The Yolo County Board of Supervisors received a presentation updating them on the state of farmworker housing across the county, which led to the creation of an ad hoc subcommittee focused on housing for special-needs populations, including local farmworkers.

During a Jan. 28 meeting, the board had a similar conversation with Department of Community Services staff regarding housing needs for local farmworkers, directing staff to continue working with Supervisors Angel Barajas (District 5) and Lucas Frerichs (District 2) to come up with a method to improve the living conditions for some of Yolo County’s most vulnerable.

As previously discussed, farmworkers are considered a special housing needs group due to their limited income and often unstable nature of their employment. Given the unique circumstances that envelop the farmworker community, staff support the idea of a more focused approach to facilitate meaningful expectations for realistic outcomes.

Since that time, staff have met with Frerichs and Barajas to address long-range and short-range solutions related to affordable housing for farmworkers and their families. During these discussions, housing solutions were explored from multiple angles, including zoning, barriers, partnerships, funding, and fair housing laws. Some of the tactics discussed include:

Planning/zoning tools that can be used for short-term solutions

Barriers to building quality affordable housing

Affordable ownership opportunities versus affordable rental opportunities

Understanding applicable fair housing laws and how they relate to farmworker housing

Partnering with Yolo County Housing/cities to identify existing opportunities for collaboration

Review of County surplus lands (real estate) available for housing, and potential partnership with Habitat for Humanity

Partnering with Yocha Dehe regarding interests in Esparto and Capay Valley

Support for a pilot project based on a Community Land Trust model

Consideration of an update to the Capay Valley Area Plan to explore the applicability of an Agricultural District Overlay

Review of available funding sources, such as USDA Rural Development, Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program (PLHA), and Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) funds

The May 20 presentation by Leslie Lindbo, director of the Department of Community Services, highlighted the goals and priorities that staff would like to address. In the short term, staff suggested additional ancillary dwellings be allowed on ag-land with a Minor Use Permit, as well as requiring discretionary review and possible mitigation for habitat loss.

Long-term solutions included incentivizing deed-restricted affordable rentals and waiving use permits for additional ancillary housing on agricultural land, as well as streamlining permitting to reduce agricultural mitigation for discretionary developments with dedicated housing.

At this time, staff recommend that the board create a new ad hoc subcommittee to provide structure and gain a better understanding of Board priorities for addressing special housing population needs, including a deeper exploration of the topics addressed above.

Some suggested goals include:

Improved living conditions

Better health outcomes

Economic stability

Community integration

Policy support

Developing farmworker housing is complex and expensive, and funding for deed-restricted affordable housing is in short supply, which must take into consideration all special housing needs populations. Thus, one critical question is whether to invest limited dollars and energy into more or improved farm labor/migrant housing, deed-restricted affordable housing, or more housing in general, according to the memo provided in the agenda packet.

“In almost all cases, there is never a single answer or magic bullet, and that is true here,” the report reads. “A variety of options should be pursued because the needs of farmworker households are varied and multidimensional. While farmworker housing is a local land use priority and allowed on agricultural parcels, the approval process can still be difficult under current regulations. Therefore, staff are hopeful that through focused discussions, a list of priorities will unfold as feasible solutions.”

The board created the ad hoc subcommittee after hearing the presentation and moved to appoint both Barajas and Frerichs as the county’s representatives on the committee, according to the official committee assessment sent to the board.

The new subcommittee aims to coordinate with staff on seeking solutions for affordable, quality housing that takes into consideration special housing needs populations, including farmworker families, as well as identify potential partners, stakeholders, and funding sources.

The subcommittee is expected to last for 10-20 months, depending on the targeted solutions proposed, according to the county.