Title
Approve and authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign an agreement with the City of Salinas, agreeing to County contribution of a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to pay a consultant to conduct a Regional Farmworker Housing Needs Study and to develop an Action Plan to address farmworker housing needs.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Approve and authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors sign to an agreement with the City of Salinas, agreeing to County contribution of a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to pay a consultant to conduct a Regional Farmworker Housing Needs Study and to develop an Action Plan to address farmworker housing needs.
SUMMARY:
The City of Salinas is required by its Housing Element to complete a Regional Farmworker Housing Study and Action Plan. Because the Study and resulting Action Plan will address regional needs for farmworker housing, the City of Salinas has invited other jurisdictions in the region to collaborate on the Study and Action Plan. The recommended action will confirm the County’s participation in the preparation of the Study and Action Plan.
DISCUSSION:
Providing affordable, safe and sanitary housing for farmworkers has long been an issue in the Pajaro and Salinas Valleys. The proposed Study will quantify the types of housing that are needed by this population, where housing should be located, and will identify how to address these housing needs. Preparation of the Study will entail surveying a broad spectrum of seasonal and year round farmworkers to determine household sizes, household composition (e.g. married couples, are children present, etc.), income levels, and whether farmworkers are migrants following opportunities, are employed year round, or remain in the area during their “off” season. The Study will also survey employers to determine how they perceive the farmworker housing problem in terms of their ability to recruit and retain farmworkers and what they might consider doing unilaterally to provide housing for their employees. The completed Study and Action Plan will provide non-profit housing developers, such as CHISPA and Eden Housing, with the quantifiable data they need to prepare competitive grant and loan applications to finance the construction of affordable housing.
Because this issue affects all local governments with jurisdiction over the Pajaro and Salinas Valleys, the City invited the Cities of Gonzales, Greenfield, King and Soledad, and the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz to participate in the preparation of the Study and Action Plan. The City has previously entered into an agreement with the other jurisdictions to participate in the Study and to contribute to funding its cost. The County proposed to enter into a separate agreement with the City of Salinas in order to obtain adequate indemnification of the County and other provisions that protect County interests. In November 2016, the City entered into an agreement with consultant California Institute for Rural Studies to conduct the study and prepare an Action Plan, identifying farmworker housing options.
The City of Salinas will be the lead agency responsible for working with California Institute for Rural Studies to prepare the Study and Action Plan. Results of the Study and the Action Plan will be presented to the City of Salinas and participating jurisdictions, including the County, by December 2017.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the Agreement Between the City of Salinas and the County of Monterey Regarding the Farmworker Housing Study and Action Plan for Salinas Valley and Pajaro Valley as to form. Risk has approved the insurance and indemnification provisions. The City of Salinas has already executed the Agreement.
FINANCING:
There is no impact on the General Fund as a result of this request. The County’s $25,000 contribution toward the cost of the Study will be funded out of the $100,000 supplemental appropriation approved for Fund 001, Appropriations Unit DEO001, Organization Unit 8221 (Economic Development). The County’s contribution will be matched by $210,000 contributed by the other participating jurisdictions.
Prepared by: _____________________________________________________________
Darby Marshall, RHO Project Analyst II, Ext. 5391
Approved by: _____________________________________________________________
David L. Spaur, CEcD, EDFP, Economic Development Director, Ext. 5387
Attachments:
Agreement Between the City of Salinas and the County of Monterey Regarding the Farmworker Housing Study and Action Plan for the Salinas Valley and Pajaro Valley
(Attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board)