News
Supervisors OK zoning change for transitional housing
By Walt Cook
The Union Democrat
July 2, 2008
Columbia could become home to transitional housing for families struggling to get on their feet following a zoning change agreed to at Tuesday's Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Supervisors approved the rezoning of a small piece of property from commercial to multi-family residential in the face of opposition from landowners in a mobile home park near the proposed homes and a recommendation to deny from the Columbia Area Planning Commission. The zoning change will allow the project to proceed, although County Community Development Director Bev Shane noted it will still be subject to the building permitting process. The land in question is just under half an acre.
The detractors from Columbia Sky Mobile Estates cited concerns about a 30,000-gallon propane tank near the project area and the danger it poses to children, though minutes from the May 8 planning commission meeting indicate that concerns have also dealt with the potential for rambunctious children, rowdy behavior and declining property values.
The three proposed two- to three-bedroom modulars would be located at the end of State Street, adjacent to Columbia Sky.
Planning commissioners received 55 comments opposing the project and three in favor of it. They cited the public's concern about impacts as reasons for not recommending the project for approval.
The project is proposed by the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency, a quasi-governmental group that helps low-income people in Tuolumne and Amador counties become self-reliant. The group has 12 facilities in Tuolumne County, including transitional housing in Tuolumne and a shelter in Sonora.
Beetle Barbour, housing resources director for the group, defended transitional housing as a way to help people get through tough times and contribute to society. To clear up any misconceptions the public may have about the proposed development, she said it's for women with children only, drug and alcohol use will not be tolerated, and clients are given random drug tests to ensure compliance with the rules.
Barbour envisions the typical family staying in the transitional home for six months to a year. But, she stressed, the housing program revolves around children. Families are not moved while children are in school, Barbour said.
"We do what is best for the children," she added.
She said homelessness costs taxpayers much more in the long run compared to subsidized housing.
"What we're offering is quite reasonable," Barbour said. "It will have minimal impact. It is surrounded by high-density residential."
About 10 people spoke in support of the project at the supervisors meeting, including women who said they have turned their lives around thanks to transitional housing. One woman was brought to tears while detailing her experience.
Supervisor Mark Thornton provided the sole dissenting vote on the project. He said he supports its goal, but he didn't think rezoning commercial property was the way to go given that it's in short supply in a county made up mostly of public land. He noted that the proposal had come before the county in the past and he supported it, but back then commercial property was not involved.
According to Herb Tout, a nearby landowner who agreed to swap a piece of his land for one owned by the agency, the new parcel is better suited for the project than the prior location. He told planning commissioners the only access to the other parcel was through a motel parking lot, which, he said, was a problem considering around 15 children might live the transitional homes. Tout spoke at the issue at the May 8 planning commission meeting.
Barbour said her group is aiming to complete the project by late fall.
