Affordable/Workforce Housing Study
Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

FORA's Original Affordable Housing Goals

It is useful to review FORA's excellent intentions for affordable housing as outlined in its Base Reuse Plan (BRP). The Plan recommends that the majority of new homes built on Fort Ord be in the $150,000 - $299,000 range. (Adjusted for inflation, these figures would now be in the $167,000 -$340,000 range.) The Plan addresses the housing needs of people who are likely to be recruited for jobs created at Fort Ord

Key Points on Housing from the Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan:

• "Residential development will be critical at the former Ft. Ord to achieve the employment-generating development capture rates (that are) projected." (pg. 42)
  
  
• "Much of the residential demand at the former Fort Ord will be derived from employment generated on the property. Forecasts show total employment between 13,400 and 22,900 at the former Ft. Ord by 2015." (pg. 45)
  
  
• "An average income by projected land use is $27,100 in 1995 dollars." (pg 45). [approximately $30,600 in 2001 dollars]
  
  
• "The single-wage household earning an average wage at the former Fort Ord is unlikely to be able to afford a home priced much above $90,000, unless that household has accumulated savings that would cover more than a ten percent down payment. However, at least 50% of households are likely to contain a second wage earner. Given two average incomes totaling $54,200 annually, a home of about $190,000 would be affordable." (pg. 45)
  
  
• "The majority of the homes recommended would be priced in the $150,000-to-$299,000 range, affordable to most two-income households and those employed in the former Fort Ord planning area." (pg. 46) (Adjusted for inflation, current range is $167,000 to $340,000).

Business and Operations Plan Development Strategies:

"To accommodate the broadest number of segments of the desirable real estate market during the initial years. This strategy will 1) allow leverage of the housing market to enhance the attractiveness of the former Fort Ord as a jobs center; 2) use market support to generate investment capital for infrastructure improvements;. . . . (pg 15)"

BRP on Housing Density (Base Reuse Plan Elements, pg. 235-240):

Residential Land Use Policy A-1: The Cities of Marina and Seaside, and the County of Monterey "shall provide variable housing densities to ensure development of housing access to all economic segments of the community. Residential land uses shall be categorized according to the following densities:

FORA Base Reuse Plan Housing Projections

The Base Reuse Plan's design is to provide housing for the people who will have jobs at Fort Ord. But it appears the people who work in the jobs created at Fort Ord be able to afford the housing?

JOB CREATION                                      POPULATION

                                                            * Students are temporary residents    

As evident from this chart, even in two-income households, the percentage of workers in jobs created at Fort Ord who will need housing in the $300,000 or less price range is very high. Given current plans for Fort Ord housing development, will these people be forced to commute? Doesn't deviation from the plan exacerbate the affordable housing shortage? Where will the new Fort Ord workforce live?

This is the most compelling reason to strive for production of affordable housing at Fort Ord. The former base reuse cannot solve the County's affordable housing crisis. It should, however, try to provide a housing incentive tied to jobs. Those jobs may be physically located on Fort Ord and/or jobs held by the essential employees of nearby jurisdictions.

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03.27.03