CITY OF SEBASTOPOL CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM REPORT FOR MEETING OF: November 18, 2025
=========================================================================================== To: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Councilmembers Carter and Maurer
Responsible Department: Mary Gourley, Interim City Manager/City Attorney Alex Mog Subject: Letter to Woodmark Apartments Requesting a Delay of Evictions, Tenant Information, and a Request for the Property Owner to File a Waiver with the USDA
=========================================================================================== RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council approve the Letter to Woodmark Apartments Requesting a Delay of Evictions, Tenant Information, and a Request for the Property Owner to File a Waiver with the USDA and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council has expressed concern regarding the displacement of families from Woodmark Apartments. The attached letter communicatesthe City’s concerns, referencesthe recently adopted Urgency Ordinance establishing temporary tenant protections, and requests information and engagement from the property owner and relevant regulatory agencies. Sending this letter signals the City’s commitment to protecting residents while facilitating a collaborative path forward.
BACKGROUND:
Woodmark Apartments is experiencing displacement of tenants, potentially due to changes in the property’s funding or regulatory status. On November 5, 2025, the Sebastopol City Council adopted an Urgency Ordinance establishing temporary tenant protections to prevent further hardship for residents and provide time for stakeholder engagement.
The agenda item tonight seeks to ensure that Woodmark does everything in its power to ensure that tenants’ stability is prioritized.
DISCUSSION:
The intent of the letter is to facilitate open communication and collaboration among all stakeholders, ensuring that residents are not unnecessarily displaced while options are explored.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Sending this letter does not impose any fiscal impact other than staff attendance if required at meetings, or regulatory obligations on the City, but underscores Sebastopol’s leadership in advocating for resident protections.
It is staff’s understanding that Supervisor Hopkins is also sending a letter as well. City staff has also reached out to Supervisor Hopkins office for a copy of that letter. Attached is a copy of that letter.
Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
City Council Meeting Packet of November 18,
2025 Page 1 of 9
CITY COUNCIL GOALS/PRIORITIES/AND ORGENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
This agenda item represents the City Council goals/priorities as follows:
Goal 4: High Performance Organization
Restoring Public Trust
Improve Public Communications
Shared Services
FISCAL IMPACT:
Staff time may be required for any meetings scheduled with Woodmark owners/property management, or other government agencies.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
This item has been noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled meeting date.
As of the writing of this staff report, the City has not received any public comment on this item. However, if staff receives public comment from interested parties following the publication and distribution of this staff report, such comments will be provided to the City Council as supplemental materials before or at the meeting. In addition, public comments may be offered during the public comment portion of this item.
RESTATED RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council approve the Letter to Woodmark Apartments Requesting a Delay of Evictions, Tenant Information, and a Request for the Property Owner to File a Waiver with the USDA and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter.
CITY COUNCIL OPTIONS:
1. Approve letter with amendments
2. Do not approve the proposed letter and provide direction to staff.
ATTACHMENTS:
Proposed Letter
Board of Supervisors Letter
APPROVALS:
Department Head Approval: Approval Date: 11-12-2025
CEQA Determination (Community Development): Approval Date: 11-12-2025 This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.
Administrative Services (Financial) Approval Date: 11-12-25 Costs authorized in City Approved Budget: Yes ☐ No ☐ N/A ☐ Account Code (if applicable) ___________________________ Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
City Council Meeting Packet of November 18,
2025 Page 2 of 9
City Attorney Approval: Approval Date: 11
-12-2025
City Manager Approval: Approval Date: 11-12-2025
Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
City Council Meeting Packet of November 18, 2025
City Council
Mayor Stephen Zollman
Vice Mayor Jill McLewis
Councilmember Phill Carter
Councilmember Neysa Hinton
Councilmember Sandra Maurer
Interim City Manager
Mary Gourley
[email protected]
November 19, 2025
The Pacific Companies
Attn: Caleb Roope, President & CEO
430 E State Street, Suite 100
Eagle, ID 83616
Email: [email protected]
Attn: Denise Carter, Executive
430 E State Street, Suite 100
Eagle, ID 83616
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 208-461-0022 Ext. 3006
Attn: Claire Casazza
Senior Affordable Development and Finance Manager
Email: [email protected]
Attn: Sara Goldstein
Senior Asset Manager
Email: [email protected]
Aperto Property Management
Attn: Ed Quigley, President & CEO
Attn: Dan Lisenby, Regional Vice President (Northern California) 2 Venture, Suite 525
Irvine, CA 92618
Email: [email protected]
Central Valley Coalition for Affordable Housing
Attn: Christina Alley, CEO
3351 M Street, Suite 100
Merced, CA 95348
Email: [email protected]
Boston Capital
Attn: William H. Fazzano
Partner, Director of Underwriting and Asset Management
11 Beacon Street
Suite 325
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-624-8511
Email: [email protected]
Attn: Ellen McDonald
Director of Asset Management
11 Beacon Street, Suite 325
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 413-426-3431
Email: [email protected]
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Rural Development Attn: Daniel Rogers - Director, Production and Preservation Division Email: [email protected]
Attn: Stephanie Vergin, Policy Advisor & Credit Sourcing Officer Email: [email protected]
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC)
Attn: Elizabeth Gutierrez-Ramos, Section Chief, Compliance 901 P Street, Suite 213A
Sacramento, CA 95814
Direct: 916-651-0410
Email: [email protected]
Subject: Displacement of Families at Woodmark Apartments On behalf of the Sebastopol City Council, I am writing to express the City’s deep concern regarding the ongoing displacement of families residing at Woodmark Apartments. We understand that in September residents were notified that the property is out of compliance with the USDA Off-Farm Labor Housing Program requirements and that, as a result, the vast majority of households have been deemed ineligible to remain at Woodmark.
Over the past several weeks, the City has met with residents, along with representatives from the County and State, to better understand the situation and to discuss the ongoing displacement and potential forthcoming evictions of families living at Woodmark. These conversations have made clear the significant uncertainty and distress residents are experiencing.
Our communities depend on affordable housing providers not only to offer affordability, but to ensure that the people who rely on these homes can live with dignity and stability in the communities they call home. Affordable housing is especially vital for groups disproportionately affected by housing instability, including low-income workers, single-parent households, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, immigrants and refugees, and families who have experienced homelessness. The disruption of housing for these vulnerable groups can cause long-lasting and deeply harmful impacts.
On November 4, 2025, the Sebastopol City Council adopted an urgency ordinance establishing just cause eviction protections. This ordinance demonstrates the City’s commitment to protecting residents’ well-being as they navigate this incredibly difficult and uncertain situation.
The Council is calling on project stakeholders to work with local leaders from the City of Sebastopol and the County of Sonoma to halt any additional displacement of residents and pursue a solution that does not force the remaining Woodmark families from their homes, an outcome that would have devastating impacts on vulnerable households. We respectfully ask that you pause all actions that would require current residents to relocate while we work together to identify a path forward that preserves both the long-term viability of the property and the stability and security of the families who live there.
The City of Sebastopol respectfully requests the following information and engagement:
• Copies of all California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) regulatory agreements applicable to Woodmark Apartments, or the status of any pending regulatory agreements; • Information regarding the status of any loans, grants, or contractual agreements with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), including copies of any active agreements or other materials that detail the obligations tied to those loans, such as any active eligibility restrictions. • Transparency regarding the status of efforts to identify new farmworker households, as well as the process being used to verify eligibility.
• A meeting with City, County, and State elected officials and community representatives to discuss solutions for current residents, including an immediate pause on any planned evictions.
Understanding the property’s financing and regulatory obligations is critical to assessing how state and federal requirements apply to Woodmark and how those requirements affect both resident eligibility and current tenants’ rights. We ask that these documents be produced immediately so that all parties can work from the same set of facts. Delays in providing this information may create conditions in which residents feel pressured to self-evict without fully understanding their rights or the property’s obligations.
The Council remains committed to collaborating with all parties to ensure that any transition complies with applicable federal and state requirements and, most importantly, minimizes harm to affected residents.
We are providing copies of this letter to the USDA and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee to ensure awareness and assistance, as both agencies have relevant oversight or regulatory authority related to this development.
The City Council urges your prompt attention to this matter and looks forward to your timely and complete response.
Sincerely,
Mayor Zollman
City of Sebastopol
COUNTY OF SONOMA
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
575 ADMINISTRATION DRIVE, RM. 100A
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA 95403
(707) 565-2241
Lynda Hopkins | Fifth District Supervisor | [email protected] | 707.565.2241 November 3, 2025
The Pacific Companies
Attn: Caleb Roope, President & CEO
430 E State Street, Suite 100
Eagle, ID 83616
Aperto Property Management
Attn: Ed Quigley, President & CEO
Attn: Dan Lisenby, Regional Vice President (Northern California) 2 Venture, Suite 525
Irvine, CA 92618
Central Valley Coalition for Affordable Housing
Attn: Alan Jenkins, President
Attn: Steve Simmons, Vice President
3351 M Street, Suite 100
Merced, CA 95348
Dear Representatives of the Pacific Companies, Aperto Property Management, and the Central Valley Coalition for Affordable Housing:
I am deeply concerned about the situation unfolding at Woodmark Apartments in Sebastopol.
Families living at Woodmark are facing incredible uncertainty as their leases approach expiration, beginning in mid-December. I urge you to come to the table with a commitment to work collaboratively toward a solution that protects the families living at Woodmark and upholds the purpose of our affordable housing programs.
Our communities depend on affordable housing providers not only to offer affordability, but to ensure that the people who rely on these homes, can live with dignity and stability in their communities.
In public presentations and application documents, Woodmark was described as an affordable housing development intended to serve farmworker families. The project sought USDA funds for off-farm farmworker housing. However, starting in December 2024, non-farmworker families were offered housing and began moving in at the developer’s request. I understand that in Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
City Council Meeting Packet of November 18, 2025
COUNTY OF SONOMA
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
575 ADMINISTRATION DRIVE, RM. 100A
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA 95403
(707) 565-2241
Lynda Hopkins | Fifth District Supervisor | [email protected] | 707.565.2241 September of this year, residents were notified that if they were not farmworkers, they were no longer eligible to continue living at Woodmark Apartments past the end of their lease.
This has understandably caused significant fear and distress among families who have made their homes at Woodmark over the past ten months. Such notices, especially when delivered close to lease expirations and without clear alternatives, create instability and undermine the fundamental purpose of our affordable housing programs. I would request that any plans to displace current households be paused while we work together to identify solutions that preserve stable housing for families.
Many residents of Woodmark Apartments are terrified of being displaced from Woodmark. Their families cannot secure alternative housing on such a short timeframe. Most households at Woodmark include school-aged children. Displacing these families would uproot children from their schools and support networks in the middle of the school year, precisely the kind of disruption and trauma that affordable housing programs are intended to prevent.
Affordable housing programs exist and receive public funds to protect and uplift vulnerable families, not to create instability or uncertainty. Maintaining transparency and acting in good faith are essential to upholding the integrity of these programs and the public trust they depend on.
Given these concerns, and to ensure we are all working with accurate information, I ask that you promptly provide:
1. Any and all TCAC regulatory agreements applicable to the Woodmark Apartments;
2. Information regarding the status of any loan, grant, or contractual agreement with the USDA;
3. Your availability for a discussion with elected and community leaders about paths forward for existing residents, including pausing displacement.
This information is essential to understand the development’s obligations tied to its state or federal funding sources and to clarify the eligibility requirements of residents, the rights of current tenants, and the developer, owner, and manager’s willingness to carry out its obligations to our vulnerable community members.
I am copying this correspondence to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
City Council Meeting Packet of November 18, 2025
COUNTY OF SONOMA
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
575 ADMINISTRATION DRIVE, RM. 100A
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA 95403
(707) 565-2241
Lynda Hopkins | Fifth District Supervisor | [email protected] | 707.565.2241 Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your willingness to come to the table to discuss solutions that don’t result in the displacement of vulnerable families living at Woodmark Apartments. Please confirm receipt of this letter and provide the requested documents at your earliest opportunity.
Sincerely,
Lynda Hopkins
Supervisor, Fifth District
cc:
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
USDA Rural Development
430 G Street, Agency 4169
Davis, CA 95616
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC)
901 P Street, Suite 213A
Sacramento, CA 95814
Agenda Item Number 11 Agenda Item Number 11
City Council Meeting Packet of November 18, 2025