Missouri Gulch project on track

It doesn’t take much to spark community opposition to a housing development. The phenomenon even has an acronym, NIMBY, as in Not In My Backyard.

But as Mariposa County has held a series of town hall meetings in recent weeks preparing to apply for a second round of grant funding for the Missouri Gulch housing project, there has been a surprising consensus about the overwhelming need for workforce housing.

So far, there is not a NIMBY in sight.

“It’s what’s been holding the county back,” said Marshall Long, a former Mariposa County Supervisor at a Chamber of Commerce meeting last week.

“It’s limited the ability of businesses to expand,” said someone else. “It’s essential to the health of the community,” said another.

The 80 unit apartment complex would be located on part of the empty lot at the end of Jones Street adjacent to the Masonic Lodge. It would consist of five, three-story buildings. The majority of apartments would be one or two bedroom.

The problem with housing development, said county planner Will Fassett, is that the numbers only work financially at the low income level because of tax breaks, or at upper incomes that allow developers to charge exorbitant rent.

That leaves a lot of working families out of the equation.

Missouri Gulch is aiming for the so-called “missing middle,” those who earn 120 percent of the area median income (AMI), which can range from $116,500 for a family of four to $77,000 for a family of two.

To make that target possible, Mariposa County is applying for a $27.5 million grant through the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program operated by California’s Strategic Growth Council (SGC).

If Mariposa County receives the latest grant, about $15 to $20 million would be used to subsidize and expand the income qualifications of those who would qualify to live at Missouri Gulch into the 120 percent AMI bracket.

Fassett said state officials told him last week that Mariposa County is on track and “well positioned” to receive a grant.

SGC announced at least one of three grants will go to a “disadvantaged unincorporated” community like the town of Mariposa.

It helps that SGC is already familiar with Missouri Gulch. A previous TCC grant was used to fund the engineering, design and permitting for the project.

The Missouri Gulch project is being developed by San Diego-based Community Housing Works. The entire project may cost more that $40 million, although no official price tag has been established.

Community Housing Works is considering so-called “master leases” for larger employers in the community, so they have housing for their workforce.

Because of various tax credits that make the project feasible, the developer must still make at least 20 percent of the units “affordable” at an average of 50 percent of AMI.

But advocates of the project have pointed out that lower income level would include many entry level government workers, known as GS-5, in Yosemite National Park.

County officials have been careful to avoid comparison to the Creekside Terrace Apartments, which are geared toward low income families and those who were previously unhoused. The apartments have become a focal point for local concerns about drugs and homelessness.

The TCC grant money left over from the housing component of the project — between $7 million to $12 million — could be used for other projects that have a related economic, environmental and public health benefit.

Among the projects on the drawing board: Sidewalk and pedestrian improvements, workforce development and job training, YARTS transit improvements, better access to Stockton Creek Preserve or even a shared car service in town.

Mariposa County planners have engaged in extensive outreach to solicit feedback on potential projects by hosting four public workshops with 63 people attending and an online survey with more than 100 responses.

Several people who live on Jones and Bullion streets near the proposed project were enthusiastic about more workforce housing during community workshops last month. Several neighbors expressed a strong preference for sidewalk and pedestrian improvements that would extend two blocks toward the intersection of Highways 49 and 140 and beyond.

The grant requires that the funds are spent in the town of Mariposa.

Over the next few weeks, the Missouri Gulch Workforce Housing Governance Council will be finalizing its vision for the projects to be included in the grant application.

While housing will remain the priority, Fassett said the challenge will be “weaving together the budgets for each project.”

The governance council is composed of a broad coalition of community members, including Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Conservancy, Mariposa County Unified School District, Alliance for Community Transformations, Sierra Foothill Conservancy and the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation.

The Mariposa County Planning Commission will consider the project on Sept. 4.

The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors will review, and likely approve, the plan at its meeting Sept. 15.

The grant deadline is Sept. 30.