Windsor takes on housing challenge, aims to meet targets

Housing demand – especially for affordable units -- continues to be a top of mind issue throughout California and the North Bay, and the Town of Windsor appears to be closing the gap locally.

Based on a list published by the Windsor Community Development Department on the Town’s website, the Sonoma County town is nearing meeting, and expects to exceed, state and regional targets for housing under a system in which the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) determines land available for housing by jurisdiction and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sets a housing target for jurisdictions based on population projections.

Then it is up to the regional government body, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), to set a housing unit target to each jurisdiction.

For the Bay Area, the region must plan for 441,176 new housing units, about half of which must be affordable to lower income households.

As Windsor faces a deadline to approve Housing Element Update by Jan. 31, 2023, taking up the issue at its council and planning commission meetings this month, questions remain: Will there be water to serve the new homes and will people be making enough to be able to afford to buy the residences?

According to its housing element update for 2023-2031, Windsor’s 6th Cycle RHNA allocation totals 994 units, separated by income levels and number of units as follows: very low, 385; low, 222; moderate, 108; above moderate, 279.

The town has identified sufficient sites to accommodate 2,415 units, exceeding the RHNA allocation by 1,421 units for this planning period, as stated in its HEU update. According to these city estimates, Windsor will meet its identified housing need for the 6th cycle through approved and proposed projects, vacant and underutilized land, and new second units. Most units are identified through approved or pending projects.

“Back in 2000, business was booming. However, by 2007-2010 with the recession and later with the fires from 2017 to 2019 -- and even earlier – we saw projects that already had their approvals and entitlements not getting built,” said Patrick Streeter, Community Development director for the Town of Windsor.

“Although construction has started ramping back up, in 2020 with the pandemic, building activity quickly came to a halt. However, we do see residential development and construction activity increase as resources become available. For example, recently it has become easier to secure funding for affordable housing through tax incentives and grants, which is why we are seeing so many 100% affordable projects under construction in Windsor and throughout Sonoma County,” Streeter said.

The current Windsor major projects list contains 23 residential projects – 10 approved (including 566 Units & Lots), 5 under construction (403 U&L -- with only the first 120 units of the planned 379 at Vintage Oaks approved as yet) and 8 more under review (755 U&L). While these figures add up to 969 units approved or being built, they do not include units associated with future projects under review now, along with projected new housing estimated to become available through 2031.

“Our general plan, which was adopted in 2018, includes an analysis that shows the town has space and services to accommodate more than the approximately 1,000 housing units assigned to us by HCD . State law requires that affordable housing receives development priority,” he added.

In addition, there are five commercial projects approved including the Windsor Town Green McClelland Hotel, the Carol Shelton Winery mixed-use project, and three others under review -- the BoDean Company’s new asphalt and construction materials processing plant, an upgraded Shell Station, and the Shiloh Business Park.

Windsor Mayor Sam Salmon confirmed that little housing activity has occurred here over the past 12 years.

“We have always strived to retain our small town, family community look and feel, but with builders granted by-right development for affordable housing projects no one can stop them. Fifteen years ago Windsor had a growth ordinance limiting new units to 100 per year.”

A by-right approval is granted when a developer meets zoning and building codes and, as a result, qualifies for construction without requiring discretionary local government review or approval.

While neighboring communities have opted to tap large-scale infill projects near commercial centers, Windsor has moved toward smaller mixed-use developments spread throughout the town, chiefly seen along Old Redwood Highway, north of Hembre Avenue and on Shiloh Road.

What concerns Salmon is the impact of many new housing projects on the already strained water supply. He asks a rhetorical question, “Where is water going to come from? Now we can only water yards and gardens three-days a week.”

He is Windsor town council’s designated representative working with water agencies to find ways to cope with the drought, find alternative sources, and promote water-saving conservation efforts. He said a program designed to monitor big wells -- but not those in backyards -- is already underway.

“Today I am not the only person concerned about having enough water during prolonged droughts to satisfy the needs of additional large housing projects. We lost residents over the last 10 years, so now it will not be as difficult to satisfy the housing needs to address a projected 11% growth rate over the next 8 years,” Salmon said.

He has heard of some California cities being sued by special interest groups testing the waters to see if such an action seeking to overturn new housing requirements will gain traction -- such as Senate Bills (SB) 9 & 10 passed in 2021 aimed at increasing housing production, streamlining housing permitting and increasing density. Personally, he doesn’t think lawsuits make sense.

“The real question is will all of these proposed new projects get built? Twenty years ago, we saw 1,000 to 1,500 new housing projects come forward, but the economy could not handle such a buildout. Right now, 755 units of new housing are still under review here in Windsor. In the past, if funding or other delays occurred, a developer would hold out until the last minute and then pull the entitlement permit just before it was due to expire, as was the case with the original firm that wanted to build Vintage Oaks.

“Another compelling issue is whether low-income families will be eligible for affordable housing,” Salmon added. “While wages have increased and we only have about 3% unemployment, this is still a troubling prospect for seniors on fixed incomes, veterans, handicapped individuals and others who could be forced to downsize, sell their homes or move away.”

Windsor Town Manager Jon Davis said the demand for housing has been building up gradually for a decade.

“I’m excited about the number of projects in the Windsor pipeline. While our goal is to still have a town that feels friendly for families, being family friendly means affordability. As our town moves closer to 30,000 residents, the 4th largest municipality in Sonoma County, I’m happy to see more projects coming forward. This represents a fresh opportunity to move ahead and take care of our residents and newcomers. We’re headed in the right direction,” Davis said.