As a local business owner in our community, I am deeply concerned about the lack of affordable housing options for our workforce. Many of my employees struggle to find affordable housing near our business, which not only affects their quality of life but also impacts our business’s ability to attract and retain talent.
There is a critical shortage of available and affordable housing across the Central Coast. SLO County has just “earned” second place on the list of least affordable small metro areas in the United States, coming in just behind Napa.
Providing affordable housing options for our workforce isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also good for our local economy. When employees can live near their workplace, they spend less time commuting and more time participating in the local economy. It also allows our business to attract and retain talented employees, which is critical for our growth and success.
I recently attended an informational session about the Dana Reserve, a housing development located in Nipomo at Willow Road and Highway 101. This is a new development of over 1,200 homes across the affordability spectrum. More than two-thirds of the housing will be accessible to people living and working on the Central Coast, through both deed restriction and smaller homes that are more affordable by design. The local developer of the project is donating land to People’s Self-Help Housing as well as additional fees to SLO County, in order to help meet our region’s need to house our workforce.
Dana Reserve will also include commercial spaces, parks, land for a future Cuesta College campus, a fire station location, fiber-optic internet, a nonprofit daycare center, improved circulation, infrastructure, transit stops, and equestrian trails.
Water is a top concern for everyone. The Dana Reserve not only preserves Nipomo’s water basin but provides direct relief to ratepayers who would otherwise be responsible for the enormous cost of purchasing water from Santa Maria (the result of a 2011 court ruling to solve the Nipomo basin’s overdraft).
While no single project can meet all of our community’s needs, the Dana Reserve will be a big step in the right direction for our workforce, commerce, housing, education, and water sustainability.
Adam Verdin
Nipomo Mesa
