Newsletter: December 2021

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

MHC Partners Working Hard: A Year in Review

Mountain Housing Council partners have been busy this year – between emergency planning and declarations, expanding partnerships to strengthen long-term rental programs, moving forward to allow property owners to build tiny homes and accessory dwelling units on their properties, experimenting with placing moratoriums on short-term rentals, developing robust deed restriction programs, opening almost 300 new affordable housing units, and proposing a number of housing code amendments to promote housing solutions, there has been no shortage of commitment to finding ways to house our local workforce and community members.

As we move forward with state policies that promise to change the way housing unfolds in our region, 2022 promises to become an even bigger year for our collaboration.

We encourage you to get involved by following us on Facebook or visiting our website to learn about upcoming events. Public participation can vary from simply watching a meeting recording, to making public comments, to getting more involved by volunteering for one of our committees or other opportunities. The more of us engaged in this issue, the more effective we can become as a region at chipping away at the housing crisis.

Below, please find several updates on housing-related news. Happy holidays from all of us at Mountain Housing Council – We hope to see you in the near year!

DECEMBER UPDATES

Placer County Short-Term Rental Ordinance: Board Action Expected in January

On December 14th, the Placer County Board of Supervisors considered proposed short-term rental (STR) ordinance revisions addressing community input and new data from the DRAFT Eastern County Short-Term Rental Economic Study. This study can be viewed here (beginning on page 18).

Staff will present the first reading of an ordinance amendment to Supervisors in late January 2022 and the second reading in February 2022. If adopted then, the ordinance amendment would become effective 30 days later.

Truckee’s New Below Market Rate Housing Program Update

After receiving input from the Town Council on December 14th, Truckee Staff will bring draft program guidelines and budget for its Below Market Rate Housing Program to the Town Council in February and is expecting to launch the first phase of the program in May. The program focuses on the “missing middle,” and has an aspirational goal of deed restricting approximately 10% of Truckee’s housing stock (or 1,500 homes) in the next 10 years (by 2032). You can learn more about the program here.

Senate Bill 9 Goes into Effect on January 1st

As signed into law in September, Senate bill 9 allows property owners to split a single-family lot into two lots, add a second home to their lot, or split their lot into two and place duplexes on each. The last option would create four housing units on a property currently limited to a single-family house. The new law will mark a shift from current policies that allow only two large units — a stand-alone house and an accessory dwelling unit — on single-family lots, as well as an attached junior unit no larger than 500 square feet. Cities and counties across California will also be required to approve development proposals that meet specified size and design standards. The law also requires that local agencies consider certain projects ministerially, which means that staff would approve the projects instead of planning commissions or elected officials.

It will take some time to reach a full understanding of what is and is not allowed under the new law. Many jurisdictions in the state will also have to make ordinance changes and draft new code to be in compliance with the law. Truckee has already done so: On December 14th, Town Council adopted Urgency Ordinance 2021-10, approving development code amendments to allow for urban lot splits and two-unit projects. Although the ordinance went into effect immediately, a fully-developed ordinance will return to Council in a few months. There will be opportunities for public outreach and comment, including a Lunch-n-Learn series session early in the new year, on this topic. You can also read more about it in the Terner Center’s July report here.

A Snapshot of Homelessness in our Region: The Jan 24 Point-in-Time Count

The Point-in-Time (PIT) count represents a count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January in our region, and is set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and each count planned, coordinated, and carried out locally. While it reflects a snapshot of homelessness in our region on a given day, it does not represent the complete story, given due the challenges we experience in engaging our homeless workforce who live in their vehicles and those due to weather impacts.

Still, these numbers are crucial to providing the services needed to end homelessness in our region because they serve as the data point relied on by agencies in determining the severity of the issue. As a result, we rely on the help of everyone in our community to volunteer in order to ensure that we have an accurate representation – business owners, ski resorts, and other community members. If you are interested in helping, please contact Jazmin Breaux with Health and Human Services at Jazmin.Breaux@co.nevada.ca.us or 530-807-7792.

GET INVOLVED

If you missed the last MHC Quarterly Meeting, the highlights can be found here.

Volunteer with the MHC

Take an active role in our housing crisis by joining a Mountain Housing Council Working Group to advocate for achievable housing solutions for all. Contact Kristina@ttcf.net to get involved.

Check Out MHC Partner Updates

Visit MHC’s Partner Highlight Page to learn more about the progress our 29 partners are making on various housing programs and policies.