Supervisors OK Sonoma Springs mixed-use project

The Sonoma Springs mixed-use affordable housing project cleared yet another hurdle last Tuesday when the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved a number of resolutions, including General Plan amendments.

The next hurdle for the 100-unit affordable housing project, commercial development, community garden and bike path will be July 1, when MidPen, the project developer, submits an application to the state for tax credit allocations.

“We have a July 1 application deadline with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, which allocates tax credits which are the main source of funding for public housing,” said Scott Johnson, MidPen’s project manager “It’s a very competitive process.”

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee administers two low-income housing tax credit programs – a federal program and a state program – in time for the July allocation. Both programs were authorized to encourage private investment in affordable rental housing for households meeting certain income requirements.

The application this July would be for low-income family units. The application for low-income senior units wouldn’t go to the state until next July, since the two projects are being financed separately.

While the allocations won’t be formally revealed until sometime in September, Johnson said MidPen should have some indication on its status by the end of July.

“This has been a long time coming,” Johnson said of the project that consists of a 60-unit family affordable housing complex, a 40-unit senior affordable housing complex, a 6,500-square-foot commercial development, a community garden, a shared playground with the Sonoma Charter School and an easement for the Central Sonoma Valley Trail on Sonoma Highway. The housing development is being handled by MidPen, while the commercial aspect is being developed by the Vailetti Family Trust.

First District Supervisor Susan Gorin helped shepherd the plan through the board of supervisors.

“The Sonoma Springs project is an incredibly valuable project for the springs,” she said. “It provides affordable housing and it’s a strong anchor for that part of the Springs.”

Gorin praised MidPen for its due diligence.

“MidPen worked very hard reaching out to the community and seeking ideas on how the project can be improved,” she said. “And Marco (Vailetti) has spent years trying to get the site developed.”

MidPen and the Vailetti Family Trust have been working together since 2010, and in 2011, the Sonoma Community Health Center, which later bowed out, joined the process.

Johnson pointed out that, in the four public hearings the project has faced, before the supervisors, the Planning Commission, the Design Review Commission and the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission, all four votes to proceed have been unanimous.

“I’m cautiously optimistic about the tax credit allocations,” Johnson said. “I think we’ll have a competitive application.”

MidPen would sell the tax credits to investors – usually commercial clients – to be used as a benefit. Johnson said the tax credit allocations have been the main engine producing affordable housing for the past 30 years.

While awaiting the state’s decision, MidPen will be finishing the drawings and plans so that, if it does get the tax allocations, it can hit the ground running.

“If all goes well,” Johnson said, “we’ll be pulling permits no later than March 2015 and the infrastructure would take two-to-three months to complete.”

Johnson said the Highway 12 project is an important part of the Sonoma Springs project, as MidPen and the county need to synchronize their respective projects.

At Tuesday’s hearing, the supervisors approved a Mitigated Negative Declaration, General Plan amendments, Area Plan amendments, Design Review and a Precise Development Plan Use Permit for a mixed-use neighborhood commercial center and affordable rental housing project.

The cost of the project is estimated to be around $35 million, with the family housing complex projected at around $22 million and the senior housing penciled in at an estimated $13 million.