Cory Wolbach, Community Engagement Senior Associate at the SV@Home Action Fund, said that this was good progress for the state.
“Teachers and other employees in school districts are really hurting and that makes it hard for our kids to get the education they need,” Wolbach said.
By Cameron Rebosio / Almanac
Oct 6
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2295 into law on Sept. 28, allowing school districts to build teacher housing on land they own. What does that means for future housing prospects at the Flood School site in Menlo Park, and what does this mean for the citywide ballot initiative this November?
AB 2295 allows for any local educational agency in the state including school districts, county offices of education and charter schools to build housing on property owned by that agency.
That means the governing boards of these agencies can now render a city or county zoning ordinance inapplicable when building workforce housing. Permitted uses of the property include classroom facilities and housing for staff. The housing built upon the parcel can be 35 feet tall or to the height allowed by the city for the parcel, whichever is greater.
Flood School site
In Menlo Park, the Ravenswood City School District has been trying to redevelop a vacant 2.6-acre lot on the former site of the Flood Magnet School in Suburban Park. The school district owns the property and aims to build up to 90 units of low-income housing prioritized for staff. The former school property is zoned for single-family housing. The proposal, which has not been formally submitted to the city, sparked a great deal of pushback from surrounding residents.
A community group, Menlo Balance, sponsored a measure for the November ballot, Measure V, which if passed would prevent the Menlo Park City Council from rezoning single-family properties, instead forcing it to be put to a popular vote in a regular election. This would slow or prevent development at several sites, including the Flood School site, which is currently zoned for single-family housing despite having housed an elementary school.
The newly signed law states that school districts can build up to 30 units per acre on sites located in jurisdictions in metropolitan counties. If this applies to Menlo Park, the Ravenswood City School District could build at least 75 units under AB 2295 without requesting discretionary approval.
According to a bill analysis, the lot would still be subject to the entitlement process, including CEQA. “The local government would be able to apply its own zoning and design review standards, as long as they do not preclude the project from being three stories or 35 feet in height and allow a density that accommodates at least 30 units per acre in urban areas,” according to the analysis.
Nicole Chessari, co-founder of Menlo Balance, believes that AB 2295 will dramatically change the Menlo Park election due to the protection of teacher housing already being codified, poking holes in the argument that Measure V would block Ravenswood’s plans.
“There is no teacher housing to protect when the state has already protected it,” Chessari said.
The new law requires school districts to first offer the units to their staff, which Ravenswood officials said they were already planning to do. But if any units were left vacant, they would next have to be offered to directly adjacent educational agencies, such as the staff of Menlo Park City School District. If any units still remain vacant, they would be offered to the staff of cities within the school district’s boundaries.
Cory Wolbach, Community Engagement Senior Associate at the SV@Home Action Fund, said that this was good progress for the state.
“Teachers and other employees in school districts are really hurting and that makes it hard for our kids to get the education they need,” Wolbach said.
Chessari said she’s fully in support of AB 2295, saying she always wanted Ravenswood to provide teacher housing at the site. However, she said that she doesn’t believe that the Ravenswood City School District would use this method as it’s not profitable enough.
Evelyn Stivers of the Housing Leadership Council said that she didn’t see a 35-foot tall, 75-unit project permitted under AB 2295 as being viable, adding that Ravenswood City School District didn’t get affordable housing developer bids for anything less than 90 units across four floors.
“Look at other teacher and school staff housing projects in our area,” she said. “The Jeferson Union High School District educator housing is 41 units per acre, the Palo Alto teacher housing is 80 units per acre. A San Francisco educator housing project being developed by MidPen Housing is 98 (units per acre).”
Will Eger, chief business officer of Ravenswood City School District, said in an email that the school district was “thrilled” about the passage of the bill, but that they have some time to explore the full implications of the bill since it doesn’t go into effect until December 2024.
The Almanac contacted the office of Assembly member Richard Bloom, the bill’s author, but has not yet gotten a response.