Council Supports Housing Rule Revamp

Copies of documents given to Sacramento City Council members can be found here, here, here, here and here.

By Brandy Kollenborn

On Feb. 10 the Sacramento City Council held a workshop to discuss the the city’s housing ordinance — the first step in what is expected to be a long road towards amending how low income housing is administered in Sacramento.

Current policy states 15% of residential construction in new growth areas must be devoted to low income housing. Being a new growth area, Natomas has been particularly affected by the policy as it stands.

The meeting last month was a packed house of housing advocates, the housing industry, and residents alike. The council heard public commentary from 40 people at two minutes each, all supporting changes to the ordinance. Nearly half of those who testified were Natomas residents. Commentary from other areas of the city included complaints about not having enough housing, while Natomas residents spoke up about having too much, a clear imbalance throughout the city.

Natomas residents prepared a 70-page bound presentation and handed it to each member of the council to address our unique situation. The presentation incuded a list of suggestions.

Throughout the three workshops it was widely acknowledged mistakes were made in Natomas housing, mirroring what residents have been saying for some time now. Suggested changes included updating the ordinance to include the whole city rather than just new growth areas and spreading the units more evenly throughout the community rather than in large clustered complexes.

Many Natomas-area residents view these fixes as only a drop in the bucket and requested the neighborhood be exempt from any ordinance until counter measures are in place for the admitted errors already made such as the much-needed infrastructure the area is lacking.

The Feb. 10 workshop concluded with council recommending a stakeholder group be formed and composed of people with varying interests in housing, to study and provide some solid recommendations on the best route to take from here. It was requested a Natomas resident be a member of this group.

While this is by no means the end of this discussion, it was a step in the right direction, and is considered a success for Natomas. We will keep you posted on this issue as it progresses and thank everyone who has devoted time to amending housing in Natomas!

Brandy Kollenborn lives in the Regency Park area of Natomas. She is a co-founder of the Witter Ranch Community Alliance.