state of housing in st. helenaclubrunner.blob.core.windows.net/00000003789/en-ca/...• a periodic...

State of Housing in

St. Helena

Our Town St. HelenaSummer 2015

Workers Vital to St. Helena

Branches - $100K• Professional work force

• College or trade school education

• Positions with good salaries and benefits

• Would like to own a home here - can’t afford it

• Mostly commuting

Trunks - $50K• Skilled work force

• Some college and/or trade school

• Young and old, singles and married, seniors – great diversity

• Many commuting long distances so they can own a home

• Others living in rentals in town

Roots - $30K• Unskilled work force

• Mostly employed in wine and hospitality industries

• here full time – not migrant work force

• Singles, couples and families

• Living in rentals in town or commuting long distances

Our Town St Helena Summer 2015 2

What St. Helenians Earn

ROOTS

Max. $31,200 annual

• $12 – farm laborer

• $14 - bank teller

• $14 – retail clerk

• $14 - cook

• $15 - hotel maid

• $15 - nurses aid

• $15 - gardener

• $16 - receptionist

• $16 winery workers

TRUNKS

Max. $50,000 annual

• $17 – file clerk

• $18 - EMT

• $18 –City of St. Helena maintenance worker

• $20 - hotel desk clerk

• $20 - housekeeper

• $20 - construction laborer

• $21 - retail manager

• $22 - auto mechanic

• $24 - police dispatcher

• $25 - postal clerk

BRANCHES

Max. $104,000 annual

• $30 - human resource manager

• $32 - restaurant manager

• $32 - loan officer

• $32 – paralegal

• $34 - police sergeant

• $35 – accountant

• $45 - architect

• $46 - dental hygienist

• $46 – teacher

• $48 - registered nurse

Sources: State of CA Employment Development Department

SHUSD School Accountability Report Card

City of St. Helena


What Local Employees Can Afford

to Rent or Buy in St. Helena


Lack of Rentals in St. Helena

• Both Hunt’s Grove and Stonebridge, our two

affordable apartment complexes, have

constant waiting lists

• A periodic audit of Craigslist and the local

newspapers’ Classifieds reveal few if any

rentals

• Local multi-unit apartment owners state an

average vacancy rate of < 3%


St Helena is Facing a

Net Loss in Rentals Units thru 2016

Source

Total Units – 2010 538 US Census, 2010

New units thru 2014 +18 Magnolia Oaks

Lost units in 2014 - 48 Units eliminated from Grandview

Units in 2015 508

Future Units:

Turley 8 Projected 2016

Total Projected Units 516

NET LOSS (22) In 2016


Also Losing Housing Stock

15%? 416 units

20%? 555 units

25%?

694 units

What is the % of Housing Units Currently

Used as Second Homes or Vacation Rentals?

7Our Town St Helena Summer 2015

Lost Employee Housing Stock

Sold in 2013 for $525,000Currently on the market for

$1,855,000



Sold in 2011 for $525,000 Recently sold for $2,600,000



Sold in 2012 for

$685,000

Resold in 2014 for

$1,700,000


Employment to Resident Ratio

Total Population:

5818

Total Population:

5818

Total People

Working in SH:

5604

Total People

Working in SH:

5604

Total Workers Living in SH: 2591

Total Workers Living in SH: 2591

Workers living & working in SH:

1230 (48%)

Workers living & working in SH:

1230 (48%)

SH Residents who Work Elsewhere:

1361 (52%)

SH Residents who Work Elsewhere:

1361 (52%)

Workers who commute in: 4374

(78% of total workers)

Workers who commute in: 4374

(78% of total workers)

Employment to resident ratio: 2.16Employment to resident ratio: 2.16

Source: 2010 US CensusOur Town St Helena Summer 2015 11

St. Helena Ratio Compared to

Other Nearby Communities

Source: 2010 US Census

Our Town St Helena Summer 2015

Location Ratio Location Ratio

St Helena 2.16 Sonoma 1.87

Healdsburg 1.28 Windsor 0.53

City of Napa .91 Petaluma .96

Note: City must have 2500 resident workers to qualify. Calistoga and

Yountville do not meet the data requirements.

12

St. Helena Ratio Compared to

Other Resort Communities

Source: 2010 US Census

Our Town St Helena Summer 2015

Location Ratio Location Ratio

St Helena 2.16 Palm Springs 1.55

Coronado 2.82 Laguna Beach 1.19

Carmel 2.77 Monterey 2.08

13

Employment to Resident Ratio

• There are over two jobs in St. Helena for every worker who

lives in St. Helena

• And this ratio is rising steadily – 19% increase in imbalance

from 2000 to 2010– Healdsburg’s ratio increased 15% to 1.28

– Sonoma, Windsor and Napa ratios increased 4% to 7%

– Petaluma actually decreased their ratio by 7%

Source: US Census 2000 vs. 2010


Majority of Employees Are Commuting

• 78% of the people currently working in St.

Helena are commuting into town to work (Source: City of St. Helena Housing Element Needs Assessment)

• These commuters represent all levels of

employment

• The low-paid, unskilled employees of the wine

and hospitality industry are the hardest hit

group of commuting employees


Socio-Economic Impact

• Tourism is an important source of revenue for

St. Helena

– At what point will lack of housing affect the

quality of our customer service labor force?

– When will the clog of commuting workers begin to

discourage visitors from coming up valley?


Changing our Small Town Character

• Lack of volunteers for civic participation

• Aging membership in local service clubs

• Larger socio-economic gulf in schools and society

• Difficult to attract professionals because of housing

cost

• Difficult to retain low-wage hospitality workers

• The 4000+ employees commuting into town are

engaged in their own communities, not ours


OTSH Conclusion

• St Helena will never be able to house all of our

workers

• But we should set worker/housing ratio goals

below 2.0

• Strategies

– Build new sustainable affordable housing

– Conserve some portion of existing moderate to

low income housing


Build Sustainable Affordable Housing

OTSH Mutual Self-Help Housing Project

– Authorized by the Department of Agriculture

Rural Development to build 18 mutual self-help

homes in St. Helena

– First 6 to 8 will be on 684 McCorkle, a half-acre

site that the city is selling to OTSH

– Looking for land to build the remaining 8 to 10

homes


OTSH Mutual Self Help Housing

How it works:

• OTSH raises funds to obtain and prep the site and create the house plans

• Qualified applicants compete in a lottery to participate

• Each participating family commits to approximately 2,600 hours of labor– which accounts for 68% of the construction labor

• Their “sweat equity” reduces the overall cost of the home


OTSH Mutual Self Help Housing

• All participants work together to build all the houses

– Construction supervision provided

– Contracted subs as needed

• The new homes are deed-restricted

– Resale only at a reduced rate to income-qualified families

• Marietta Townhomes – Voorhees Circle

– Built in 2000

– One of ten has sold


Maintain Existing Housing Stock

through Deed-Restriction – An Idea

• Form a trust to maintain a percentage of existing housing stock affordable to the workforce

• Purchase 5% of SFD sold in SH annually = four houses

– Rehab via grants and donations

– Resale to moderate income families at a reduce price

– Deed restricted to assure continued affordability

• Costly proposition

– Probably at least $150K per home

– Cheaper than new construction


Maintain Existing Moderate Rate

Apartment Rentals

• No new market rate rentals in SH in 20 years

• High percentage of rental stock built in the

1970s & 1980s

• Renovation and/or turnover will mean higher

rents

• HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN A PERCENTAGE OF

EXISTING RENTALS AT MODERATE RATES?


Build More Lower Income Rental Options

• Build and manage low-income rental

complexes

– For winery and hospitality workers

– For seniors and disabled

• City of St. Helena is conducting a Feasibility

Study of scattered site projects

• New Calistoga Family Apartments are full with

a waiting list


Get Creative

• Cooperative housing

– Single home converted to two living units

– Tiny house movement

• Habitat for Humanity

– All we need is the land

• Public/private partnerships

– McCorkle is an excellent start

• Industry Involvement

– Wine and hospitality industries play an important role


Time to Take Action

• There is growing concern among many segments of our community about St Helena’s housing shortage

• The solution requires vision, commitment and perseverance

– all things our community has mustered before for other challenges

• Our Town St. Helena is committed to providing housing opportunities to the people vital to our community


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