Windsor City Council will consider first steps towards building up to 65 units of affordable housing at its meeting on Wednesday evening.
The higher-density units would be built on approximately 2 acres of land at 25 Bluebird Drive that the city bought from New Song Church when it moved in December 2018.
Since the purchase, the property and church buildings have been used for programs by the Ministry of Parks and Recreation as well as for meeting rooms, although their use was discontinued last spring due to the pandemic. The location is now rented by OptumServe as a COVID-19 test center.
Although the council briefly considered using the land for temporary modular office trailers to house staff during the construction of the proposed Civic Center project, the council voted on July 7 to use the land for its originally intended purpose and its Zoning as residential and mixed-use commercial space to maintain development.
During the Wednesday evening meeting, the council is expected to hear a report from Tim Ricard, director of economic development, and to discuss the creation of a tender or call for proposals for developers to build affordable housing on Bluebird Drive.
“I think the Bluebird site is ideal for affordable housing. I know the site well; it’s in my neighborhood, â€said Councilor Deb Fudge. “It is well located next to many services in the Palms Shopping Center and on an important bus route. There was a large hotel there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It’s ready for development. “
The project could help Windsor meet anticipated government requirements for 994 units of affordable housing, a 126% increase over Windsor’s current allocation of 440 units. Windsor’s community development director Jessica Jones has built 169 so far, with 271 units expected to be built by 2023.
“The total number (of units required) is still in draft form; We hope to have the final number in a few months, â€said Jones.
Currently, 385 units are being reserved for very low-income residents, 22 for low-income residents, 108 for middle-income residents, and 279 for above-average incomes, she said.
The city is encouraged to update its general housing element with specific locations for the construction of low cost housing.
In July, both Windsor and Sonoma County filed appeals calling for a reduction in government-mandated housing targets. Still, city and county officials agree that after the thousands of homes lost in recent firestorms and amid the flood of wealthier Bay Area residents into the county during the pandemic, additional lower-cost homes are needed, what the cost of single family houses climb.
The complaints were filed with the Association of Bay Area Governments, whose job it is to determine how the state-imposed residential goals are distributed across local jurisdictions. A hearing on Windsor’s appeal before the Bay Area agency is scheduled for October 29, Jones said.
Both the county and the city claim that the majority of the 14,500+ units the county and its nine cities will have to build between 2023 and 2031 should go to larger cities like Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park.
These areas are already designated for more affordable apartment buildings and large apartment buildings, officials say, and construction there would limit urban expansion into vacant areas prone to fire.
The Windsor Employee Report said, “The size and location of the site make it a good candidate for a ‘Smart Growth’ project,” indicating that it is “within walking or cycling distance of services and facilities”, including two shopping centers, a bus stop and downtown Windsor. Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) station is three quarters of a mile away, as is Mattie Washburn Elementary School.
The Bluebird Drive homes may include units reserved for special needs households, which may include the elderly, disabled adults, homeless, or vulnerable households, according to the report.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, 9291 Old Redwood Highway, No. 400, in Windsor or virtually at https://zoom.us/j/99373696226.
You can contact Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com.
