BOARD REPORT SUMMARY
Meeting Date
Item No.
Title
Description
Presented By
Board Goals
December 9, 2015
F-2
☐ Consent ☒ Discussion ☐ Action ☐ Information ☐ Public Hearing
FIR RIDGE WORK FORCE HOUSING PROJECT
The Board will receive information regarding the proposed Fir Ridge Work Force
Housing Project
Steven Eichman, Assistant Superintendent
Provide a coherent, rigorous and relevant teaching and learning
program to graduate college and career ready students.
Increase student and family wellness and engagement through the
full-service community school model.
Serve all students with a fair, just, and equitable distribution of resources:
X personnel, financial, and instructional.
Provide safe and inviting facilities with current technology.
Brief History/Discussion of Key Issues
Fir Ridge North at Fountaingrove Subdivision was approved by City of Santa Rosa in 1988
• a condition of its development was the dedication of a site for development of either an
elementary school, or low and/or moderate income housing
• a 6.03 acre site on Fir Ridge Drive was set aside for this purpose
The District has owned the property since 1995. On August 27, 2003, the SRCS Board of Trustees
voted to pursue workforce housing on the Fir Ridge site rather than using the property as a possible
elementary school site. To implement that decision, the Board on October 8, 2008 selected a local
firm, Pinnacle Homes, as a partner in a developer agreement. About that time, however, the
nationwide economic crisis was taking hold and, among other impacts, housing prices plummeted.
Once this occurred, the financial forecasts that supplied the economic viability of the proposed
workforce housing project had to be redone and the revised forecasts showed that the project would
not be viable with the new market conditions.
With the recovering economy, change in District leadership, and the possibility of increased financial
resources, the Board voted on June 24, 2015 to enter into the twelfth amendment to the Fir Ridge
Holding Agreement with the City of Santa Rosa so the District could develop a plan of action and
implementation for this property.
The twelfth amendment to the Fir Ridge Holding Agreement requires the District to comply with the
following milestones:
• November 9, 2015 – Apply to the City’s Department of Community Development for a 12-month
extension of the project [COMPLETED].
• June 30, 2016 – Enter into a fully executed contract with a developer, and have a funding plan in
place, for the construction of the project.
• November 9, 2016 – Submit applications to the City’s Community Development Department for
further extension of the project, if necessary.
• June 30, 2017 – Commence construction of the project, which shall mean issuance of building
permits for the project and a construction timeline.
• Diligently pursue and complete construction of the project in a timely manner.
BOARD REPORT SUMMARY
The District is considering the following options for the development of the Workforce Housing site:
• Create a Foundation Board, which is a separate legal entity from the District, to assist with the
design, financing, development, and management of the site
• Hire a consultant to assist with site development oversight
• Hire an architect to provide design/CEQA/construction management services
• Hire a developer to build the units through the bidding process
• Build between 36 – 40 units
• Fund the development without District funds by one of the following methods:
o Commercial loan using the property as collateral, or
o Certificates of Participation, or
o Other options
District Considerations:
• provide units that are affordable to employees of the Santa Rosa City Schools District
• make the units available to employees who have been in the District fewer than a yet to be
determined number of years
• limit the length of stay in the units to encourage turnover and home-ownership
• Provide units below market rates
Summary of Previous Board Activity
There have been numerous Board of Trustee and City Council actions relevant to the Fir Ridge site
over the years.
On May 8, 2013, the Board voted to formally request the Eleventh Amendment to the Holding
Agreement, which, upon City Council concurrence, extended the commencement of construction
deadline from June 30, 2013 to June 30, 2015.
The Board voted to formally request a Twelfth Amendment at the April 22, 2015 meeting.
June 24, 2015 The Board approved the City of Santa Rosa’s resolution to amend the Fir Ridge Holding
Agreement (Twelfth Amendment) extending the deadline for commencement of the
Project from June 30, 2015 to June 30, 2017
Pages 1-8: Twelfth Amendment to Holding Agreement
Attachments
None
Fiscal Impact
None
Staffing Impact
None
Facilities Impact
None
Learning Impact
Superintendent’s There is no recommendation as this is a discussion item
Recommendation