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Affordable Housing Eviction Near Christmas
7 Dec
Summary
- Tenants face eviction from Sebastopol affordable housing complex.
- Housing was built for farmworkers, displacing current residents.
- Officials call for pausing evictions and finding solutions.
Tenants at a new affordable housing complex in Sebastopol are confronting eviction notices, with Christmas just weeks away. Families who moved into the Woodmark complex earlier this year have been told they must leave because the units were designated for farmworkers. Over a dozen families are now fighting to remain in their homes, having believed they had secured stable housing.
The situation arose because Woodmark was built using government funds specifically for farmworker families. To comply with these regulations, the developer and property management have stated that all low-income residents who are not farmworkers must vacate. Some tenants accepted a $10,000 offer to move out by late October, but many are resisting.
Local officials, including a Sonoma County Supervisor and a Sebastopol City Councilmember, are urging for the evictions to be halted. They are calling on the involved development and management companies to negotiate a solution that allows the current residents to stay. The developer and property management have not yet responded to requests for comment.
