Sacramento has become the latest city to consider responding to California’s acute housing crisis with “tiny homes” – small, prefabricated studio homes with bathrooms and built-in hook-ups for electricity and water.

In an era in which $2,000 apartment rentals, $600,000 homes and $300,000-plus “affordable” public housing units are normal in the Golden State, the appeal of housing that can cost as little as $40,000 per unit is obvious to government leaders dealing with growing homelessness and increased fears that expensive housing will make it difficult to attract needed workers or drive them away.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg last month proposed spending $21 million to help pay for the addition of up to 1,000 such homes – from prefab 300-square-foot modular homes to container units that could be set up inside warehouses. Steinberg offered the proposal as the centerpiece of his agenda to respond to his city’s homelessness problem and suggested that public housing vouchers could be used for construction costs.

“It’s all in our grasp,” the mayor said in his annual State of the Downtown address. “Public funding, private funding, tangible goals, public accountability and a community commitment to whatever it takes to make this homeless problem better in Sacramento.”

Sacramento only added 235 housing units in its central city in 2017, according to the Sacramento Bee. The newspaper also recently reported that in one eight-day stretch in January, nearly 35,000 residents got on the waiting list for public housing vouchers, formerly known as Section 8 vouchers.

San Jose, Fresno, Clovis see potential in housing alternative

Some other local governments in California pursuing “tiny homes”:

San Jose – In December, the City Council voted 9-2 for a $2.3 million “tiny home” pilot program in which 40 homes would be built in one location. If the project works out, officials hope to add “tiny home” villages in each of the 10 City Council districts, the San Jose Mercury-News reported.

The cost of the first 40 homes is $73,125 each – a pittance in the metro area which in 2016 became the first in the nation to have homes cost an average of more than $1 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Fresno – In 2016, it became one of the first cities in the nation to formally encourage “tiny homes” when a law took effect. “The pint-sized houses on wheels – complete with kitchen, living room and loft – are now considered backyard cottages thanks to changes in the city’s zoning and development code,” the Fresno Bee reported. “That means tiny homes can be used as independent living quarters on the same lot as a single-family house granted it meets some requirements. Previously, the mobile units could only serve as temporary lodging.”

The 270-square-foot model pre-approved by the city is built by a Fresno firm. Prices start at $45,000.

Clovis – In June, in interviews with the Fresno Bee, city officials touted a long-term development plan for the city’s Old Town that sees “tiny homes” of no more than 400 square feet build in residential alleys as the key to its revitalization.

City officials are working with a local builder to develop three models with designs that are pre-approved by the city and are available for free to the public. The city believes the “tiny houses” would cost about $50,000 on average, according to a report from Fresno County’s ABC 30 News.

Perhaps the American city farthest down the road in embracing the small housing approach is Boston. In 2014, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh launched a Housing Innovation Laboratory. City officials have developed a prototype called an Urban Housing Unit, or Uhu,  a 385-square-foot modular apartment. The prototype, which may cost as little as $40,000 to manufacture, is pictured above.

We just got back from Klamath, where Gov. Jerry Brown signed an agreement to remove four dams along the Klamath River.

Brown said the removal was about “correcting mistakes,” a nod to the indigenous people who inhabit the area and have for years suffered from the ill effects the dams cause on the river and its fish. How much does a correction cost? California could contribute anything from zero dollars to as much as $250 million.

And while Wednesday’s event was a joyous occasion for all who attended, some locals are not pleased with the deal.

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

• A Democratic assemblywoman has introduced a bill that would establish “supervised consumption sites,” where drug users could go get high under the care and supervision of local health officials, according to the Orange County Register. There will likely be some opposition to this bill.

• Speaking of drugs, the Public Policy Institute of California is urging state lawmakers to develop a single, highly regulated marijuana market for both medicinal and recreational pot (assuming recreational use becomes legal). Capitol Weekly has more.
• A new poll shows business tycoon Donald Trump (still) leading the Republican presidential field in California, reports The Sacramento Bee.

• The Clovis Unified School District voted to drop its gender-specific dress code after months of debate and pressure from groups like the ACLU, which means boys are now allowed to have long hair and wear earrings, reports The Fresno Bee.

CLARIFICATION: In yesterday’s Morning Read, we said Democrat Joaquin Arambula likely avoided a November run-off for a Fresno Assembly seat after his victory in Tuesday’s special election. While it’s true he avoided a run-off, Arambula will still have to compete in the June primary and possibly in the November general, as he’s filling out the term of the assemblyman he replaced.

Assembly:

Session begins at 9 a.m. A committee will discuss improving female participation in STEM.

Senate:

Session begins at 9 a.m. There’s a full slate of hearings.

Gov. Brown: 

Will speak at the 26th Annual Crime Victims’ Rights event in Sacramento.

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