The Lompoc Unified School District is taking steps to make employee housing a reality.
"This has been a years-long process for us,” said Franky Caldeira, Lompoc Unified School District board president. “The board essentially passed a resolution speaking about our support for workforce housing and then at the very end, directing the superintendent to move forward with the pre-application process.”
The resolution, approved Oct. 21, authorizes the district to continue exploring housing options for employees and pursue partnerships to make it happen.
“We kind of landed on that Jupiter property, which is the current site of (a) continuation high school, and it's kind of prime real estate for housing development,” Caldeira said.
A feasibility study by REACH and RRM Design Group identified 4010 Jupiter Avenue in Vandenberg Village as a viable site that meets zoning requirements.
“We were trying to get creative because of recruitment and retention, not only in Lompoc Unified, but kind of statewide and nationwide for educators is very, very hard,” Caldeira said.
Caldeira says the district hopes to receive proposals from developers and get estimates on project costs in the next couple of months.
He adds that if the project moves forward to the construction phase, options will be explored to relocate Maple High School.
