See Results of the Housing Issues Survey

Comment Letters and Emails Received

The Planning and Building Department continues to solicit input on housing issues as we work on the draft update of the Housing Element and will solicit additional input once the draft is released for public review.

We have received varied input during the process to date, but some consistent themes are evident. Key themes in input from community members, stakeholders, workshop and forum participants, survey respondents, and others include:

  • Housing costs are an almost universal concern.
  • More housing supply is needed, although there is a diversity of opinion on how and where to provide it.
  • There is a need for a greater diversity of housing stock, with more multifamily housing, more housing for special needs populations, supportive housing, and housing appropriate for different household types.
  • Housing pressures make it difficult for workers and families to stay in their communities.
  • Housing costs, as well as pressures from new development, are driving gentrification and displacement.
  • New development and increased density, including development driven by state mandates, may negatively impact traffic, parking, infrastructure, open space, and services. There is an urgent need to comprehensively plan to address these impacts.
  • The development and permitting processes are too slow, too costly, too opaque, and too inefficient.
  • Transportation, climate change, access to jobs, and educational opportunities are all issues that relate to housing and should be addressed together.
  • The County’s Housing Element and other County policies should recognize housing inequities and the disparate impacts of housing issues across different communities and explicitly consider and address equity and fair housing issues.
  • The County should provide more resources for farm labor housing.
  • There is a need for better information resources on housing issues and policies on the availability of affordable housing.

There is still an opportunity to comment on housing issues, needs, strategies, and any other information the County should consider. You can comment directly to William Gibson at wgibson@smcgov.org.