Sonoma City Council affirms housing plan

With hours before the state’s deadline, the Sonoma City Council voted to unanimously approve the city’s housing element in order to “set the table” for the future of the historic California city.

Like all cities in the state, Sonoma was tasked with planning for its future housing goals — in this case, 311 new housing units over the next 8 years. The deadline to approve the so-called housing element was Jan. 31, although state housing officials could request further revisions.

“The city's not going to construct those units, but we need to make sure that we've laid the foundation for development to occur in the city,” said Perry Banner, principal planner for De Novo Planning Group and housing element consultant to the city. “We need to set the table.”

On the table during the Wednesday, Jan. 25 council meeting were 130 above-moderate-income homes, 91 homes below 80% of median income, and a smorgasbord of new streamlined zoning and building regulations. The median income in the city of Sonoma for 2021 was $92,078, according to the U.S. Census.

City council member Ron Wellander — who formerly served on the city’s planning commission — described the state’s demand for new housing as an “insidious” attempt to control local planning.

“They're imposing what I call these draconian-type demands, even though our performance was that we contributed to housing (in the last cycle) and it's like it's not even being recognized,” Wellander said. “I'm thinking, is it just because we have to give this to keep them happy?” he asked, referring to the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

The 6th cycle housing element for 2023-31 is considered the most demanding housing element to date for local governments as the state attempts to address its housing crisis.

While the city adopted its latest housing element, Mayor Sandra Lowe and city council member Patricia Farrar-Rivas indicated that Wednesday won’t be the last time the city’s zoning could be changed by this council.

Both Lowe and Farrar-Rivas echoed points from a letter authored by the housing advocacy group Sonoma Valley Collaborative calling for reduced setbacks and increased heights in building designs in order to attract developers.

“It is essential for the health of our community ... for us to actually be able to provide that there is housing here for the people that work here,” Farrar-Rivas said.

But Lowe emphasized that updates to the city’s zoning and housing regulations are only part of the effort to address the need for more housing in Sonoma.

“It’s not really up to us,” Lowe said, “We’re really at the mercy of the owners, and the developers who might work with them.”

The council talked at length about potential additional changes to address the shortage of affordable housing in Sonoma, which has prevented local hospital staff and low- and moderate-income workers from living where they work.

“This is the minimum that we have to do in order to meet all the requirements of the state,” Lowe said. “There's ample opportunity for us to do more.”

After submitting the finalized housing element, Sonoma’s next step is to await a 60-day review period with the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.