Healdsburg City Council delays vote to decrease housing for North Village Project

Healdsburg city leaders decided to hold off on a vote concerning a three-unit decrease in housing units that would help to secure financing for the North Village Housing Project.

The Healdsburg City Council, during its March 20 meeting, voted 2-1 to postpone the vote until its April 17 session.Council Member Evelyn Mitchell cast the lone dissenting vote. Mayor Ariel Kelley and Council Member Chris Herrod were absent.

The privately funded project is being developed by Comstock Housing Development on a 32-acre site in north Healdsburg. The plan comprises four parcels that will include a senior living community or multi-family housing, a 108-room hotel and a mixed-use residential and commercial area.

Decreases to housing on the second parcel, designated for multi-family housing, and the fourth parcel, designated for residential and commercial use, were in question prior to council’s vote.

The current plan designates 75 apartments, plus five, as live-work units.

Of those 80 units, 15 will be earmarked for very-low and low-income residents and 39 will be for those with moderate incomes, while the remaining 26 will go to middle-income residents, according to Linda Ruffing a planning consultant from North Coast Community Planning.

The newly proposed plan alters housing affordability levels and reduces the overall amount of available housing units to 77, which would comprise 40 very-low and low-income units, 13 moderate-income units, and 24 middle-income town homes, Ruffing said.

The “Zen-inspired” senior living community at Enso Village, which is set to open in the fall, would have 221 independent-living units, which include 30 affordable housing units. Those units were not part of City Council’s discussion.

A representative from Comstock, which partnered with Burbank Housing on this project, said the previous design was “shut out” of multiple rounds to secure tax credit financing.

“The project as proposed was not competitive because it was just simply too small and too expensive. Therefore, we had to reexamine the project unit mix that made the requested amendments ... necessary,” said Debra Geiler from Comstock Housing Development during the council’s meeting.

The two organizations are seeking to fund the newly redesigned plan through tax-exempt bonds via the California Municipal Finance Authority, which requires that 75% of the units be affordable to very low- and low-income households, according to a city staff report.

A housing study through Burbank found there was a demand for 991 units for people who earn up to 80% of the area's median income. This project would alleviate 5% of local demand, said Karen Massey from Burbank Housing.

However, despite widespread agreement on the need for affordable housing in Healdsburg, the proposed three-unit reduction was the subject of much public criticism during the March 20 meeting.

“We’ve pushed families out of Healdsburg, either intentionally or unintentionally, and we really want to keep these units available for families that live and work in Healdsburg,” said Cristal López Pardo, community advocacy coordinator with Córazon Healdsburg, a nonprofit community advocacy organization.

Numerous Healdsburg residents, who included farmworkers and a housekeeper, urged the city to find a way to accommodate the loss of the three units and to consider the families who are most impacted by the housing crisis.

“I think more than anything, we want to hold the developer accountable. I think it’s the city’s job to oversee that,” said López Pardo.

Resident Dora Ortega, who said she’s attended past city planning sessions, is upset the housing plan is not being respected and asked the council to consider the livelihood of farmworkers who are heavily impacted by the ongoing housing crisis.

Edwards asked if the project’s proposed retail space might be reduced to accommodate the three units, however, Geiler said the approved 12,000 square feet of retail space would amount to “maybe three retail stores,” which is about two-thirds the size of the originally proposed 20,000 square feet of retail space.

After City Manager Jeff Kay suggested City Council postpone the vote to a later date, Council member Mitchell asked how a delay would affect the project’s schedule.

Postponement would incur more costs and “put more money at risk,” though Burbank would continue to work on the project, said Larry Florin, CEO of Burbank Housing.

Mitchell said the plan was “good, though not perfect” and was “disappointed” the vote would be postponed, considering past roadblocks to financing the project and the yearslong wait to develop the project to alleviate housing concerns.

The next Healdsburg City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. April 3 at thecouncil chamber at 401 Grove St.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.