What the Sonoma Valley Collaborative Council is saying
Here are some late-breaking insights from the diverse members of Sonoma Valley Collaborative's Council at their most recent meeting on June 8, 2022:
Housing continues to be a crisis at every level of the economy, impacting both for-profit and non-profit employers, workers and volunteers.
Non-profits are looking at how to integrate their services, such as lowering costs and increasing language capacity, in addition to addressing structural issues like geographic segregation, housing affordability, and transportation.
Optimistic about the tourism season this summer, helping economic recovery. However, the cost of living continues to rise.
Purchase prices of Sonoma Valley homes are astronomically high. But Sonoma Valley is still inexpensive compared to other parts of California, so buyers are offering $200,000 over asking price.
Redevelopment of SDC remains a big issue for Glen Ellen community, with the question of how to balance the "limited carrying capacity" of the area with the need for workforce housing.
COVID is surging across sectors, with more cases at multiple organizations and residential areas.
Latinos report that landlords are pressuring renters. There's a new wave of increased rents and evictions.
There is a need for tenant protections and efforts to preserve existing affordable housing.
“We are in a “polycrisis,” meaning many crises interacting with each other. We need to take actions that solve multiple problems at once, rather than making issue better while making another worse. One of these no-regrets solutions is housing that’s affordable.”