THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
In my last message, I discussed the FORA (Fort Ord Reuse Authority) Board's failure to address the needs of the Monterey Peninsula to house its workforce. They voted to leave the affordable housing requirement at 20% after over two years of input and study. The unique opportunity presented in the redevelopment of this public land will be lost to our community if we do not take action. At our last meeting, your Board of Directors voted to approve, in concept, a countywide ballot initiative imposing a larger affordability quota on all new housing projects at Fort Ord.
The LWVMP position on housing states that we "support measures which would ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing on the Monterey Peninsula. We recognize that the scarcity of affordable housing constitutes a crisis...we support the following objectives:
- To stress that priority be given to development of housing for low and moderate income persons.
- To support both public and private programs aimed at providing affordable housing.
- To encourage government officials to keep abreast of the most recent and innovative ways to promote increased affordable housing, i.e., innovative financing, land availability, streamlining the permit process, and assignment of a staff person to housing.
- To encourage private and public entities to make increased land available for affordable housing.
- To press for the dispersal of affordable housing throughout the community. This includes support for on-site inclusionary housing policies."
When transferred from the U.S. government, the lands of former Fort Ord will be 100% owned by local government agencies. The 2003 Monterey Grand Jury stated that affordable housing should be constructed on Fort Ord. It is expected that approximately 6,000 new residential dwelling units will be constructed on the former Fort Ord in the next 10 years. Under current policies, 4,800 (or 80%) of these residences would be sold at or above the "market price," currently more than $500,000 per house. Only 1,200 units would be affordable to an individual or family that cannot afford to pay "market price."
A recent study commissioned by FORA found that it is economically feasible to require that 40% of all new housing construction on Fort Ord be made affordable to individuals and families who cannot afford to pay $500,000 for a home. A 40% requirement would double the current requirement of 20%, bringing the total of permanently affordable homes on Fort Ord to 2,400.
A group representing a variety of community organizations and individuals is in the process of developing this ballot initiative for the November 2004 ballot. The LWVMP will not take a position on this ballot initiative until the language has been finalized.
The initiative would adopt an ordinance amending the Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan. State law specifically permits an initiative and specifically allows the Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan to include provisions relating to housing. The Fort Ord Reuse Plan would be amended by adding the following sections:
- A policy commitment to affordable housing
- Affordable housing defined for very low, low, and moderate income levels
- An additional commitment to affordable and workforce housing has yet to be determined
- Permanently affordable housing
There are the League representatives to the committee working on the initiative. According to Landwatch Executive Director Gary Patton, the timeline is "tight but do-able" to put the initiative on the November 2004 ballot. This November is critical, since the initiative could apply to the big projects already submitted but not yet approved by their respective jurisdictions. The initiative must be drafted and submitted to FORA in March and 20,000 signatures collected by June.
The planning group agreed to canvass friends/family/group members to determine support by asking them to fill in a form indicating contact information and willingness to help with the campaign.
I hope that you will sign up to help with this effort and recruit friends and other organizations to get involved. Without a strong swell of grassroots support, the initiative will not make it to the ballot.
--Beverly G. Bean, President, LWVMP
