Santa Rosa housing authority adopts annual and five‑year PHA plans, appoints resident advisory board

The Santa Rosa City Housing Authority voted March 23 to adopt its public housing agency annual plan for fiscal year 2026–27 and a five‑year plan covering 2026–2030, and to appoint the housing‑choice voucher program’s tenant commissioners to serve as the resident advisory board.

The board approved the resolution 6–0 with one commissioner absent after staff summarized program priorities, including payment‑standard increases following a HUD fair‑market‑rent redetermination and a strategy to preserve and expand affordable units. Michael Guerrero, program specialist, told commissioners the agency has added 63 project‑based voucher units intended for people experiencing homelessness and maintains 93 PBV units dedicated to special‑needs housing, and that staff are supporting about 36 families in the Family Self‑Sufficiency (FSS) program with roughly $230,000 held in escrow for participants’ future use.

Why it matters: The annual and five‑year plans set the authority’s goals for using Housing Choice Vouchers to preserve and expand affordable housing, coordinate inspections and tenant relocation during rehabilitations, and pursue home‑ownership opportunities for voucher participants.

Guerrero said staff have used PBV resources to leverage new affordable housing across multiple sites: “Across 17 project sites the Housing Authority now has 387 project‑based units,” he said. He listed two properties with newly contracted PBV units—Canary and South Park—and said payment‑standard increases will help bring voucher payments more in line with local rents.

Commissioners asked about program details and participant protections. Commissioner Downey pressed staff on whether families who use FSS funds to purchase homes could return to voucher assistance if homeownership fails; staff said the authority provides ongoing technical support and may continue subsidy assistance if a household remains income‑eligible and follows program procedures, though some details depend on mortgage arrangements.

Public comment: Fred Alabach, a resident, urged the authority to consider mobile‑home parks in home‑ownership planning and warned that park admission policies (for example, requirements to demonstrate several months’ rent in reserve) can exclude low‑asset seniors from purchasing naturally occurring affordable units.

Vote and next step: Commissioner Ferren moved to waive the reading and adopt the plans and appointment; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call 6–0 with Commissioner Whmer absent. Staff will incorporate resident advisory board and public comments into the final plans to be submitted to HUD as required.

Clarifying details provided by staff: the FSS escrow pool was described as approximately $230,000 across about 36 participating families; staff reported 63 new PBV units for homelessness response, 93 PBV units for special‑needs housing to be retained, and a stated total of 387 project‑based units across 17 sites. If a numeric item was discussed but not fully elaborated in the meeting record, the staff figure is presented as staff‑reported.