By Larry Barnett
The development proposal for the Sonoma Developmental Center campus depends upon the Builder’s Remedy law for its current configuration, and new modifications of that law may have an impact on that proposal.
Builder’s Remedy is a law signed by the Governor that allows developers to circumvent customary land use law when a jurisdiction has not had its Housing Element approved by the California Department of Housing, (HCD) within deadline parameters. The County of Sonoma missed its deadline, opening a path for the SDC developer. The Builder’s Remedy provides a development shortcut, but also removes the opportunity for some public input and limits the jurisdiction’s discretion in the approval process.
A new bill, (AB 1893) both affirms the use of the Builder’s Remedy and clarifies its “one-size-fits-all” approach. The new bill requires that the use of Builder’s Remedy must comply with site restrictions, density limits, certain objective local standards and other mandated requirements rather than being exempt from them. However, in exchange for these new restrictions, AB 1893 also eases affordability requirements and protects Builder’s Remedy applicants from legal attack by opponents of projects.
The changes under AB 1893 include:
- Site Restrictions: Excludes sites that abut heavy industrial uses.
- Density Maximums and Minimums: Allows higher density, up to 65 dwelling units per acre depending upon location. Density bonus law can further increase density by up to 100 percent. Imposes a minimum in certain types of locations.
- Objective Standards: Allows the requirement that a project meet objective standards, defined as “quantifiable and written.”
- Affordability: Lowers affordability requirements from twenty percent to as little as seven to thirteen percent depending upon household income level but requires that affordable units must have bedroom and bathroom counts comparable to any market-rate units.
- Public Hearings: Limits the number of public hearings to a maximum of five.
An additional law, (AB 1886) eliminates the use by jurisdictions and opponents of several legal arguments that have been used against the Builder’s Remedy. Projects currently proceeding under the original Builder’s Remedy, such as the SDC project proposal, may convert to the newer version of the law.
Larry Barnett is the current Chair of Sonoma’s Planning Commission, as well as Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Sun newspaper.
They’ve lowered the “affordable” component to as little as 7%. The people who stand to profit most from the YIMBY push are the “builders,” whose backyards will remain unencumbered by ADUs or the proximity of unapproved neighbors. Just saying. Without social (public) housing, we’re merely adding a few deck chairs to the Titanic.
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The Titanic analogy seems more apropos the more you know about housing inequality in America. Third-class passengers were confined to their area of the Titanic. Grilled gates had been installed in the lower decks. Although stewards had keys to unlock the gates during an emergency, they did not have time to unlock all of them as the Titanic filled up with water after hitting an iceberg. The Titanic had 20 lifeboats that could carry up to 1,178 people, but the ship had around 2,200 passengers and crew.
https://abc13.com/titanic-anniversary-immigration-world-history/1874040/
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How is Dorset like Sonoma? Privilege Prevails.
“Rural racism in Dorset: Why is our countryside 98% white?”
“The former BBC chief news and warzone correspondent Kate Adie, who is president of the Dorset branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has helped them prevent a housing development at Crown Meadows in Blandford. The CPRE is an environmental charity that advocates for the English countryside. Their volunteers review and respond to planning applications, participate in campaigns, and attend planning meetings.
BBC
https://www.bbc.com › uk-england-dorset-57611781
https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/23947609.kate-adie-announced-president-dorset-charity/
Sonoma Developmental Center housing plan sees another major setback
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/sonoma-developmental-center-eir-supervisors/
He said it out loud: “When it comes to the lack of Affordable Housing, it’s not NIMBYS or class-warfare at work, it’s good old-fashioned capitalist economics.”
-Larry Barnett as head of the planning commission
https://sonomasun.com/2019/12/03/how-to-create-affordable-housing/