City Considers Redevelopment of Sayonara Drive

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Between 2008 and 2010, the City demolished various blighted housing units on Sayonara Drive. Two of the City-owned parcels are now the site of the Sayonara Community Center, but 12 are still vacant. The Citrus Heights City Council held a Study Session on March 10 to discuss future development of these lots.  

Because affordable housing units were removed, the City is obligated to replace them with new affordable housing. The City’s replacement obligation is 35 units, with a total of 70 bedrooms. Approval of the Sunrise Pointe Apartments project on Sunrise Blvd. earned the City a credit for 23 of those units, so the remaining obligation for redevelopment on Sayonara is 12 units, with a total of 24 bedrooms.  

The units were supposed to be replaced within five years of demolition, but that goal was not met due to various challenges finding a development partner. The City received an extension, which ends September 2022, at which time a plan needs to be in place for the redevelopment.

Now the City has found a potential development partner: Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit community housing builder that provides new home-ownership opportunities to hardworking low-income families. Leah Miller, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Sacramento, said that the local affiliate has been serving the Sacramento area for 36 years, with a local board of directors and local fundraising efforts. Miller said, “It takes a community to build a community.”

Habitat for Humanity is not just the builder and developer, but also the loan originator, offering candidates zero-interest equivalent 30-year mortgages, which are secured by a deed of trust. To qualify as candidates, families have to show a stable income to ensure they can pay a mortgage and demonstrate their need, such as living in substandard or overcrowded conditions and paying more than 50% of their income on rent. Families also have to show willingness to be a partner in the process—by contributing 500 hours to helping build the home, sharing their story, and participating in financial education courses.

A variety of housing options were presented, from all single-family homes, or all duplexes, to a mix of the two. Of the vacant parcels, one is farther down the street than the others, so staff suggested it could be turned into a community garden. One of the others is twice the size of the rest, which would be split into two, leaving 12 for the redevelopment project—eight on the north side of the street and four on the south side.

The cost for 12 single-family homes (with a total of 45 bedrooms from a mix of three- and four-bedroom layouts) would be $251,000 per unit, with a total project cost of just over $3 million. Building duplexes on each of the 12 lots would result in 24 units (with a total of 84 bedrooms) at $246,000 each, with a total project cost of just under $6 million. Staff also provided approximate costs for a mix of housing, such as building eight single-family houses and four duplexes (16 units with a total project cost of just under $4 million), or eight duplexes and four single-family houses (20 units with a total project cost of just under $5 million).

The City’s potential contribution would be almost $1.4 million from the following sources: $735,000 from the state grant for Permanent Local Housing Allocation, $350,000 from the City’s Affordable Housing Fund, and $292,000 in federal 1998 HOME Funds. With the City’s contribution and Habitat for Humanity’s sponsorship of $150,000 per unit, the project would be fully funded for the 12-unit or the 16-unit options (all or mostly single-family homes). To move forward with the 20-unit or the 24-unit options (all or mostly duplexes), additional grants and funding sources would be needed.

Councilmember Bret Daniels asked if it was possible to restrict the “first opportunity of ownership” to current Citrus Heights residents, but because Habitat for Humanity is an equal opportunity housing lender, they cannot make that restriction. But Leah Miller said candidates must be current residents of either Sacramento or Yolo counties, and robust outreach in Citrus Heights can ensure the candidate pool has many applications from within the city.

Councilmember Jeannie Bruins was on the council when the City purchased these lots, and she said, “One of our chief goals was to de-densify this street, because these were all four units per lot. So, with that in mind … I favor either all single-family homes, or the majority of it being single-family homes ... I think that most closely meets the intent that we established back when these units were demolished.”

While Councilmember Steve Miller, who was also on the Council at that time, agreed that density is a major issue to consider, he said he prefers the all-duplex option to “maximize the opportunity for housing.”

Councilmember Bret Daniels said he grew on Sayonara Drive, “And it’s just the same neighborhood, it’s the same street, it’s the same problems. I feel, in my heart, that it will never change as long as it remains in its current makeup. We are already the most densely populated community in the Sacramento region, and we have done, I think, more than our fair share of multi-family housing, low-income housing … those opportunities are here. What is escaping Citrus Heights, more and more, is the ability to own a home. So, I want to say I fully support the option of single-family homes to the greatest extent we’re allowed to and able to.”

Mayor Porsche Middleton said that with the lack of available land in Citrus Heights, she views all duplexes as the more responsible option. “We have the opportunity to build enough affordable housing and provide home ownership at the same time.” And after touring the area, she didn’t think that single-family homes would fit in well with the existing housing on that street, cautioning that it could “create disparity in that area.” She said the duplex option would “offer enough room for families to come and to grow in Citrus Heights.”

Vice Mayor Schaefer agreed: “I want to house as many people as possible. And I just want to say that I am delighted that we have Habitat for Humanity involved here. I think it’s the right direction, it’s a sensible approach, and I definitely favor having more units.”

Vice Mayor Tim Schaefer also suggested that rather than using the separate parcel for a community garden, it could be used for transitional housing to help address the issue of homelessness. The majority of the Council expressed support for exploring that possibility, with Mayor Middleton saying, “We can’t really talk about, we want to help and do something about homelessness and not really have a place in Citrus Heights where someone who needs to be off the street has a place to go.”

Staff will take the Council’s feedback and continue refining plans with Habitat for Humanity. The City Council will vote on declaring the parcels as surplus property at the next regular meeting.