Construction is underway on 49 new affordable homes in Santa Maria, as local officials and housing advocates point to a need for more housing options for working families, farmworkers, and seniors.
The homes are part of Skylight Homes, a development by People’s Self-Help Housing at the former Hi-Way Drive-In theater site.
Ken Trigueiro, CEO of People’s Self-Help Housing, said the project is designed to create homeownership opportunities for lower- and moderate-income households.
“This project represents homeownership opportunities for lower-income-earning households and moderate-income-earning households,” Triguiero said. “The moderate is really defined as those who are making no more than 120% of the area median income.”
Sixteen of the 49 homes will be set aside for farmworker families that meet the income requirements.
Santa Maria Community Development Director Chenin Dow said the term “affordable housing” today can cover a wide range of household incomes, depending on how eligibility is determined.
“If we look at it based on the area median income or deed-restricted housing, you can easily make it into the six figures for a family of four and still qualify for that affordable housing,” Dow said.
Dow said Santa Maria is on track with its regional housing need allocation, or RHNA, for lower-income housing but still has a gap when it comes to workforce housing.
That includes people working in professions such as law enforcement, engineering and other public-sector jobs.
“Workforce is traditionally regarded as the 60% to 80% area median income bracket,” Dow said. “That has been a challenge for many cities because it’s missing this middle, where there are not a lot of subsidies or federal or state grants.”
Local resident Gina Santana said the high cost of housing can affect even people with advanced degrees and professional careers.
“A good example is my daughter and her husband,” Santana said. “He’s a sports trainer, she’s a psychologist. They can’t even afford a house, and they both have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in their professions.”
Other residents said the need for affordable housing extends beyond working families.
“We need to have more affordable senior housing, senior homes, not affordable housing for families,” said Santa Maria resident Vicki Rodriguez.
As the city looks to add more housing, some residents have also raised concerns about increased density and future development.
Dow said Santa Maria may eventually need to expand its boundaries to accommodate additional housing.
“If we really want to truly get aggressive about affordable housing, annexation is going to be the answer for our future,” Dow said.
City officials said they expect to see more housing projects and changes in the coming years as Santa Maria continues working to address its housing needs.
