowding has been correlated with increased risks of contracting communicable diseases, higher rates of respiratory illness, and greater vulnerability to being homeless. Residential crowding reflects demographic and socioeconomic conditions.
Older-adult immigrant and recent immigrant communities, families with low incomes and renter-occupied households are more likely to experience household crowding.
A form of residential overcrowding known as "doubling up" is co-residing with family members or friends for economic reasons. Doubling up is the most reported living situation for families and individuals before the onset of homelessness (California Health and Human Services)
In the City of Sebastopol, less than 8.2 percent (the statewide average) are overcrowded and there is no data on severely overcrowded households. Owner occupied households have fewer occupants per room on average than renter occupied households in every category. The vast majority (82.6%) of owner-occupied households have .50 or less occupants per room which is higher than both the county and statewide averages. Renter household occupant numbers more closely resemble state averages, though Sonoma County has 11.8% more renter households with two or more occupants per room, which is considered overcrowded. Sebastopol also has a higher percentage of renter households with 1.51 to 2.00 occupants per room (8.0%) than both the County (5.6%) and California (3.9%) Table 41: Tenure by Occupants Per Room in Sebastopol
Sebastopol Sonoma County California
Owner Occupied Households
.50 or less occupants per room 82.6% 75.0% 67.4%
0.51 to 1.00 occupants per room 16.6% 22.6% 28.5%
1.01 to 1.50 occupants per room 0.0% 2.4% 3.1%
1.51 to 2.00 occupants per room 0.0% 1.7% 0.8%
2.00 or more occupants per room 0.0% 10.6% 0.3%
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Renter Households
.50 or less occupants per room 52.0% 51.8% 44.9%
0.51 to 1.00 occupants per room 35.1% 38.9% 41.9%
1.01 to 1.50 occupants per room 3.8% 12.2% 7.8%
1.51 to 2.00 occupants per room 8.0% 5.6% 3.9%
2.00 or more occupants per room 1.2% 13.0% 1.4%
Source: 2020 ACS 5-Year Estimates
Substandard Housing
As defined by the U.S. Census, there are two types of substandard housing problems:
(1) Households without hot and cold piped water, a flush toilet and a bathtub or shower; and (2) Households with kitchen facilities that lack a sink with piped water, a range or stove, or a refrigerator. There are no reported homeowners or renters experiencing substandard housing conditions in Sebastopol.
Table 42: Substandard Housing Issues in Sebastopol
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2015-2019), Table B25053, Table B25043, Table B25049
Homelessness
Those experiencing homelessness include individuals or families who lack or are perceived to lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime resident, or who have a primary nighttime resident in a shelter, on the street, in a vehicle, or in an enclosure or structure that is not authorized or fit for human habitation. People experiencing Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
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homelessness have the most immediate housing needs of any population group and are most vulnerable to violence and criminalization due to their unhoused status.
California accounts for almost half of the country's homeless population. Sonoma County has the fourth highest number of homeless individuals for large suburban areas in the United States.38 The 2020 Sonoma County Point-In-Time Count reported 2,745 individuals experiencing homelessness, a seven percent decrease in homeless persons since 2019. Of those experiencing homelessness in the County, the majority (63%) are white men. The number sheltered populations increased by five percent between 2019 to 2020.39
Home to approximately 8,000 people, Sebastopol is one of a growing number of smaller cities in Sonoma County that is facing the need to bring affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and transitional housing is critical to addressing the housing needs of the most vulnerable unhoused individuals in the County. The 2020 Point-In-Time Count conducted in early 2020 found that there were 129 unhoused people in Sebastopol, up from 69 two years prior. The number of students in Sebastopol experiencing homelessness in 2019 represents 2.2 percent of the Sonoma County total and 0.1 percent of the Bay Area total. The number of those who are homeless in Sebastopol has increased between 2018 to 2020, while the total homeless population in Sonoma County has decreased (Table 43) Table 43: Homeless Persons in Sebastopol by Shelter Status 2018 2019 2020
Unsheltered 69 101 129
Sheltered 0 0 0
Total 69 101 129
Source: 2020 Sonoma County Homeless Census Comprehensive Report Displacement
Shifts in neighborhood composition are often framed and perpetuated by established patterns of racial inequity and segregation. Neighborhood change is influenced by three processes: movement of people, public policies, and investments, such as capital improvements and planned transit stops, and flows of private capital.40 These processes can disproportionally impact people of color, as well as lower income households, persons with disabilities, large households, and persons at-risk or experiencing homelessness. They can also displace people to the extent of homelessness.
For the purposes of this assessment, displacement is used to describe any involuntary household move caused by landlord action or market changes. Displacement is fueled by a combination of rising housing costs, rising income inequality, stagnant wages, 38 County of Sonoma Community Development Commission “Project Homekey” page 39 Ibid.
40 Zuk, M., et al. (2015). Gentrification, Displacement, and the Role of Public Investment. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 32.
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and insufficient market-rate housing production.41 Decades of disinvestment in lowincome communities, couples with investor speculation, can result in a rent gap or a disparity between current rental income and the land, and potentially achievable rental income if the property is converted to its most profitable use.
The University of California, Berkeley (UCB)’s Urban Displacement Project Bay Area Model 2020 shows that there are no neighborhoods in Sebastopol that are susceptible to or experiencing displacement, nor are there areas at risk of or undergoing gentrification. Most census tracts, however, include neighborhoods are the At Risk of Becoming Exclusive (Figure 27)
Figure 27: Urban Displacement Project May Area Model 2020 – Sebastopol Source: Chapple, K., & Thomas, T., and Zuk, M. (2021). Urban Displacement Project website.
Berkeley, CA: Urban Displacement Project.
Figure 28 identifies census tracts that are at risk of disaster-driven displacement from flooding. The Special Flood Hazard Areas in Sebastopol are concentrated in the northeast corner of the City, with one minor segment showing up on the far left-hand side. In these areas, there is a 1 percent Annual Chance Flood Hazard. There are very few residences within this area, and it does not align with areas with higher concentrations of protected classes.
41 Been, V., Ingrid, E., & O’Regan, K. (2019). Supply Skepticism: Housing Supply and Affordability.
Housing Policy Debate, 29(1), 25-40.
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Figure 28: FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas in Sebastopol (2020) Source: Flood Hazard Areas from the Flood Insurance Rate Map created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Disproportionate Housing Needs: Fair Housing Issues and Contributing Factors The rising cost of housing in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, and across the Bay Area region is driving displacement of the most vulnerable populations. This is not only disruptive and, in some cases, traumatic for displaced households, but is also a primary driver of segregation at the regional scale.
There are no neighborhoods in the City of Sebastopol experiencing gentrification; however, 74.2% of households in Sebastopol live in neighborhoods where low-income households are likely to be excluded due to prohibitive housing costs. There exists a risk of becoming exclusive and further displacement of lower-income residents due to rising housing costs. A lack of affordable housing units in a range of sizes, including larger units to house families, was also cited by stakeholders as an important contributing factor.
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4.5.6 Fair Housing Goals and Priorities Based on Identified Contributing Factors Summary
Table 44: Fair Housing Issues, Contributing Factors, and Programs & Actions Fair Housing
Issue
Contributing
Factors and
Priority
Meaningful Action
All
neighborhoods
are at-risk of
becoming
exclusive
Community
opposition
(High Priority)
Program A-3.1: The City will establish Objective
Design Standards to minimize discretionary decisionmaking Program D-2.1: The City will work with the County CDC
to develop a landlord education program that will
include information on source of income
discrimination and ensure landlords and maintaining
Section 8 compliance.
Program D-2.2: The City will amend the code to allow
permanent supportive housing and low barrier
navigation centers by-right in zones where
multifamily and mixed uses are permitted
Access to
financing for
small sites
(High Priority)
Program A-3.2: The City will support affordable
housing developers through financial and technical
actions to facilitate development on lots of all sizes
and levels of affordability.
Program A-4.3: The City will partner with the County
CDC to identify feasible funding mechanisms for the
development of affordable housing in the City,
including its small sites.
Risk of
becoming
exclusive
and/or
displacement of
residents due to
rising housing
costs
(High Priority)
Program B-1.1b: The City will develop a proactive and
reasonable enforcement program that focuses
residential code enforcement activities on situations
that pose an imminent threat to public health and
safety.
Program C-2.1: The City will work with the County CDC
and local non-profits and apply for rehabilitation loans and grants to address substandard living conditions
and reduce displacement.
Program C-1.1: The City will monitor its affordable
housing inventory, and work with property owners
and non-profit partners. The City will identify options to ensure continuing affordability of units.
Program D-2.1: The City will work with the County CDC
to develop a landlord education program.
Program D-4.1: The City will require replacement
housing units on inventory sites that meet the
conditions outlined in Government Code 65915(c)(3)
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Fair Housing
Issue
Contributing
Factors and
Priority
Meaningful Action
Limited
availability of
affordable units
in a range of
sizes
(Medium
Priority)
Program A-3.3: The City will increase opportunities for missing middle housing to support a range of housing
types and sizes.
Program A-3.4: The City will establish a Workforce
Housing Overlay Zone to support a range of housing
types and sizes.
Program A-3.5: The City will encourage the
development of ADUs and JADUs to support a range of
housing types and sizes
Limited Fair
Housing
enforcement &
outreach
Lack of
language access
(Medium
Priority)
Program D-1.1:
Lack of
resources for
fair housing
agencies and
organizations
(Medium
Priority)
Program D-1.1: The City will develop a webpage to
provide fair housing information and resources to its
residents. The City will hold annual fair housing
workshops to educate and inform the community
about fair housing rights and available resources. The
City will coordinate with the Sonoma County Housing
Authority and local faith-based and community-based
organizations to implement fair housing programs.
The City will conduct bi-annual meetings with service
providers and advocates to identify needs and seek
solutions.
Program C-1.1: In the case of expiring affordability
covenants, the City will work with tenants to provide
education regarding tenant rights and conversation
procedures.
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