Housing transition: Program will make new homes available at end of May

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution intended to help with that process. Mike Dent, county Child Support Services and Housing director, presented the proposal’s third phase to the board, which needed local government authorization to release funding from the Coronavirus Program Community Development Block Grant.

According to Dent, the process dates back to October 2020. That’s when supervisors considered an application that included $520,000 for a rehabilitation subsidy, with another $528,000 for operating purposes. The board approved the application in two votes — April and September 2021 — and as funding started flowing in at the beginning of the year, the county was able to purchase the Coach N’ Four Motel.

The property had a history of police calls, Dent said. In 2020, the last full year it served as a motel, there were 93 calls for service with 18 crime reports. In the six months since the Nevada County Housing Development Corporation took control, there have only been 13 calls for service and just five crime reports.

CONVERSION

The motel was purchased and then converted to temporary housing through the county’s award of Homekey program funding, which had no impact on the general fund, Dent said.

“It’s already started to improve the neighborhood,” Dent told the board.

Construction has been ongoing since the start of the year, with the first completed units for permanent housing expected by the end of May.

“The idea is to begin to move residents who have been pre-screened,” said Dent. “The goal is to complete nine more units by the end of summer, so that will be 19 units of permanent housing.”

“That’s exciting,” said Board Chair Susan Hoek. “We’ve come a long way.”

Supervisor Heidi Hall called it “a great initiative.”

“I’m hearing from colleagues from around the state it’s very successful,” she added. “This is the answer we need — lower income housing and make it livable and affordable. And I hope the lesson is taken by the neighbors who had concerns about this in the beginning.”

Dent said a goal is to provide space for larger families with three or four children.

“Our agreement with AMI (Housing) requires after hours monitoring,” he said. “So, after hours, there’s an on-site person who keeps an eye on security cameras and responds to any issues. And honestly, there’s been very few to respond to, as AMI continues to keep watch.”

William Roller is a staff writer with The Union. He can be reached at wroller@theunion.com