Workforce Housing Tops Agenda for Council, School Board Joint Meet Monday

The City Council and the Pasadena Unified School District will hold a special joint meeting on Monday.

The meeting will include a presentation from the Pasadena Unified School District regarding potential affordable housing for faculty and staff, including a discussion of AB 2295 and SB 35.

AB 2295, the Teacher Housing Act of 2016, lets school districts build affordable employee housing on their properties, bypassing some local zoning and planning rules.

SB 35, passed in 2017, expedites housing development approvals in cities not meeting California’s housing targets.”

Earlier this month, the Pasadena Board of Education voted 6-1 to approve an affordable housing project that would create housing for District staff, including teachers, at the site formerly occupied by Roosevelt Elementary School.

Trustee Michelle Richardson Bailey said she was happy the project is moving along.

“It will help benefit the staff and District enrollment,” said Trustee Michelle Richardson Bailey.

Bailey said the two issues are vitally important to the success of local schools.

Bailey has been pushing for workforce housing since she began her successful run for School Board in 2017.

The high price of housing has driven families with school-age children out of the District, causing a plunge in local Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funds.

The early stages of the project could cost more than half a million dollars.

If the District could fully fund the project without outside funds, it would allow the District autonomy on the project.

The District is hoping to fully fund the project with some money from Measure O.

In March, the School Board approved drafting measures that would place a bond and parcel tax on the November ballot.

The bond would generate $900 million by increasing taxes by a rate of $60 per $100,000.

More details are expected at a meeting in May.

The results of a workforce housing survey conducted last year revealed a significant need for affordable housing options for Pasadena Unified employees in Pasadena.

Findings also suggested that addressing the need could help attract and retain high-quality educators and staff.

The survey reported that most District employees (70%) spend more than 30% of their income on housing, which is considered a high housing cost burden. The survey also reported the average monthly rent/mortgage paid by District employees is $2,200.

Rent in the area is well over $3,000.

More than half of the respondents (56%) reported that they would be interested in living in District-owned rental housing units offered at below-market rent reserved for Pasadena Unified School District employees.

The report says that “long commute times” were identified as a significant challenge for many Pasadena Unified School District employees, with 40% reporting that their commute time was more than 30 minutes each way.

The report recommended exploring partnerships with local developers to build affordable housing units and providing financial assistance to employees for down payments or rental costs.