Saturday, August 13, 2011

WSJ - Suit Stirs Napa County Housing Fight





By BOBBY WHITE
WALL STREET JOURNAL - AUGUST 11, 2011

NAPA—A lawsuit claiming Napa County discriminates against minorities in its housing policies is set to come to trial next week, putting a spotlight on migrant workers who flock to the region's vineyards for jobs but have few places to live.

The civil case in state Superior Court involves delayed plans by Napa County to build affordable housing. The suit claims, in part, that the slow pace of such
construction amounts to discrimination by the county against low-income workers. Napa County officials say the claims are unfounded.

The lawsuit was filed in 2009, and later divided into two elements: one involving the specifics of where the county wanted to build low-income housing and another alleging discrimination in the county's overall approach. After a trial, Napa Superior Court Judge Raymond Guadagni sided in June with Napa County on the specifics of its housing plans.

Next up is the part of the case involving alleged discrimination. The plaintiffs—Latinos Unidos, a migrant-labor group funded by member donations, and three individuals—claim the county's stalled efforts at developing affordable housing are a
form of discrimination because Hispanics and African-Americans make up a disproportionately large percentage of the Bay Area's economically disadvantaged.

Such discrimination cases aren't unusual, and the attorney behind the current case—David Grabill, who represents Latinos Unidos—has been successful at forcing counties to build more affordable housing, including prior victories in Napa and
Sonoma counties.

"The county benefits from low-income laborers in their hotels and fields but when it's time for these workers to find somewhere to live the county seems to be saying, no thank you," Mr. Grabill said.

Napa housing officials say the county doesn't discriminate. "The county feels that it's currently in compliance with state law and has worked to improve our affordable housing stock," said Hillary Gitleman, director of conservation, development and planning for Napa County. "Instead of working collaboratively we are now involved in litigation. It's a disappointment."

Ms. Gitleman says the county has designated more than 200 second units, small apartments similar to mother-in-law quarters, for low-income housing. She says the county also operates three farm-worker centers and a housing trust fund that has contributed millions of dollars to producing affordable housing over the past 20
years.

The conflict highlights tensions between housing advocates and some of the Bay Area's affluent communities over accommodating low-income residents.

There are about 1,100 units of affordable housing in Napa County. Annually, about 7,000 farm laborers pick grapes and other farm products in the county, with about 4,000 of them staying year-round, according to a study by the University of California, Davis.

Cathy Creswell, acting director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, said the state's affordable-housing mandate places a responsibility on municipalities to identify existing and projected low-price-housing needs and make a plan for how they will address them. Ms. Creswell said the state gives local government leeway to meet the mandates.

Residents in North Bay counties are staunchly against sprawl, passing numerous ordinances and ballot measures to limit growth and protect agricultural land. Such measures can rub against moves to expand low-cost housing. Advocates contend that some immigrant workers have been forced to sleep under bridges, in their cars and on the steps of local churches.

"It was pretty bad when I first arrived," said the Rev. John Brenkle, pastor of St. Helena Catholic Church, who came to Napa County in 1986. "They slept near the entrance of the Carmelite Monestary. For a while we had a tent city there."

Since 1991, Mr. Brenkle said his organization, Napa Valley Community Housing, has helped build about 900 units of housing for low-income and very low-income workers, an effort that costs about $1.2 million a year to operate. The county and vineyards in the area pay the operating expenses.

In 2003, Mr. Grabill filed his first suit against Napa County, arguing it didn't provide enough affordable housing to comply with state law. In 2004, Napa County Superior Court Judge Scott Snowden sided with Mr. Grabill and as part of the settlement the county agreed to set aside land in unincorporated areas and contribute
more funds to an affordable-housing fund created by the county. The fund now stands at $20 million.

In 2007 Napa County leaders scuttled plans to build near a golf course, just outside the city limits of Napa and instead designated locations in a desolate stretch of land in the northeast section of the county. When state regulators examined the locations they judged them inadequate. The locations lacked access to public
transportation and were miles away from shopping districts. The move prompted Mr. Grabill to sue the city.

But after Judge Guadagni's June ruling, the county can move ahead with those plans.

For Maria Serrano, finding affordable housing has become a pressing issue. Ms. Serrano, 32 years old, lives with her parents, three siblings and her 3-year-old daughter in a two bedroom mobile home in Napa City. She says all of her family members work in the vineyards or wineries and it has been difficult to find housing in the county she can afford.

"There are a lot of people like me who work really hard and just want to live somewhere they can afford," she said.

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