Hollister
– San Benito County and the City of Hollister may be teaming up
to tackle the area’s affordable housing needs.
Hollister – San Benito County and the City of Hollister may be teaming up to tackle the area’s affordable housing needs.
County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson said the duties of the four-person affordable housing team aren’t completely clear yet, but they will likely involve managing existing projects as well as pursuing the creation of additional affordable housing.
“We can serve the public better and utilize our resources more efficiently,” Thompson said.
The Board of Supervisors expressed concerns earlier this year about San Benito’s lack of affordable housing – both subsidized housing available at less than the market rate as well as any kind of housing that’s affordable for workers making less than the area’s $57,469 median household income.
Riverview Estates, the county’s last sizable affordable development, was completed in 2002, and local officials have complained that the area’s expensive housing costs – the median price for homes sold in April was $589,950 – have made it hard to recruit young professionals.
Jack Foley, a spokesman for Gilroy-based affordable housing group South County Housing, said that when the agency started in 1979, it catered almost exclusively to farmworkers. Since then, Foley said, teachers, firefighters and other professionals have also been using affordable housing.
Foley added that he’s excited to hear about the potential cooperation between the city and county.
“From our perspective, any efforts made by the city and county to explore the situation and come up with funding possibilities are a good thing,” he said. “The fact that the city and county … might devote four staff members speaks volume about the importance of this issue.”
Supervisors Pat Loe and Don Marcus both said Friday that the partnership is necessary because many of the county’s affordable housing needs would be better addressed by building in Hollister.
“The county is so small, and most of the housing is in Hollister,” Loe said.
Of course, not much affordable housing is being built in Hollister right now, due to the city’s sewer moratorium. The moratorium has put construction of more than 100 of South County Housing’s affordable units on hold.
“(They should) begin planning now for the day when the moratorium will be dropped, so we can get things up and running,” Foley said.
Thompson said the proposed team will consist of one manager, two professionals and one staff support person; the cost will be split between the city and the county. Hollister has already created two housing positions, but the team would cost the county between $150,000 and $170,000 per year.
The supervisors will discuss the potential collaboration on Tuesday, Thompson said. If the board agrees to move forward, the positions will be included in the budget for fiscal year 2007-2008, and the team could be in place by October or November, she said.
Hollister City Manager Clint Quilter said the City Council is waiting to hear back from the county before getting to work on details.
“We don’t want to get too far down the line before we find out if the board is willing to put money toward housing,” he said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
