Recap of Sebastopol City Council Meeting for August 2

Council approves new affordable housing for downtown and reviews the draft housing element for the General Plan

All council members were present at the August Sebastopol City Council meeting, including Mayor Patrick Slayter, Vice Mayor Neysa Hinton, Councilmember Una Glass, Councilmember Sarah Gurney and Councilmember Diana Rich. Councilmember Glass left at the halfway mark.

The Sebastopol City Council had a relatively light agenda – just three items for discussion – for its August 2 meeting.

Public comment: More than 25 minutes of the public’s time (and 25 minutes of my life, which I will never get back) were wasted by people kvetching about EMFs (electromagnetic frequency) from Smart Meters. At the end of public comment, a gentleman complained about this waste of public’s time and asked the EMF folks to consolidate their comments, perhaps to one comment per meeting. The Sebastopol Times seconds that motion.

Consent Calendar

(Note: The consent calendar consists of items that are routine in nature or don’t require additional discussion, often because they’ve been discussed extensively at a previous council meeting.)

The council unanimously passed the following consent items:

• Resolution authorizing continued use of teleconference meetings based on circumstances of the COVID-19 state of emergency.

• Resolution extending the city council’s proclamation of existence of a local homeless emergency.

• Approval of resolution to put a measure on the November 8 ballot to extend the term of the city's existing utility users tax by removing the sunset provision.  

• Approval of extension of emergency proclamation of local emergency (COVID-19) issued by the director of emergency services (fire chief)

• Receipt of annual performance report on sanitary sewer system

• Approval to authorize staff to apply for sustainable transportation planning grant and adopt resolution amending the engineering operating budget (GHD)

• Approval of award of contract to Matrix Consulting for fire and emergency service delivery study in the amount of $47,500

• Approval of adding a “Interim Professional - Temporary Staff” classification and salary range to schedule. Salary Range is $30 to $60/hour.

• Approval of amendments to duties of the Climate Action Committee

Regular Agenda

Council approves Habitat for Humanity fourplex for downtown

The first half of the evening was taken up with a public hearing on an application from Habitat for Humanity to allow the construction of a 6,000-square-foot fourplex on the empty lot on North Main Street across from Safeway.

The building would consist of four three-bedroom units, structured as two-story townhouses with one-car garages. The entrances to the townhouses will face North Main Street, and the garages will be accessed from an existing driveway at the north edge of the property.

Habitat for Humanity intends to sell these units to families making 80% to 120% of the area median income, which is between roughly $80,000 and $123,000 a year. Assuming buyers pay 30% of their income monthly for housing, that means that these homes will cost between $400,000 to $550,000.

During public comment, several neighbors from the Cypress Hill development, who will share a driveway with the new development, spoke in its support.

“I cannot tell you how heartened and how wonderful it is to hear your voices of support for more housing in Sebastopol,” Mayor Patrick Slayter told the neighbors – and other councilmembers nodded their heads in agreement. “So often we hear hesitation … or something much worse and so to have the direct neighbors, who will be sharing their driveway and sharing the neighborhood, show that kind of support … I say ‘Thank you and thank you.’”

The city council voted unanimously – and enthusiastically - to approve the project.

Council gets an update on the housing element of the general plan

The housing element of the city’s general plan must, according to state law, be updated every eight years. As a part of this process, Director of Planning Kari Svanstrom and consultants introduced the draft Housing Element of the Sebastopol General Plan at the August 2 council meeting.

The housing element offers goals and specific policies and actions to meet Sebastopol’s housing needs, as well as a housing site inventory for the town, detailing where future housing might be built.

Through its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), the state requires all cities in California to create a certain number of units between 2023 and 2031. Sebastopol is required to develop 213 units of housing over that time, with 55 reserved for those with very low income, 31 for low income, 35 for moderate income and 92 for above moderate income.  

In an interview after the meeting, Svanstrom called these numbers “quite doable,” noting that Sebastopol had met (and in fact exceeded) its RHNA allocation for the current eight-year period, which ends in December.

“We anticipate we’ll be able to meet the new target over the next eight years. The 213 number is consistent with the city’s growth management ordinance,” she said, noting that future planned development will be infill – that is, built inside the existing city boundaries - not sprawl.

The new housing element outlines in very specific detail how the city can meet that target.

The Housing Element lists four goals, each supported by a plethora of strategies.

1. Facilitate the development of housing

2. Remove constraints to housing

3. Preserve and sustain existing housing units

4. Ensure fair access to housing.

“We’re looking at housing for all income groups and needs, including seniors,” said Svanstrom. “We’re particularly looking at housing for what’s called “the missing middle” – or workforce housing, for people who make too much money qualify for assistance but not enough money to afford to buy a house.”

The Housing Element, like the General Plan itself, is viewed by those within government as a useful touchstone to guide future decision-making.

 “It’s a roadmap for the future,” said Mayor Slayter. 

The Planning Department wants your comments on the draft housing element. To read the draft housing element, see https://bit.ly/3SSKaa7. Comments will be accepted until August 20, 2022.  To submit a comment, please email Kari Svanstrom at  ksvanstrom@cityofsebastopol.org.

Authorized a council member to vote at the League of Cities conference should any of them decide to go

As of now, no Sebastopol city council members have decided to attend the California League of Cities conference in September. But the council passed a resolution that if a council member chooses to register by the League’s deadline, that council member could act as a voting member at the conference. The list of items that that member would be voting on at the conference will be reviewed at the September 6 council meeting.

Authorized a letter of support for SB833, The Community Energy Resilience Act.

Climate Action Committee member Woody Hastings gave a short presentation of SB833, sponsored by State Senator Bill Dodd. In response to energy disruptions from wildfires, the bill is designed to provide state resources for planning and implementation for “community energy resilience” — and by that, they do not mean having a diesel generator in every garage.  Rather the bill would provide resources for “using solar with battery back-up as a key energy resource to keep critical facilities open,” Hastings said. The council voted to authorize the mayor to send a letter of support for SB833.

The August 16 council meeting was cancelled. The next Sebastopol City Council meeting will be on Sept. 6.