YIMBY, NIMBY – both address the concept of yes or no in my backyard. Yet, what happens when each change, when each development, goes beyond your or my backyard? The whole balance of a community, our environment, our earth is involved. When community members voice concerns about the proposed or planned developments at SDC (Sonoma Developmental Center), or the Sebastiani Winery parcels, it seems like requesting any change to these plans opens up the YIMBY, NIMBY name-calling circus.
For this column, back in 2022, I crunched some numbers to see how much money a family of three would need to buy a home at 120 percent AMI (area median income). I came up with $121,800 per year. If they pay 30 percent of their income for rent or a mortgage, it should then be $3,045 per month. Even using the low interest rates of 2022, with 10 percent down, I came up with a mortgage payment of $4,034 for a $650,000 home. So think of what it would be today, and what is this family of three going to get for $650,000 in today’s market? Remember that this number does not include property tax or insurance. And they would still be short $1000 per month.
If we look at recent, new, market-rate developments in the City of Sonoma, we see prices of well over a million dollars. At present, the City of Sonoma requires 25 percent of housing projects to be deed-restricted affordable (the City is discussing lowering this percentage). Within this 25 percent there are extremely low, very low and low income levels. As you can see those with incomes lower than the median have even less of a chance of getting housing in these planned developments.
The YIMBY, trickle-down economic theory seems to hold that building an unlimited number of high priced housing units will somehow relieve pressure on lower-end housing stock. That is false, as we have seen from years and years of watching this same dynamic. And never is a thought given to the fact that many of these market-rate homes are second homes.
Then, add to the mix that each of these developments includes plans for large luxury hotels and massive commercial space. Hundreds of new employees are added at wage levels that assure they will never be able to afford the housing in these projects. Where will they live? Ten to a house in the Springs area? Or will they drive hours each day from places with lower priced housing?
While the YIMBY, NIMBY chorus plays on, we never hear any dollar amounts, we never hear discussion of actual wages and actual home or rental costs. We just hear words like, “affordable housing,” “affordable by design” and “workforce housing.” And we certainly never hear the words “climate change,” and what its effects are when it comes to wildfires and our water supply. And heaven forbid if we even dare to address other species or plant life. Does the word “carbon” ever come up?
Is it time for our local governments – both City and County – to stop waiting for developers to come to them with these plans, and time for governments to start initiating the process? Find land that is best for development, near services and transportation, raise money to partner with not-for-profit builders who will build 100 percent deed-restricted affordable housing. And last, just stop building luxury hotels, please.
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