RESIDENTS in a tiny home village have allegedly received a notice from their landlord that rent costs will increase astronomically as 2024 approaches.

In Petaluma, California, about 40 miles north of San Francisco, tenants at the Little Woods Mobile Villa claimed they’d face homelessness after hearing of the skyrocketing prices.

Residents at a tiny home village in Petaluma, California, could face over $1,000 in rent increasesCredit: KTVU
The village owners claimed they increases were due to high expenses and operation feesCredit: KTVU

The tiny home community holds about 80 residents in total, all of whom were supposedly issued a packet of documents earlier this week noting rent increases of a staggering 300 percent, per local Fox News affiliate KTVU.

Resident Darrell Pike, one of many who has lived at Little Woods Mobile Villa for decades, blamed the proposed rent changes on “greed.”

“That’s outrageous,” Pike frustratingly told the outlet.

“This is greed, pure greed.”

Pike claimed his packet showed a total of a 343 percent increase to his current monthly rent costs of $500, meaning his rent in 2024 would be over $2,215 instead.

That’s an extra $1,700 per month on an annual lease, resulting in an extra total cost for the year of over $20,000.

The baffled resident explained that he’d lived with his brother in their tiny home for some time, but with the 343 percent increase, it would put serious strain on the pair to come up with the money.

“I can’t afford to move anywhere else,” Pike claimed.

“If we don’t have this community, what do we have? We have homelessness.”

Other residents like Christopher Brown echoed feelings that the prices were unfair.

“I feel this isn’t fair,” he said to KTVU.

“They don’t want us living here anymore.”

Brown currently resides in one of the oldest tiny homes in the village, along with his dogs and girlfriend.

The tenant argued that his alleged 339 percent increase was “ludicrous” and that it isn’t fair treatment of the residents.

My roof doesn’t leak, my plumbing works, it’s my home,” Brown explained.

“A $1,531 increase [a month] for a space rental is just ludicrous.”

He continued: “I don’t fee that I deserve this treatment.”

“I feel like we deserve a fair shake.”

The landlords and owners of the tiny home village stood their ground on the increased costs and claimed any lack of adherence to it could ultimately lead them to file for bankruptcy.

“As property owners, we’re seeking a fair market rent or considering closing the business before we are forced out,” Little Woods Mobile Villa owner Nick Ubaldi told KTVU.

The City of Petaluma also seemingly made efforts to mitigate the rent increases, as earlier this year, it set a cap on annual rent hikes at mobile home parks like Little Woods.

According to the ordinance, the rent control caps allow for about 70 percent of inflation change, which is about 2.9 percent in 2023 for the Bay Area.

That means a maximum of a 2 percent increase would be allowed.

Petaluma City Councilmember Karen Nau explained to the outlet that the property owners at several mobile homes like Little Woods have argued that their expense costs require the high rent.

“The reason why the owners want to raise the rent is to have more revenue,” Nau said.

“They say their expenses exceed the income.”

Landlords who want to raise the rent higher than the cap mandated by the city ordinance are required to petition the city for arbitration.

Nau noted that Ubaldi and the Little Woods owners complied with this requirement.

Court officials will look over the tiny home village owners’ financials to confirm that the expenses coincide with the cost asks.

The councilwoman said she was afraid of what the increases could mean for low-income residents in Petaluma.

“We want businesses to thrive in Petaluma but not on the backs of our tenants,” the councilwoman told KTVU.

“Especially our lower income.”

Neighbors of Little Woods explained to the outlet that at least 80 percent of the residents in the tiny home village don’t speak English well, and most are low-income.

Some residents explained to KTVU that they would be willing to pay slightly more for their units, but increases over 300 percent just aren’t feasible.

The U.S. Sun contacted Ubaldi for further comment on the increases, and he elaborated more on the specifics of the city ordinance’s effect.

Ubaldi explained that the owners and the tenants find themselves in a tough situation, as he and his family, who have operated Little Woods since it opened, allegedly have little room to issue steady rent increases.

He claimed they are stuck at charging low costs no matter their expenses, given the city ordinance.

“The Petaluma rent control ordinance permits an increase of only 70% of inflation each year. Meanwhile, our costs rise at 100% or more of inflation annually,” he wrote to The U.S. Sun in an email.

“This trajectory leads us down the slow road to bankruptcy. The ordinance allows no adjustment for new incoming tenants when a mobile home is sold.”

He continued: “Meaning, when an owner sells their home, that rent is tied to the space forever.

“There is no safety valve for private business owners who are left holding the bag, permanently subsidizing affordable housing for the city of Petaluma.”

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Golden Gate Village in Marin City. (Robert Tong/Marin Independent Journal)

A recent sewage spill in a Marin City apartment was enough to show that Golden Gate Village residents should be able to rely on response from county environmental health officers.

Over the past decade, oversight of such matters had to go to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a giant bureaucracy with offices in San Francisco.

The Marin Housing Authority, which manages and governs Golden Gate Village and other public housing in Marin, opted out for HUD to review health-related inspections.

The recent spill prompted a change back.

It makes sense, in terms of the promise of a fast and local response to any problems or complaints and independent oversight to make sure they’ve been remediated properly.

The housing authority says the sewage backup occurred because a tenant had flushed paper towels down a toilet and caused a blockage. The authority called in a plumbing contractor and the line was cleared.

Clean-up and sanitation crews were also called in.

The incident is one of the reasons the authority is replacing sewer pipes as part of the rehabilitation plan for the 60-year-old public housing complex.

Golden Gate Village, with nearly 300 apartments, is the largest and oldest low-rent public housing complex in the county.

The county’s involvement will be to provide oversight of the authority-hired contractor that is the front line when it comes to handling those inspections.

HUD, which funds the public housing, also performs its own inspections.

County and authority officials say that it is unclear why the authority shifted primary oversight to HUD. It may have been because it seemed bureaucratically redundant.

In recent years, the county and the Golden Gate Village Residents Council have had a rocky relationship, with the council filing complaints about rat problems, mold and wiring problems. The council also advanced its own proposal for a multi-million dollar overhaul of the complex, including creating a trust that would enable tenants to own their units.

The primary objective of shifting inspection oversight should be that public housing residents receive the same level of public-health inspection response as anyone else in the county.

If those inspectors come up with a finding with which the housing authority disagrees, that’s part of the process. Protecting the health of the tenants should be the overriding  focus.

The shift to HUD long predates the arrival of Sarah Jones, who took over as head of the county Community Development Agency in April. The county Environmental Health Division is part of her agency.

She told the IJ that the county and the housing authority decided to put the county back in charge of supervisor inspections to add an “extra layer of accountability and objectivity” in the performance of that important job.

It’s the right thing to do.

It is a responsive action and strategy that set a strong standard for local protection of public housing conditions and its tenants in Marin, today and as the authority moves forward with its plans to renovate and repair the Golden Gate Village complex.

The post Taking again oversight of health-related inspections at Golden Gate Village is true for Marin – Marin Unbiased Journal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Hi, I’m Aaricka!

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At first glance, Community First! Village looks more like an art commune or even a high-end summer camp than what it really is: Austin’s formidable, 51-acre solution to the homelessness crisis.

Nestled amongst picturesque tiny houses and RVs – home to about 350 formerly unhoused people – are a ceramics studio, an outdoor movie theater and a game room. Quiet, winding roads lead past a pond stocked with catfish, a hydroponic vegetable garden and a yurt visitors can rent on Airbnb. The ashes of 36 former residents are interred in a columbarium on the property.

If you want a souvenir, there’s even a gift shop of sorts – a convenience store that sells hats, infant onesies and other swag branded with the community’s slogan: “Goodness.”

Alan Graham, founder, President and CEO of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, and Community First! Village, at his desk in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023.

“Right up underneath that windmill is where we have the farmer’s market every Saturday morning,” says village founder Alan Graham, CEO of nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes, pointing from a golf cart as he gives a tour of the village. “We have a hair studio here. We got over 300 fruit and nut-bearing trees growing all over the property. This is a big, old pear tree right here. It’s loaded with pears.”

It’s the same tour he and his team have given to multiple California officials and service providers, all of whom came looking for new answers to the Golden State’s dire homelessness crisis. As a result, villages inspired by Austin are now popping up in California.

These developments put a new spin on the “housing first” philosophy that prevails among California homeless programs. In these Austin-influenced villages, the predominant belief is that housing alone simply isn’t enough – one needs community, too.

An employee plants sunflowers at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023.

(Jordan Vonderhaar

/

CalMatters)

Left: Chickens and other farm animals provide food to residents at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas. Center: Leafy greens and other vegetables are grown in an aquaponic greenhouse. Right: Tilapia are raised as part of an aquaculture food operation.

(Jordan Vonderhaar

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CalMatters)

The nonprofit Salt + Light is building an Austin-inspired permanent housing village near Visalia, in the San Joaquin Valley. Dubbed The Neighborhood Village, it will consist of 53 mobile homes with perks including a dog park, garden, columbarium, pop-up movie theater, art classes and mobile medical clinics. As in Austin, they’ll also have “missionals” – volunteers who live on-site, look out for their formerly homeless neighbors 24/7 and help build a sense of community.

Salt + Light CEO Adrianne Hillman first visited Austin’s tiny home village in 2018.

“The first time I went, I cried, actually, when I got there,” she said. “I was pretty overwhelmed with the beauty of it. It resonated with me on a soul level.”

Convinced someone had to bring the model to California, Hillman upended her entire life, started a nonprofit and got to work.

She’s not the only Californian to be taken in by Community First’s utopian village of small, cutesy dwellings, lovingly landscaped gardens and roads with names like Peaceful Path and Goodness Way. Another copycat project took root in the East Bay city of Livermore. Two more are trying to get off the ground, one in Silicon Valley and the other in Bakersfield.

Two city council members from Richmond in the East Bay Area attended a symposium at Community First in April and came home with a vision to replicate what they saw.

“I was really, really impressed,” said Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin. She wants to partner with Contra Costa County and local nonprofits to build something similar – though smaller – on a 3.5-acre site outside the city limits.

Not enough tiny homes for all who want them

Community First offers multiple tiny home options. Its 200-square foot micro-homes, for example, provide electricity but no plumbing (residents share communal bathrooms) and have room for a bed and a small living area that comes with a refrigerator, freezer, microwave, crock pot and coffee maker. The village has larger models, too, including manufactured homes that are about 400 square feet and fully plumbed. They have a bedroom, living area with a couch and small dining table, mini kitchen and bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower.

With land at a premium in California, it would be difficult to build enough tiny homes to make a noticeable difference in the state’s homelessness crisis. Even Austin’s tiny home village hasn’t solved the problem.

Tiny homes used as residences at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023.

(Jordan Vonderhaar

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CalMatters)

Encampments still proliferate in the city’s greenbelts, and the estimated number of homeless residents in the county grew 40% between 2019 and 2022, according to the federally mandated point-in-time count. In 2021, fed-up Austin voters passed a law banning public camping, and activists say unhoused people now are forced to move from camp to camp because there aren’t enough shelter beds or long-term housing.

Matt Bradley, 39, said it would be “lovely” to move into the tiny home village and stop constantly worrying that someone will steal his belongings. Bradley, one of many people living in a tent in the woods behind Austin’s South Town Square shopping center, said he’s been on a housing waitlist for three years. Periodically, police come by and check on him and his neighbors.

“They reassure us and say help is coming,” Bradley said. “But you know, we’re still waiting.”

Austin vs. California

Left: Travel trailers serve as residences at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023. Right: A Tiny Home Village, for an affordable solution towards housing the homeless, in Sacramento on Sep. 29, 2022.

(Left: Jordan Vonderhaar. Right: Rahul Lal

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CalMatters)

In some ways, California homeless providers are predisposed to like what they see in Austin. State and local leaders have doubled down on tiny homes as a solution to homelessness ever since the pandemic, when worries about COVID-19 spreading in crowded shelters shaped state policy. Gov. Gavin Newsom is in the process of doling out 1,200 tiny homes for unhoused residents in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose and San Diego County.

But there are some major differences between Austin’s tiny homes and most of the similar programs in California.

In California, tiny homes are almost exclusively considered temporary shelter. Residents are expected to move out of the micro-dwellings and into traditional housing – sometimes within a period of mere months, and often with low success rates. Community First, by contrast, is permanent housing. Residents pay rent (between about $370 and $440 a month for a tiny home including utilities, or $450 for an RV – plus electric and propane) and can live there until they die.

The sheer size of Community First also distinguishes it from other tiny home projects. It is likely the largest in the country for homeless residents. Built on 51 acres just outside the city’s limits, its nearly 400 occupied dwellings house 345 formerly homeless people and 40 missionals, with plans to increase to 530 homes by the end of the year. In addition, construction is underway on another 600 homes across the street, set to be completed over the next six years. Travis County recently contributed $35 million toward building another 750 homes on a separate property 15 minutes away.

The county’s commitment marks the first time the organization has received public funding. Until then, it relied on private contributions and major gifts from wealthy donors like Michael and Susan Dell. That’s another departure from California, where tiny home projects tend to rely heavily on city, county and state funding.

Could the Community First model work in California?

In the big California cities where homelessness is most prevalent – Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, for example – it’s nearly impossible to find giant parcels of land that could fit hundreds of tiny homes.

“The tiny homes are often just not at a scale to be helpful,” said Marybeth Shinn, a professor at Vanderbilt University specializing in homelessness.

And there is debate about whether tiny homes should be accepted as permanent housing. About two-thirds of the tiny homes in the Austin village have no plumbing, forcing residents to leave their units to access communal bathrooms.

The units without bathrooms don’t meet the housing quality standards set by the federal government, which has given some activists pause.

A resident cooks breakfast for their neighbors in one of the shared kitchen spaces at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023.

(Jordan Vonderhaar

/

CalMatters)

“The focus has to be on housing somebody,” said Alex Visotzky, senior California policy fellow for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “And housing means having a bathroom, kitchen, a sense of privacy, the rights of tenancy and the stability that comes along with it. That has to be the end goal. That’s what ends somebody’s homelessness.”

Austin’s Graham says that’s “bullshit.” If people want to live in a small unit they can afford with no bathroom, that should be their right, he said. Besides, no one in his community has to walk more than 100 feet to a bathroom, he said.

“People should have a choice,” Graham said, “and we should get people out from under the misery that they’re living in as fast as we can.”

A sense of belonging

Graham, who lives in the tiny home village himself, describes the community as joyful with a “side salad of tension.” Many residents have mental health conditions, and it’s not unusual to see someone walk naked down the street, he said. The program doesn’t require residents to be sober, and many have addictions. But after moving into the village, residents who use drugs self-report using an average of 80% less than they did on the street, Graham said.

Blair Racine, who lived on the streets for years before becoming a resident of Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023.

(Jordan Vonderhaar

/

CalMatters)

Blair Racine, 69, has lived at Community First in Austin for five years. He pays about $500 a month to rent an old RV from the 1990s – one of the original dwellings set up before the organization began building fancier tiny homes. A graduate of the University of Minnesota and a former realtor, Racine said he fell into homelessness after an ex-business partner landed him in financial trouble and he had no family support to fall back on. He spent four years on the street and in homeless shelters.

Now, Racine feels like he belongs. People here call him “the Mayor,” and he spends his days lending a listening ear and emotional support to his neighbors. He plans to live here until he dies. Then, he wants to be interred on-site.

“I came out here and found this is my place,” he said. “And the rest is history.”

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It’s the same tour he and his team have given to several California officials and service providers, all looking for new answers to the Golden State’s dire homelessness crisis. As a result, Austin-inspired villages are now springing up in California.

These developments add a new twist to the “Housing First” philosophy dominant in California’s homeless programs. In these Austin-influenced villages, there’s a belief that housing isn’t enough—you also need community.

An employee plants sunflowers at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023. (CalMatters/Jordan Vonderhaar)

Left: Chickens and other farm animals provide food for Community First residents! Village in Austin, Texas. Center: Leafy greens and other vegetables are grown in an aquaponic greenhouse. Right: Tilapia are grown as part of an aquaculture food operation. (Cal Matters/Jordan Vonderhaar)

The non-profit organization Salt + Light is building an Austin-inspired permanent residential village near Visalia in the San Joaquin Valley. Dubbed Neighborhood Village, it will consist of 53 mobile homes with amenities such as a dog park, garden, columbarium, pop-up cinema, art classes and mobile medical clinics. As in Austin, they will also have “missionaries” — volunteers who live on site, look after their formerly homeless neighbors around the clock and help build a sense of community.

Adrianne Hillman, CEO of Salt + Light, first visited Austin’s small home village in 2018.

“The first time I went there, I actually cried when I got there,” she said. “I was pretty blown away by the beauty. It touched me on a spiritual level.”

Convinced that someone needed to bring the model to California, Hillman turned her life upside down, founded a nonprofit organization, and set to work.

She’s not the only Californian fascinated by the utopian village of Community First, with its small, cute houses, lovingly landscaped gardens and streets with names like Peaceful Path and Goodness Way. Another copycat project arose in the East Bay city of Livermore. Two others are trying to get back on their feet, one in Silicon Valley and the other in Bakersfield.

Two City Council members from Richmond, in the East Bay Area, attended a Community First symposium in April and came home with a vision to repeat what they saw.

“I was really, really impressed,” said Councilor Gayle McLaughlin. She wants to work with Contra Costa County and local nonprofits to build something similar – albeit smaller – on a 3.5-acre site just outside the city limits.

Not enough tiny houses for everyone who wants them

Community First offers several tiny home options. For example, the 200-square-foot micro-homes offer electricity but no plumbing (residents share shared bathrooms), and offer space for a bed, as well as a small living area with a fridge, freezer, microwave, crock pot, and coffee maker. The village also has larger models, including prefabricated houses with an area of ​​about 400 square meters and full water supply. They have a bedroom, a living area with a couch and a small dining table, a mini kitchen and a bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower.

With land scarce in California, it would be difficult to build enough small homes to make a noticeable difference in the state’s homelessness crisis. Even Austin’s small home village hasn’t solved the problem.

Tiny houses used as apartments on Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023. (CalMatters/Jordan Vonderhaar)

Camps are still plentiful in the city’s green belts, and the estimated number of homeless people in the county rose 40% between 2019 and 2022, according to federally mandated point-in-time census. In 2021, disgruntled Austin voters passed legislation banning public camping, and activists say homeless people are now being forced to move from camp to camp because of a shortage of emergency shelters or long-term housing.

Matt Bradley, 39, said it would be “nice” to move to the tiny home village and not have to constantly worry about someone stealing their belongings. Bradley, one of many people living in a tent in the woods behind Austin’s South Town Square mall, said he’s been on the apartment waiting list for three years. The police come by at regular intervals and check him and his neighbors.

“They calm us down and say help is coming,” Bradley said. “But you know, we’re still waiting.”

Austin vs California

Left: Caravans serve as homes at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023. (CalMatters/Jordan Vonderhaar). Right: A Tiny Home Village as an affordable solution to housing the homeless in Sacramento on September 29, 2022. (CalMatters/Rahul Lal)

In a way, homeless service providers in California are inclined to like what they see in Austin. State and local politicians have increasingly embraced tiny homes as a solution to homelessness since the pandemic, when concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in overcrowded shelters shaped state policy. Gov. Gavin Newsom is distributing 1,200 tiny homes for homeless residents in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Jose and San Diego counties.

However, there are some major differences between Austin Tiny Homes and most similar programs in California.

In California, tiny houses are almost exclusively used as emergency shelters. Residents are expected to move from the micro-apartments to traditional apartments — sometimes in just a few months and often with low success rates. In contrast, Community First is permanent housing. Residents pay rent (ranging from about $370 to $440 a month for a tiny house including utilities, or $450 for an RV — plus electricity and propane) and can live there until they die.

The sheer size of Community First also sets it apart from other tiny home projects. It’s probably the largest in the country for the homeless. Built on 120 acres just outside the city limits, the nearly 400 habitable homes are home to 345 formerly homeless people and 40 missionaries. By the end of the year, the number is expected to increase to 530 apartments. In addition, construction is underway on another 600 houses across the street, which are expected to be completed over the next six years. Travis County recently contributed $35 million to build an additional 750 homes on a separate lot 15 minutes away.

The county’s commitment is the first time the organization has received public funding. Until then, it had depended on private donations and large donations from wealthy donors such as Michael and Susan Dell. This is another departure from California, where tiny home projects typically rely heavily on city, county, and state funding.

Related story: How Texas shrank its homeless population and what California can learn from it

In the major California cities where homelessness is most prevalent — Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, for example — it’s nearly impossible to find huge lots that would fit hundreds of tiny homes.

“The tiny houses are often just not big enough to be helpful,” said Marybeth Shinn, a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in homelessness.

And there’s a debate over whether tiny homes should be accepted as permanent housing. About two-thirds of tiny houses in the village of Austin have no plumbing, forcing residents to leave their units to access shared bathrooms.

The units with no bathrooms do not meet the housing quality standards set by the federal government, which has some activists thinking.

A resident cooks breakfast for his neighbors in one of Community First’s communal kitchens! Village in Austin, Texas on May 12, 2023. (CalMatters/Jordan Vonderhaar)

“The focus has to be housing someone,” said Alex Visotzky, senior California political scientist at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “And housing means having a bathroom, a kitchen, a sense of privacy, tenancy rights and the stability that comes with that. That must be the end goal. That’s what ends a person’s homelessness.”

Austin’s Graham says it’s “bullshit”. If people want to live in a small housing unit they can afford, with no bathrooms, that should be their right, he said. Also, no one in his community has to walk more than 100 feet to a toilet, he said.

“People should have a choice,” Graham said, “and we should get people out of the misery in which they live as soon as possible.”

A sense of belonging

Graham, who lives in the tiny home village himself, describes the community as cheerful with a “side salad full of excitement”. Many residents have mental health issues and it’s not uncommon to see someone walking down the street naked, he said. The program does not require residents to be sober, and many have addictions. But after moving into the village, residents who use drugs report using on average 80% less than on the street, Graham said.

Blair Racine, 69, has lived at Community First in Austin for five years. He pays about $500 a month to rent an old 1990s RV — one of the original dwellings before the organization started building fancier tiny houses. Racine, a University of Minnesota graduate and former real estate agent, said he ended up homeless after a former business partner got him into financial trouble and left him without family support to fall back on. He spent four years on the streets and in homeless shelters.

Now Racine feels like he belongs. People here call him “the Mayor” and he spends his days offering a listening ear and emotional support to his neighbors. He plans to live here until his death. Then he wants to be buried on site.

“I came here and found this to be my place,” he said. “And the rest is history.”

About the author

Marisa Kendall reports on the California homelessness crisis for CalMatters. She previously covered homelessness for the Bay Area News Group, the courts for The Recorder in San Francisco, and crime for The News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, DC

About CalMatters

CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to explaining California politics and politics.

The post This Texas Homeless Village Evokes California Replicas: Artwork, Motion pictures, Fishing Pond – GV Wire appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

School, town and state questions are also on the ballot

The April 4 election will decide which candidates local residents want to lead their towns and villages.

Eight municipalities have contested races: Baileys Harbor, the Town of Forestville, Gardner, Gibraltar, Liberty Grove, Nasewaupee, Sister Bay and Washington. The final installment in our three-part election coverage follows – for Gardner, Sister Bay and Washington. To see the candidate information published in the previous two issues, visit doorcountypulse.com.

The remaining municipalities – and the five Door County school districts – also have elections, though none of their seats are contested. Those are the City of Sturgeon Bay and Brussels, the Town and Village of Egg Harbor, Ephraim, the Village of Forestville, Jacksonport, Sevastopol, the Town of Sturgeon Bay and Union.

We’ll have all the election results on our website after the polls close at 8 pm on April 4.

Wisconsin voters will also decide a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court between Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, who was appointed to a spot on the court by then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2016 before losing a 2020 election for a full term. 

The state’s highest court currently has a 4-3 conservative majority. An outcome of the liberal candidate – Protasiewicz – would flip that balance at a time when the court is likely to hear a case challenging Wisconsin’s abortion law. Learn more about these candidates at doorcountypulse.com.

Finally, questions posed on the ballot are for specific communities – the Gibraltar and Washington school districts and the Town of Egg Harbor – and for the entire state, which will decide on two constitutional amendments and one advisory referendum. We unpack the constitutional amendments and the Gibraltar school referendum on the Door County Pulse podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at doorcountypulse.com/podcasts. 

Go vote. It’s a right and a privilege.

Town of Gardner

Three seats are up for election on the five-member Gardner Town Board, and all three have a race: the chair’s seat and the seats for the Supervisor 1 and 2 seats.

Town Board Chair

Paul DeWitt.

Paul DeWitt, 69, is retired and a graduate of Southern Door High School. He’s married to Debby DeWitt, and they have one adult daughter. He previously served as the town board chair for 10 years and also represented the town on the Door County Board of Supervisors for eight years.

Why are you running for the town chair instead of a supervisor seat?

I believe in guiding the town board in a proactive approach and bringing resolve to all major issues. I will welcome constituents’ input, take timely action and plan for the town’s future needs. As former town chair, I have a proven record of making constituents, the town and our future a priority. 

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

The two most important services the town offers are fire protection and first responders. I believe both are operating smoothly and serve the people well. The town needs to identify blighted properties to have them remediated.

What do you think should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Implementing a five- and 10-year plan to fund road maintenance/repair, and resolving the zoning issue. A yes-or-no referendum is vital in concluding this issue. Years of time and money spent have resulted in no decision. With planning, there should be no surprises, and we should be able to move forward in a positive and progressive way.

Carl R. Waterstreet.

Carl R. Waterstreet, 67, is retired from law enforcement, from plumbing/HVAC and as a driver’s education instructor. He’s a graduate of Algoma High School and a law-enforcement academy. He has a trade degree and has taken numerous college courses. He is married to Gail Waterstreet, and they have two adult sons. He is serving his first two-year term as town board chair and previously served as Supervisor 2 for nine years. 

Why are you running for the town chair instead of a supervisor seat?

I am presently the Gardner town chairman. I believe there are many challenges in our town still left to be resolved. I believe that I can continue in a leadership role to resolve those challenges, working with the town’s people and board members to move the town forward. 

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

Two items the town is doing right are starting a committee for broadband with other towns for faster internet, and working and compromising on raze orders to clean up unrepairable structures. One thing the town needs to improve is infrastructure. To address these items, I will continue to include the voice of residents. 

What do you think should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Faster internet with fiber broadband is the future, and another huge priority is zoning. I believe the residents should decide their future in zoning – whether it’s town zoning or county zoning. We need zoning to keep the town’s integrity and beauty. Also, develop a better plan to maintain our roads and other developments. 

Keitha McDonald.

Keitha McDonald, 66, is retired after working for 30 years for Davies Water Equipment/Ferguson Waterworks. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is married to Michael McDonald. Between them, they have three adult children. This is her first run for public office.

Why are you running for office?

I am running for office because I would like to make a difference in my community.

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

We currently have a committee looking into bringing broadband internet to the town. With more people working from home, internet service has become a big issue in our area. I would like to see more residents involved in our local government.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

I believe we need to continue improving our roads and protecting our shoreline. We also need to attract more small businesses to our area.

Glen Merkle.

Glen Merkle, 68, is retired. He is a graduate of Southern Door High School and is married to Tracy Merkle. He is the incumbent Supervisor 1 candidate, a position he has held since 2015. 

Why are you running for office?

I have lived in the Town of Gardner since the late ’70s. I would like to continue serving the residents of our town and assist the members of the board in current and future projects to keep our community strong.

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

We are currently working on two separate projects for the growth of our town: potential broadband, and town or county zoning. Further information will be provided at future town board meetings. What needs improvement is that the entire town board needs to work together to enforce our ordinances that have been implemented.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Funding for town roads. As a member of the Fire Board and retired fireman, I feel we need to recruit younger fire personnel. With the residents’ input, we need to discuss the possibility of a new town hall to better serve our community.

Mark Lentz.

Mark Lentz, 67, is a retired municipal public-works director. He has a B.S. in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University and is married to Connie Lentz. He is the incumbent Supervisor 2. He had not held any elected positions until his first run for office in 2021, when voters elected him to his current seat.

Why are you running for office?

I am running for a second term as town Supervisor 2. Additionally, I have chaired the Town Plan Commission for six years. I enjoy using my professional local-government experience to help guide the town and assist its residents. During my time serving the town, I have administered contract bids and specifications, helped write ordinances, and coordinated the update to the 20-year Comprehensive Plan.

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

Gardner is a quiet, rural and recreational town bordering the bays of Green Bay and Little Sturgeon. As a board, we strive to ensure and maintain good services, quality of life and enjoyable recreational opportunities. We work hard on communicating with residents and keeping them informed about town’s activities and issues.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Our priorities will continue to be administering a responsible budget and maintaining services and infrastructure. Of those, road maintenance is our most challenging expense due to rapidly increasing construction and material costs. Communicating and sharing information with our residents is extremely important, and we will continue to improve on those efforts.

Mike Marchant.

Mike Marchant, 59, has been working for Marchant’s Foods since graduating from Southern Door High School. He owned and operated the Quietwoods South Campground for 30 years and was a member of the Brussels/Union/Gardner Fire Department for 22 years. He’s married to Chris Marchant, and they have two children. This is his first run for public office.

Why are you running for office?

I would be glad to serve the people of Gardner and keep moving forward with addressing the needs and concerns of the community and town.

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

Working on keeping roads up and finding ways to bring more visitors to share what Gardner has to offer.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Working on a plan – and/or place – for all community members to enjoy and use, and watch how funds are used.

Village of Sister Bay

Incumbent village president Rob Zoschke is being challenged for his seat by incumbent trustee Nate Bell.

In addition, six candidates are vying for three open seats on the Sister Bay Village Board. The top-three vote-getters will be seated.

None of the six candidates are incumbent trustees. However, Sarah White, who is one of the six candidates on the April 4 ballot, was appointed to fill a board-seat vacancy created by the departure of Mary Lyons. White was sworn in Feb. 21 – after she had filed her candidacy papers. She was also among the top vote-getters in the primary election.

Village Board President

Nate Bell.

Nate Bell, 42, is a network engineer for Bertram Communications, formerly known as Door County Broadband. He is a Gibraltar High School graduate with various professional certifications and is divorced. He is an incumbent village board trustee serving his fourth term. He was appointed to the board in December 2015, then elected for three consecutive two-year terms. 

Why are you running for the village chair instead of a supervisor seat?

Because I love the community of Sister Bay (and Door County). I believe the village needs new leadership for a better Sister Bay. 

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

I look at Pebble Beach as the best thing the village has done since I’ve been a trustee. The village could do a better job of bringing stakeholders together and building consensus.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Attainable housing, broadband and parking/transportation. Although the village cannot solve these issues, the village can help facilitate the solutions. 

Rob Zoschke.

Rob Zoschke, 57, is the manager of the Sister Bay Inn. He has a B.A. in English from Lake Forest College and is a single dad with twin seventh-grade daughters. He served one prior term as a village board trustee before being elected to his current term and position as village president. 

Why are you running for the village chair instead of a supervisor seat?

I seek reelection as president to continue emphasizing commonsense oversight of the village, which includes every member of our community having a voice that is heard and considered.

What is your village doing right? What needs improvement?

“We Welcome All” stickers in windows – it’s not a marketing slogan; it’s part of the fabric of our community, and that is not only right, it is beautiful. To improve acknowledging the pandemic is over, I have commenced a return to board meetings in public instead of by computer.

What do you believe should be top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

This question hinges on the state’s definition of a village president, who is equal to village trustees, without certain decision powers like a town or city leader. I relish the opportunity to welcome our new trustees and their dynamic and meaningful priorities.

Village Board Trustees

Patrice Champeau.

Patrice Champeau, 61, works at the front desk of the White Gull Inn and is an artist. She has a B.S. in education and an A.D. in paralegal studies from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her partner is Eric Smith, and she has one daughter. This is her first time running for public office.

Why are you running for office?

I am running for the village board to serve the community that I am passionate about. My roots go deep here. My family settled here in the 1870s. I have served on several boards here in Door County. I currently serve on the Sister Bay Planning Commission. In recent years, new developments have changed the face of our village. Going forward, I would work hard to return the charm of our waterfront community.

What is the village doing right? What needs to be improved?

Doing right: strong village president in Rob Zoschke, smart growth planning, fire department, EMT staff, sewer and water services, beaches and marina. Needs improvement: preserving green space, protecting the bluff, restoring Village Hall, providing a park uptown, resolving traffic and parking needs, establishing a Historic District and preserving our image as a charming waterfront community.

What do you believe should be top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

We need to work on traffic and parking, preservation of green space and strict smart growth. We need to protect and support our nursing home and restore Village Hall. We need to limit the number of short-term-rental units and promote affordable housing for year-round residents.

Vivian Nienow.

Vivian Nienow, 67, is retired from a varied career with lots of child care toward the end. She has a B.A. in education from Cardinal Stritch College. She and husband Keith Nienow have two adult sons. She ran for Sister Bay trustee in 2020 and served one two-year term. 

Why are you running for office?

I started attending village meetings when a development was proposed that abuts my home. Friends encouraged me to run for office, which I did, and I was a trustee for two years. I feel I bring a different perspective to the board. I believe I represent the people who live here but don’t depend on tourism. I realize many of my friends and neighbors do, and I definitely benefit from tourism, but my focus is different.

What is the village doing right? What needs to be improved?

We are very good at taking care of tourists. To attract workers, we need housing. Apartments have been built, affordable units completed. Modest homes will be built on lots the village sold to DC Housing Partnership. We are not good at respecting opinions that are different from those of the people in power.

What do you believe should be top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

The Wiltse property presents a great opportunity. Safe paths for bikes and pedestrians are needed throughout the village. We should also address parking and the internet. We always need to balance the needs of residents with those of tourists. It seems we often ask, “Can we?” when the better question is, “Should we?”

Lilly Orozco

Lilly Orozco, 32, is the partner/general manager at Skip Stone Coffee in Sister Bay. She has a B.A. in tourism from the Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico. She is married to Juan Ornelas, and they have an 8-year-old daughter. This is her first time running for public office.

Why are you running for office?

My family and I moved to Door County seven years ago and reside here year-round. I decided to run for office because I believe that a person like me – a young professional, woman, wife, mother and Latina – should be more involved in our community’s matters. I want the best for Sister Bay and its lovely people and would love the opportunity to represent them and work for a better future. 

What is your village doing right? What needs improvement?

The village has done, and continues to do, great things for the community. There is of course always room for improvement. We have a beautiful downtown that has helped bring tourism into our businesses, but it would be great to replicate this for the benefit of our year-round local community. 

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

To focus on creating a development plan that is sustainable. By that I mean that the growth we see is beneficial for the three main parts that conform to a community like ours: tourism, local residents and the environment. It’s all about balance. 

Andrew Torcivia.

Andrew Torcivia, 45, is the owner of Lundquist Realty and Vacation Rentals of Door County. He graduated from high school and has his real estate broker license. He is married to Tina Torcivia, and they have two children. This is his first run for public office.

Why are you running for office?

Being both a resident and a business owner of Sister Bay, I am very committed to the future of the village and our community. My background consists of construction, project management, property management and real estate. I want to use these leadership skills and knowledge to support our community and provide a well-balanced viewpoint.

What is your village doing right? What needs improvement?

In the complex world that we live in, the board is doing its best to do the right thing for the residents of Sister Bay. However, I wish to see more transparency with how the board makes its decisions and what its plans are when it comes to its decisions on policy. 

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

I think Sister Bay has seen a lot of growth over the past few years. One top priority is managing that growth. In the end, we all want to have an amazing place to live, prosperous businesses that provide sustaining jobs, and a strong community. 

Alison Werner.

Alison Werner, 47, is an acupuncturist who owns Wood Rabbit Acupuncture in Ephraim. She has a B.A. in art history from Pomona College in Claremont, California, and an M.S. in traditional Chinese medicine from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco. She is married to Simon Werner, and they have a 7-year-old son. This is her first run for public office.

Why are you running for office?

My ancestors arrived in Ephraim in the 1850s, and I have always had a deep respect and love for the region. I see a lot of change happening, and I would like to help shape that change so that old and new can come together in a harmonious way. I would like to bring the voices of the villagers to the board so that all ideas can be heard, discussed and respected.

What is your village doing right? What needs improvement?

I believe that Sister Bay has done a fantastic job of beautifying the waterfront and maintaining public green space. I think the village needs to curtail some of the development and make sure we have enough resources to serve the residents and current visitors before allowing further expansion.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

The village should address truly affordable housing for our workforce, families and seniors; encourage walking into downtown from parking areas farther from the center; develop an economically sound method for preserving the Village Hall; ensure access to high-speed internet; and make residents more aware of village happenings.

Sarah White.

Sarah White, 36, works remotely as the head of strategy, growth and innovation at Children’s Minnesota; and as co-owner of Peach Barn Farmhouse and Brewery in Sister Bay. She has a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa and a master’s of health care administration from the University of Minnesota. She is married to Jason White, and they have three daughters between the ages of 3 and 7. This is her first run for public office.

Why did you run for office?

I ran for the village board because Door County has been my happy place my entire life. As a Sister Bay business owner, homeowner and parent, I want to keep our village a great place to raise a family. I have the business, health care and community-service experience necessary to be an effective contributor. I care deeply about people and understanding various perspectives, and I will work hard to ensure our community continues to thrive.

What is your town doing right? What needs improvement?

Sister Bay has a beautiful public beach and marina, a charming downtown and a welcoming community, among many other things. Our village will need to ensure that we are investing in the adequate infrastructure to support healthy growth while maintaining the Door County we all love. 

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

As the world continues to evolve and become more connected, and more people have the capability to work remotely, Door County will continue to be discovered. Protecting and preserving the magic of our community, while also proactively balancing this reality, requires careful planning. 

Town of Washington

Four candidates are on the ballot for two supervisor seats. 

The incumbent in that race, Martin Andrson, did not respond to the Peninsula Pulse’s request for information. 

Another candidate, John Jesson, will be on the ballot – the only thing that stops that is if a candidate files a Notification of Noncandidacy by the January deadline – but he said his circumstances have changed since he first filed for candidacy in January. Due to the press of work that will keep him off the island more often and for longer than planned, he’s no longer actively seeking the position. 

The final two candidates are making their first runs for public office.

Valerie Carpenter.

Valerie Carpenter, 63, is retired. She has a B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. She is a Wisconsin certified municipal clerk from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She is widowed. 

Why are you running for office?

I believe I have a lot to offer the community, stemming from my 18 years serving the Town of Washington community as the clerk/treasurer. During my years as clerk/treasurer, I have learned much about what is needed for the town to succeed.

What is the Town of Washington doing right? What needs improvement?

The Town of Washington has a wonderful group of volunteers who serve on various town-sponsored committees to provide needed services to the public. These are dedicated individuals who donate many hours of their time. Their ideas promote open communication between the board and the public.

What do you believe should be top priorities for the village to address during the next five years?

Looking at ideas for sustainable and affordable housing for all ages is a top priority. Issues regarding the airport need to be resolved, including listening to what the voters want. Perhaps more frequent and shorter board meetings focused on specific topics would encourage more participation from the community. 

Margaret Foss.

Margaret Foss, 64, is a retired educator who spent 38 years at Washington Island School. She has a B.S. in special education and a master’s degree as a reading specialist. She is married to Kirby Foss, and they have one adult daughter. 

Why are you running for office?

I have lived permanently on the island for 41 years, working as a teacher and volunteering for many school and community organizations. Now that I am retired, I want to serve the community that has given me so much. I have the time, energy and work ethic necessary.

What is the Town of Washington doing right? What needs improvement?

Volunteerism is integral to life on the Island. We do this well! Departments, local boards and committees all work very hard to keep the community vibrant and secure. Like every community, we experience a broad diversity of opinion on many local matters. I commit to being an advocate for respectful, civil dialogue.

What do you believe should be the top priorities for the town to address during the next five years?

Housing for everyone, within reach for long-term occupancy. Preservation of resources: natural, environmental and human. Continued growth and exploration of elder-care options. Community-center stewardship for the benefit of all. Reasonable, fair and affordable airport maintenance – no paving! Responsible garbage/trash management, appropriate recycling requirements. Environmentally responsible wastewater management. Strong partnerships among governmental and civic agencies.

The post This Vote Is for Your City and Village Leaders appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

One week ago, Ryan Bauer was living in a tent on the hard pavement on Gough Street south of Market. Now he’s living on the same pavement with a dramatic upgrade: He’s moved into his own tiny home, with a mattress, desk, chair and — most luxurious of all — a heater that quickly warms his 64-square-foot abode. That’s almost as crucial as a front door that locks from the inside and by a combination lock on the outside.

“It’s definitely a lot warmer, and I don’t have to worry about my stuff being taken,” said Bauer, 45, who is known on the street as “Nobody.” “I haven’t had a locked area where I could leave my stuff and not have it stolen for who knows how long.”

Bauer has been homeless for 30 years, since he left Illinois at age 17. He’s one of 30 men and women to be promoted from a tent city on the city-leased lot into the tiny structures where they can live for at least a year. Eventually the site will hold 70 units in modular duplexes.

The lot at 33 Gough St., between Market and Mission streets, has been used since December 2020 as a city-sanctioned “safe sleeping village,” holding 44 tents for homeless people.

Elizabeth Funk, 52, is founder and executive chairman of DignityMoves, a nonprofit that emerged during the pandemic to address the crisis on the streets. In less than a year, she has raised $2 million to construct a total of 70 rooms in duplexes of prefabricated panels assembled on steel frame foundations with insulation and electrical outlets. The site will have improved bathrooms, storage spaces and a dining area.

The cabins, along with the dining and other facilities, will be paid for by DignityMoves and the nonprofit Tipping Point Community as part of a pilot program. The cost is around $15,000 to build each unit, but adding in amenities like the two dining halls, restrooms, a computer and landscaping, it totals $30,000 per unit. The city will pay for the meal service, security and supportive services.

The city has been spending about $60,000 per tent for safe sleeping villages, including food, security and supportive services.

Known as the DignityMoves Village, the site is San Francisco’s first experiment with tiny homes, an approach to homelessness that’s been used in Oakland, San Jose and other Bay Area cities.

Ryan “Nobody” Bauer has been homeless for 30 years.

Sam Whiting/The Chronicle

The first 12 residents have moved into the rooms decorated by volunteers with homey touches like fleece blankets, artwork, throw pillows, toiletry baskets and welcome notes.

“A lot of the residents have been incarcerated where everything is exactly the same, so they really appreciate the individual touch,” Funk said.

By the time the village is completed this spring, it will have the 70 rooms and two dining halls with three meals a day provided by nonprofit Mother Brown. The nonprofit Urban Alchemy will provide on-site security and supportive services.

The land belongs to a private developer awaiting construction permits for permanent housing. The city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is leasing it until at least March 2023, with possible extensions.

Shireen McSpadden, director of DHSH, told The Chronicle in September that if the pilot project is a success, the department “might want to replicate it into other parts of the city.”

Everyone who has been living in a tent on the site for a year has been offered a room. Nobody turned it down.

“They said, ‘Are you kidding me?'” said Everett Butler, co-director of Urban Alchemy. “They were beyond appreciative to be able to go inside their own space and lock the door behind them, turn the heaters on and kick back.”

A sister village is being built in Santa Barbara with a separate budget of $1.8 million, and more are being contemplated around the state.

“It’s not a place you would stay forever, but is a stopover while people figure out a way out of homelessness,” said Funk, a Stanford graduate who runs an impact investing fund. Her donor base comes from her own contact list, along with foundations. Dignity Health is a major donor, although the name is coincidental.

“This is not an alternative to permanent housing,” Funk said, “but it is an attractive alternative for people who are willing to go to group shelters.”

Still it will take getting used to. Ryan “Nobody” Bauer has been sleeping upright in a chair for so long, he has been having trouble sleeping while reclining.

“I have to get used to sleeping on a mattress,” he said, “but it’s a lot better than average. I was cold last night and turned on the heater and wow.”

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @samwhitingsf

The post San Francisco’s first tiny house village for homeless individuals opens. At $15,000 a pop, metropolis says it’s cost-effective appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

One week ago, Ryan Bauer was living in a tent on the hard pavement on Gough Street south of Market. Now he’s living on the same pavement with a dramatic upgrade: He’s moved into his own tiny home, with a mattress, desk, chair and most luxurious of all — a heater that quickly warms his 64-square-foot abode. That’s almost as crucial as a front door that locks from the inside and by a combination lock on the outside.

“It’s definitely a lot warmer and I don’t have to worry about my stuff being taken,” said Bauer, 45, who is known on the street as “Nobody.” “I haven’t had a locked area where I could leave my stuff and not have it stolen for who knows how long.”

Bauer has been homeless for 30 years, since he left Illinois at age 17. He’s one of 30 men and women to be promoted from a tent city on the city-leased lot into the tiny cabins where they can live for at least a year. Eventually the site will hold 70 cabins.

The lot at 33 Gough St., between Market and Mission streets, has been used since December 2020 as a city-sanctioned “safe sleeping village,” holding 44 tents for homeless people.

In less than a year, Funk has raised $2 million to construct a total of 70 rooms in modular duplexes of prefabricated panels assembled on steel frame foundations with insulation and electrical outlets. The site will have improved bathrooms, storage spaces and a dining area.

The cabins, along with the dining and other facilities, will be paid for by the nonprofits DignityMoves and Tipping Point Community as part of a pilot program. The cost is around $15,000 to build each home but if you add in amenities like the two dining halls, restrooms, a computer and landscaping, it totals $30,000 per unit. The city will pay for the meal service, security and supportive services.

The city has been spending about $60,000 per tent for safe sleeping villages, about twice the cost of a median one-bedroom in the city.

Known as the DignityMoves Village, the site is San Francisco’s first experiment with tiny homes, an approach to homelessness that’s been used in Oakland, San Jose and other Bay Area cities.

Ryan “Nobody” Bauer at the door of his Tiny Home

Sam Whiting/the Chroncie

The first 12 residents have moved into the rooms decorated by volunteers with homey touches like fleece blankets, artwork, throw pillows, toiletry baskets and welcome notes by volunteers.

“A lot of the residents have been incarcerated where everything is exactly the same so they really appreciate the individual touch,” said Elizabeth Funk, 52, founder and executive of DignityMoves, a nonprofit which emerged during the pandemic to address the crisis on the streets .

By the time the village is completed this spring, it will have 70 rooms and two dining halls with three meals a day provided by nonprofit Mother Brown. Nonprofit Urban Alchemy will provide on-site security and supportive services.

The land belongs to a private developer awaiting construction permits for permanent housing. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing is leasing it until at least March of 2023, with possible extensions.

Shireen McSpadden, director of the city Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, told The Chronicle in September that if the pilot project is a success, the department “might want to replicate it into other parts of the city.”

Everyone who has been living in a tent on the site for a year has been offered a room. Nobody turned it down.

“They said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ said Everett Butler, co-director of Urban Alchemy. “They were beyond appreciative to be able to go inside their own space and lock the door behind them, turn the heaters on and kick back.”

Ryan Bauer’s Tiny Home

Sam Whiting/the Chroncie

A sister village is being built in Santa Barbara with a separate budget of $1.8 million and more are being contemplated around the state.

“It’s not a place you would stay forever, but is a stopover while people figure out a way out of homelessness,” said Funk, a Stanford graduate who runs an impact investing fund. Her donor base comes from her own contact list along with foundations. Dignity Health is a major donor although the name is coincidental.

“This is not an alternative to permanent housing,” Funk said, “but it is an attractive alternative for people who are willing to go to group shelters.”

Still it will take getting used to. Ryan “Nobody” Bauer has been sleeping upright in a chair for so long, he has been having trouble sleeping while prone.

“I have to get used to sleeping on a mattress,” he said, “but it’s a lot better than average. I was cold last night and turned on the heater and wow.”

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @samwhitingsf

The post San Francisco’s first tiny cabin village for homeless folks opens. At $15,000 a pop, metropolis says it’s cost-effective appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Officials hope the new community will provide a safer alternative to shelters, but it brings its own challenges.

Allison Artzer has been homeless for over three years, much of it on the streets of San Francisco. Ten months ago, while sitting on a curb with all her belongings, the 36-year-old was approached by a member of the San Francisco homeless outreach team and given them a tent in one of the city’s “safe sleeping villages” at 33 Gough Street offered. on Marktstrasse.

Artzer, who often had their belongings stolen on the streets or thrown away by police officers, said yes.

She found it was a big improvement over the street as it had a central place to store her belongings and a separate room for them. But the tent has some drawbacks. When it rains, her things get wet and some are destroyed no matter how many tarps she throws over them. At night the temperature can drop to almost 45 degrees and she has to snuggle under blankets to fight the cold. She shares a tent with her partner and because the tents are so thin they cannot have private conversations.

So she was excited when she heard that the city would replace her tent with a small hut with a lockable door, bed, desk, and space heater.

“My life has changed for the better in the last 10 months, I only have one place to call home even though it’s a tent,” she says. “Now I want to start looking for a job again and be a normal person again.”

San Francisco officials announced in September that they would build a tiny hometown on Gough Street, which is currently allowing tents to be assembled with on-site security. The 44 tents will be replaced by around 70 tiny homes, each with around 64 square meters, in two parking spaces that the city has rented.

The apartments are part of a pilot project that will run for 18 months. After that, the city’s lease for the Gough Street parking lot will expire. The project is coordinated by the city, but funded by DignityMoves – part of an umbrella organization that pools private capital for social issues – and a non-profit donor called Tipping Point. Urban Alchemy, another non-profit organization, is already providing social services to the tent community and will continue these services for the tiny homes. (Urban Alchemy also provides services to two other safe sleeping villages in San Francisco.)

The project is one of several announced earlier this year when the Mayor of San Francisco London Breed invested more than $ 1 billion in the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing over two years, an investment that includes an RV park .

Elizabeth Funk, CEO of Dignity Capital, which formed the group DignityMoves that will fund the property, says the city has spent relatively little on temporary housing until recently. The tents and Tiny Home model are designed to provide a more hospitable alternative to street homelessness, offering privacy and security not available in dormitories.

“We really believe that the fact that people have their own private space is going to be a game changer,” says Funk.

The sites are also designed to help people transition into a more stable mental state after the trauma of living on the street.

“I can tell you firsthand that everyone experiences trauma while they’re homeless,” said Andrea Urton, CEO of HomeFirst Services in Santa Clara County, who says she used to be homeless.

“You are in an elevated state of panic and crisis,” she says. “Your health deteriorates, your mental problem-solving abilities deteriorate over time.” Urton says that it takes three to six months in stable housing for people to clear their heads.

HomeFirst will be a consultant for the San Francisco Tiny Home Project and will bring their experience building San Jose’s first Tiny Home community. In addition to the lessons learned there, Urton said, it is critical that staff are available to help with a speedy relocation.

While Funk with Dignity Capital isn’t sure how long the stays will be, they’re modeling their approach to Life Moves, which is funded by Project Homekey, a nationwide program designed to convert unused spaces into apartments, a small house community in Mountain View has erected. Average stays on the Mountain View site range from 90 to 100 days. This site also has on-site psychiatric care, nurses, and social workers, which the Gough Street site does not.

The expectation of a quick relocation for the tiny San Francisco community may be related to the desires of their financiers. DignityMoves is a coalition of business owners across the Bay Area who wanted to solve the street homelessness problem. Funk admits that some business owners have “selfish reasons” to want to help, probably out of fear that street homelessness has reduced spending in commercial corridors.

Urton says if the San Francisco location is moving quickly, having staff available to handle housing issues is critical. “If the units aren’t linked to rapid relocation services, it will take a long time to relocate people permanently,” she says.

However, Lena Miller, who runs Urban Alchemy, says that expecting a quick relocation of residents to the Gough Street site may not be realistic because there aren’t enough permanent housing units to move people quickly. She also believes that many residents have basic issues, such as mental health and substance abuse, that need to be addressed.

Artzer says her attempts to find an apartment in the sleeping village on Gough Street have been unsuccessful. She was interviewed twice for accommodation but failed to qualify. She says the apartments offered are primarily for people with mental health problems or physical disabilities that she does not have. “My only problem is that I’m homeless,” she says. In the 10 months she was in the sleeping village, she said that only 6 people she knew were placed in permanent shelter.

Urban Alchemy has two “Care Coordinators” at Gough Street each day who connect residents to outside facilities when they need social workers, plus another 5-6 people who work throughout the day to resolve conflicts and on day-to-day tasks help. Miller says the nonprofit will likely hire another care coordinator once the tiny homes are built, as it will get more funding to deal with adding two dozen people to the population.

Officials in San Francisco claim the tiny home project will have a cheaper cost per person than maintaining 44 tents across the property. Most of the cost of the tent village is security and other staff costs, as the tents themselves cost a little over a hundred dollars each. The city reckons that by increasing the population density with tiny homes that are closer together than the tents, they can lower the cost per person while spending more money.

It is unclear whether this prediction will come true. HomeFirst’s Urton says one of the lessons learned from the San Jose project was that the cost was higher than expected.

“We budgeted a lot less for electricity than planned,” she says. “It’s a lot more expensive than we thought.” She also pointed out the need for licensed therapists, social workers and drug treatments in small shared apartments to help people transition into society.

But Urban Alchemy’s Miller says it’s unlikely either the city or private donors will want to cover those costs at the Gough Street site, even with the city’s $ 1.2 billion homeless budget.

“There’s probably more than can be done,” she says, “you need therapists, drug treatment, it’s extremely urgent.” While most people are homeless due to economic hardship or a lack of housing, the residents of the safe sleeping villages have San Francisco has an above-average number of people with addictions and mental illnesses, according to Miller.

“An extremely high percentage of the villagers have a double diagnosis,” she says. “If you add up the addiction services that people really need to recover and thrive, the price will be astronomical.”

For Artzer, who says that she has neither addiction nor mental illness and describes herself as healthy, a safe tent in the sleeping village is an immeasurable help. She became homeless for the first time three years ago while working as a waitress. When a number of housing situations went wrong, she lost her deposits and could not afford a new apartment. She ended up renting nightly hotels, but the distance from work resulted in her missing her shifts and eventually losing her job. She soon found herself on the streets with no income.

“It was so quick to be a normal person working inside being outside, it was scary,” she says. “You get used to it, I think.”

Roshan Abraham is Next City’s Housing Correspondent and a former Equitable Cities Fellow. He is based in Queens. Follow him on Twitter at @roshantone.

The post San Francisco Upgrades Tent Village to Tiny Residence Group appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

OAKLAND (KPIX) – An innovative housing solution in East Oakland is gaining international attention as the country’s first youth-rented Tiny Home Village to open this year.

Colorful murals greet visitors to the Tiny House Empowerment Village. A warm welcome home for Ashley Jaggers and her dog.

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“It kind of makes you excited to see it when you walk in. It’s like this place is so cool, ”said Jaggers.

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Every house is a little shorter than a mobile home. Jaggers was among the first to move in months ago. She was homeless in Oakland for over two years.

“I used to live under the underpass, in a makeshift tent, in a car,” she explained.

The East Oakland village is home to unsecured people ages 18-25. The once vacant property is now a fenced-in community with 25 tiny homes, a communal kitchen, communal area and showers.

Each unit has a fold-away bed that can be folded up into a desk, a laptop, WiFi and electricity.

Village director Angel Griffin says the residents have more than a roof over their heads. The residents living there get a fresh start.

“It just gives them a sense of independence and the guidance to say, ‘Okay, I can do this on my own,'” Griffin said.

Residents must participate in the Youth Spirit Artworks program. The Berkeley-based nonprofit provides professional training, health insurance, full service, and art classes to promote healing.

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Residents pay a third of their income for rent and can stay in the tiny homes for two years while they get back on their feet.

Sally Hindman, founder of Youth Spirit Artworks, says the nonprofit’s interns created the vision for the village a few years ago and guided the process from planning to prototype.

“You were the decision maker. They were brilliant leaders in everything, ”beamed Hindman.

Youth leaders received help from 3,000 volunteers from dozens of interfaith communities, schools and businesses. They built and painted the murals.

The $ 1.3 million project is funded by city grants, a GoFundMe campaign, and material donations.

“It’s an amazing model of what a community can do when they decide to tackle a problem,” said Hindman.

And the world is watching.

“We received calls from Germany and e-mails from Romania,” she said.

Here in the Bay Area, talks are ongoing with several cities about building the next 75 tiny homes in the East Bay.

For Jaggers, she finally enjoys a safe, quiet environment to study online at Laney College.

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She plans to become a social worker so she can open doors to others who also need a home – and hope – for their future.

The post East Oakland Tiny Houses Village Garners Worldwide Consideration – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Allison Artzer has been homeless for over three years, much of it on the streets of San Francisco. Ten months ago, while sitting on a curb with all her belongings, the 36-year-old was approached by a member of the San Francisco homeless outreach team and offered a tent in one of the city’s “safe sleeping villages” at 33 Gough Street. on Marktstrasse.

Artzer, who often had their belongings stolen on the streets or thrown away by police officers, said yes.

She found it was a big improvement over the street as it had a central location for her belongings and a dedicated room. But the tent has some drawbacks. When it rains, her things get wet and some are destroyed no matter how many tarps she throws over them. At night, the temperature can drop to nearly 45 degrees and she has to snuggle under blankets to fight the cold. She shares a tent with her partner and because the tents are so thin they cannot have private conversations.

So she was excited when she heard that the city would replace her tent with a small hut with a lockable door, bed, desk and space heater.

“My life has changed for the better in the last 10 months, I only have one place to call home even though it’s a tent,” she says. “Now I want to start again, having a job and being a normal person again.”

San Francisco officials announced in September that they would build a tiny hometown on Gough Street, which currently allows for a collection of tents with on-site security. The 44 tents will be replaced by around 70 tiny homes, each with around 64 square meters, in two parking spaces that the city has rented.

The homes are part of an 18-month pilot project that will expire the city’s lease in the Gough Street parking lot. The project is coordinated by the city, but funded by DignityMoves – part of an umbrella organization that pools private capital for social issues – and a non-profit donor called Tipping Point. Urban Alchemy, another non-profit organization, is already providing social services to the tent community and will continue these services for the tiny homes. (Urban Alchemy also provides services to two other safe sleeping villages in San Francisco.)

The project is one of several announced earlier this year when the Mayor of San Francisco London Breed invested more than $ 1 billion in the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing within two years, an investment that includes an RV park .

Elizabeth Funk, CEO of Dignity Capital, which formed the group DignityMoves that will fund the property, says the city has spent relatively little on temporary housing until recently. The tents and tiny home model are designed to provide a more hospitable alternative to street homelessness, offering privacy and security not available in dormitories.

“We really believe that it will be a decisive factor when people have their own private space,” says Funk.

The sites are also designed to help people transition into a more stable mental state after the trauma of living on the street.

“I can tell you firsthand that everyone experiences trauma while homeless,” said Andrea Urton, CEO of HomeFirst Services in Santa Clara County, who says she used to be homeless.

“You are in an increased state of panic and crisis,” she says. “Your health deteriorates, your mental problem-solving abilities deteriorate over time.” Urton says it takes three to six months in stable housing for people to clear their minds.

HomeFirst will be a consultant for the San Francisco Tiny Home Project and will bring their experience building San Jose’s first tiny home community. One of the lessons learned there, said Urton, is that it is of vital importance to have staff available to help with the rapid relocation.

While Funk with Dignity Capital isn’t sure how long the stays will be, they’re modeling their approach to Life Moves, which is a small house community in Mountain View with money from Project Homekey, a statewide program that aims to convert unused space into living space built up. Average stays on the Mountain View website are between 90 and 100 days. This location also has on-site psychiatric care, nurses and social workers, which the Gough Street location does not.

The expectation of a quick relocation for the tiny San Francisco community may be related to the desires of their financiers. DignityMoves is an association of business owners across the Bay Area who wanted to solve the street homelessness problem. Funk admits that some business owners have “selfish reasons” to want to help, probably out of fear that street homelessness has reduced spending in commercial corridors.

Urton says if the San Francisco location is moving quickly, having staff available to handle housing issues is critical. “Unless there are quick relocation services connected to the units, it will take a long time to relocate people permanently,” she says.

However, Lena Miller, who runs Urban Alchemy, says that expecting a quick relocation of residents to the Gough Street site may not be realistic because there aren’t enough permanent housing units to move people quickly. She also believes that many residents have basic issues, such as mental health and substance abuse, that need to be addressed.

Artzer says her attempts to find an apartment in the sleeping village on Gough Street have been unsuccessful. She was interviewed twice for accommodation but failed to qualify. She says the accommodations offered have been preferred for people with mental health problems or physical disabilities that she does not have. “My only problem is that I’m homeless,” she says. In the 10 months she was in the sleeping village, she says that only 6 people she knew were put into permanent shelter.

Urban Alchemy has two “Care Coordinators” at Gough Street each day who connect residents with outside agencies when they need social workers, plus another 5-6 people who work throughout the day to resolve conflicts and on day-to-day tasks help. Miller says the nonprofit will likely hire another care coordinator once the tiny homes are built, as it will get more funding to deal with adding two dozen people to the population.

Officials in San Francisco claim the tiny home project will have a cheaper per person cost than maintaining 44 tents on the property. Most of the cost of the tent village is security and other staff costs, as the tents themselves cost a little over a hundred dollars each. The city reckons that by increasing the population density in the square with tiny homes that are closer together than the tents, the cost per person can be reduced while they are spending more money.

It is unclear whether this prediction will come true. HomeFirst’s Urton says one of the lessons learned from the San Jose project was that the cost was higher than expected.

“We budgeted a lot less for electricity than planned,” she says. “It’s a lot more expensive than we thought.” She also pointed to the need for licensed therapists, social workers and drug treatments in small shared apartments to help people transition into society.

But Urban Alchemy’s Miller says it’s unlikely either the city or private donors will want to cover those costs at the Gough Street site, even with the city’s $ 1.2 billion homeless budget.

“There’s probably more than can be done,” she says, “you need therapists, drug treatment, that’s an extremely high need.” While most people are homeless due to economic hardship or lack of housing, the residents have the safer According to Miller, San Francisco sleep villages have an above-average number of people with addictions and mental illnesses.

“An extremely high percentage of the people who live in the village have a double diagnosis,” she says. “If you add up the addiction services that people really need to recover and thrive, the price will be astronomical.”

For Artzer, who says she has no addiction or mental illness and describes herself as healthy, a safe tent in the sleeping village is an immeasurable help. She became homeless for the first time three years ago while working as a waitress. When a number of housing situations went wrong, she lost her deposits and could not afford a new apartment. She ended up renting hotels nightly, but the distance from work resulted in her missing shifts and eventually losing her job. She soon found herself on the streets with no income.

“It was just so quick to work inside as a normal person, to be outside, it was scary,” she says. “You get used to it, I think.”

Roshan Abraham is Next City’s Housing Correspondent and a former Equitable Cities Fellow. He is based in Queens. Follow him on Twitter at @roshantone.

The post San Francisco Upgrades Tent Village to Tiny Residence Group appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.