Preserving affordable housing

by Deborah Brasket, SB CAN Executive Director

Affordable housing is an endangered species in Santa Barbara County, one that that needs protection.

More than 95 percent of households on the South Coast and 85 percent of North County residents who don’t already own a home cannot afford to buy housing, nor can they afford to buy the home they live in today, according to a 2006 Housing Element report.

Even worse, more than 57 percent of South Coast households and 48 percent of North County households cannot afford the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in their communities. In addition, more than 5,000 families are still waiting for help from the county Housing Authority.

With more homes in foreclosure, and growing unemployment, this situation is bound to get worse before it gets better.

While the creation of new, affordable housing is an important part of addressing this lack, equally vital is the preservation of existing affordable housing, including rental and mobile homes. Yet, the loss of such housing is growing.

Over the last three years in Santa Barbara County, tenants in scores of affordable rental units have been evicted to enable conversions of their apartments to condominiums.

At the same time, a growing number of mobile-home park owners have been seeking to convert their parks to resident-owned condominiums or subdivisions to increase profits. Consequently, mobile-home owners are mounting costly lawsuits they can ill afford, to defend existing affordable housing.

Fortunately, several local grassroots efforts have been organized to protect affordable housing.

Earlier this year, the Rental Housing Roundtable (RHR) was formed to address the lack of legal protections for Santa Barbara County renters. This group seeks to end unjust evictions, increase the number of rental units available, and develop cooperative ownership.

RHR, a coalition of community organizations and concerned individuals, is urging the county to amend Ordinance 4444, relating to the rights and duties of tenants and landlords in rental properties. On Aug. 18, the Board of Supervisors will hear recommendations for improving the ordinance to provide assistance to renters displaced by circumstances beyond their control.

Recommended amendments include expanding the categories covered by the ordinance to include protections for tenants and landlords during demolitions, remodeling efforts, land-use rezones, and condo conversions. Establishing a formal system for tracking evictions and increasing relocation payments is also recommended.

Other concerned individuals and organizations are working to protect residents of mobile-home parks from losing their homes and unreasonable space rent hikes. Many seniors, working families and low-income mobile-home residents already have affordable housing — but this could change overnight, if AB 761 passes, and if AB 566 fails. See www.comocal.org/ for more information.

“Many park residents live on Social Security, are handicapped, or are collecting SSI,” states Sharon Rose, who is coordinating one of the efforts. “Should conversion and rent decontrol be allowed, low-income and disabled people will not find comparable housing. It does not exist in Santa Barbara County.

“If mobile-home housing is allowed to convert to housing for only the upper middle classes, many fixed-income and low-income seniors and others will no longer have access to affordable mobile home ownership.”

Santa Barbara County needs to create a Ventura-style rent-control ordinance to regulate conversions of mobile-home parks to resident ownership, and to require input from a majority of residents before allowing condo conversion.

It’s worth remembering that the people at risk of losing their affordable housing are our neighbors, grandparents, disabled veterans, retired teachers and other hard-working individuals and families, including first-responders.

We cannot afford to lose affordable housing when a shortage exists. These recommendations are steps we must take to create ordinances that will protect affordable rentals and mobile-home parks and their tenants from the process of gentrification.