County briefing: small-scale housing summit draws developers, funders and a new task force

County staff reported on a small-scale housing summit convened by Supervisor Sarmientos office that drew developers, manufacturers, funders, nonprofits, school-district representatives and local jurisdictions to discuss modular and other small-footprint housing options.

Yosca Goldman, who led the summit presentation, said the event attracted more than 150 attendees and showcased two small-scale housing unit examples that can be configured with additional rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. Panelists highlighted three core requirements for projects: political will, an available site and funding sources. Staff said some manufacturers are HUD-certified and that several California projects have produced hundreds of units using similar approaches.

The office announced a task force co-led by a design firm representative and a service-provider/funder (Families Forward was named as a co-leader). The task force will meet in January with the stated goal of bringing forward a pilot project for interim family housing that could serve while permanent supportive units are developed.

Commissioners asked whether county remnant parcels or surplus school-district sites could host pilot projects; staff said they had begun reviewing surplus county parcels and engaging school districts with declining enrollment. A commissioner asked for clarity on the skill sets needed on the task force; staff requested members with property, funding or prior project experience and said grantmakers and manufacturers were already involved.

Next steps: the county will convene the task force in January and seek commissioners and community partners with property, development, funding or implementation capacity to participate.