This week marked a difficult decision at the Board of Supervisors. Many of you have been engaged in the county’s process leading up to the decision to rezone properties in the unincorporated areas to meet State Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirements. It’s been a long, arduous process and I’ve appreciated all the community’s input along the way. If this is your first time reading about this, please visit the County’s RHNA Rezone Program website for more information, along with this press release which recaps the hearing on this topic.

The issue of affordable housing is complicated and challenging. While I support a mix of housing types throughout our county and would love to see a more “free market” economy that would reduce regulations and burdens, we live in a highly regulated environment which has made it much less “free market.” We do have a desperate need for housing that is more affordable and can house those working hard to make ends meet. To me, the ideal placement of affordable housing is near transit, grocery stores, libraries, parks, and trails, and isn’t so large that it changes the culture and charm of established communities.

While there were several potential sites on our list that I found appropriate, reasonable, and feasible, there were some sites that were not only less-than-ideal (in my opinion), but they didn’t meet the state’s expectations of access to transit, grocery stores, and services.

I was greatly torn on the issue, as the threat of potential state legal actions, fines, and a complete loss of local land use authority were looming over us. My main challenge with the rezone was around the large density on some of the sites. We had little to no wiggle room on removing any of these sites and still meeting our RHNA requirements. At the end of the day, I had to vote my conscience despite the potential risks we may incur as a County. However, I understand why that risk is not worth taking by everyone.

I believe my colleagues who voted in support of the rezone made a difficult decision in order to hold on to a continually decreasing piece of local control. It’s a scary place to be, and I respect each of my colleagues for the thoughtfulness they put into their decision-making, meeting with and listening to residents who voiced their concerns.

Most importantly, we are where we are now, and we need to do the best we can with what we have in front of us. My hope is that we will all continue to work together to minimize the impacts of any future projects on our rural communities. We also must advocate at the state level to bring forward legislative changes around this issue, such as an investigation into the RHNA number calculations, and allowing counties to partner with cities to put affordable housing projects where they make the most sense. If we can come together and apply common sense to these state housing policies, I believe we can make a meaningful difference and be part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis in our state without decimating the rural charm and exceptional quality of life in Placer County.

Shanti Landon
Placer County Supervisor, District 2