|
Increasing
the Harvest for Farmworker Housing
by
Lena Robinson, Community Affairs Specialist, Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco
Agriculture is a significant economic engine for
the West, representing a total of almost $40 billion dollars in gross
state product for the nine states that comprise the Federal Reserve
Bank of San Francisco’s 12th District (see graph 1). The diversity
of agricultural products found in the west is also a phenomenon producing
the greatest variety of fruits, vegetable, flora and aquaculture in
the United States. In fact this region can claim recognition as the
exclusive domestic producer of several crops such as kiwi fruit in
California, red raspberries in Washington and of course macadamia nuts
in Hawaii.
Such diverse and abundant output not only yields
a significant income, but requires a huge labor pool to get the produce
from the fields to the markets. Many crops are still quite labor-intensive
for both cultivation and harvest, with harvest in particular being
most demanding because it must be done within a limited time period.
According to data collected by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics
Service, most farms consist of ten or more laborers working fewer than
150 days per year. For 2002, USDA puts the number of farm workers of
all types (i.e. year-round, seasonal and migrant)
in the 12th District at over one million—34 percent of farm workers
nationwide.
The National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS)
conducted in 1997-98 by the Department of Labor calculates 56 percent
of farm workers as migrants (i.e. traveling between regions and states
to secure work) while 44 percent reside in their communities year-round. The
seasonal and large-scale nature of farming causes the population of
farm workers to balloon for a brief period, resulting in a short-term
housing crisis for often unprepared communities. A three-year survey
of housing availability and conditions for migrant and seasonal farm
workers conducted by the Housing Assistance Council found that 52 percent
of the housing intended for single-family occupancy was overcrowded.
Aside from the challenge of providing housing
for this transient population, the limited housing available for permanent
farm workers in predominately agricultural communities is often overpriced
or substandard. This same survey found 32 percent of farmworker housing
units in the four western states surveyed (CA, ID, OR, WA) could be
considered either “moderately” or “severely substandard” with
such conditions as sagging roofs, broken windows and rodent infestation.
The majority of these units had children present.
Barriers and Solutions
In some communities, farm workers are simply one segment of the low-income
population that is seeking decent housing within their means. In other communities,
farming is the primary—if not the only—industry, with its own
set of requirements that further complicate the effort to provide housing
for this segment. According to the NAWS study, chronic underemployment and
stagnating wages among farm workers puts this population at a disadvantage
over other low-wage workers. This article looks at some of the ways that
the challenges of both seasonal and permanent housing are being addressed
in California, Washington and Oregon--states with the highest number of farm
workers, largest number of farms and highest percent of migrant labor in
the west (see Graph 2). It is also interesting
to note that the poverty rate in counties listed as top producers of agricultural
revenue often exceeds the state average. The combination of all these factors
seems to underscore the problems of density and affordability that show up
consistently in the effort to house farm workers.
 |
Click here for
larger image of Farm Statistics
for the 12th District of the Federal Reserve
|
Financing
Figuring out how to finance projects targeted at a population that earns roughly
48 percent of wages paid to production workers in the non-farm sector is
a significant challenge. The
reality of almost every farmworker housing project is the complexity of financing
that involves a web of partners and various layers of subsidies. Federal
and state government assistance is available through several programs including
USDA 502 self help, USDA 514 loan and 516 farm worker housing grants, Low
Income Housing Tax Credits, CDBG grants, HUD Rural Housing and Economic Development and
state housing trust funds.
The Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)-sponsored Casa
Del Sol project illustrates many of the resources and partners
needed to take a development from concept to fruition. It also includes
a component of philanthropic financing, which is recognized as an
essential element in subsidizing housing for temporary and low-wage
workers.
CASA
DEL SOL (Woodland, CA)
|
SOURCES
|
AMOUNT
|
| City of Woodland (CDBG 108 loan) |
|
| CA Dept of Housing and Community Development |
$1.5 million Joe Serna grant
$1.5 million Mobilehome Park Resident Ownership Program |
| Rural Community Assistance Corporation |
$1.2 million AWHHP grant funded by the California
Endowment |
| Red Capital Mortgage |
Construction loan and 40-year first mortgage |
| Bank of America |
Construction financing |
| Federal Home Loan Bank SF |
$660,000 AHP grant |
| Housing and Urban Development |
FHA 207(m) credit enhancement |
Beyond financing, there are three common barriers
to developing affordable housing in farming communities: unincorporation,
zoning and limited space. Unincorporated rural areas frequently lack
the infrastructure to support any type of housing development. The
additional cost of installing basic water, sewage and energy infrastructure
makes the price for even the most modest housing project prohibitive—particularly
if the units are targeted at a seasonal population. In many states,
special permission must be obtained to build housing on land zoned
for agricultural use. In other states, the proximity of agriculture
to cities or tight restrictions on growth limits the land available
for new housing. How different states and jurisdictions cope with addressing
these barriers not only determines whether housing is available, but
can serve as an example for others to follow.
CALIFORNIA
Limited space and astronomical costs for both construction and land are the
top barriers to providing adequate housing for farm workers in California.
And yet one of the most innovative solutions for farmworker housing comes
from a location that embodies every obstacle associated with affordable housing:
the Napa Valley.
Since 1992, Napa County has collected nearly $11
million dollars by taxing residential and commercial construction for
a trust fund that finances the construction and preservation of housing
for low-income Napa County residents. This relatively compact geography
with expensive real estate and very low vacancy rates is overwhelmed
every year with numerous grape harvesters. However, with the cooperation
of perhaps the most critical stakeholders--the growers and wineries--local
zoning laws were altered to allow housing on agricultural lands, motivating
several growers to not only donate land but also construct both temporary
and permanent facilities. The annual cost to operate this temporary
housing –which has added 300 beds-- is subsidized with the support
of annual fundraisers and donations from a local trade association—the
Napa Vintners Association.
In the San Joaquin valley, a longer growing season,
extensive variety and, large crop volumes, and agricultural processing
jobs support year round employment reducing excessive seasonal swelling
common to other regions. In this eight-county area that spans the center
of California, the need for housing is for permanent units that can
be afforded by larger families. Self-Help Enterprises (SHE), a nonprofit
housing developer serving this expansive region, has responded to this
need with a focus on self-help homeownership units, rehabilitation
and infrastructure development. With generous donor support and sweat
equity from families—most farmworker families-- SHE produced
over 100 new homes in 2003 alone.
Throughout California, the boundary between urban
and rural is frequently seamless with many farms in the backyard of
cities or on the boundary of expensive suburbs. With this kind of close
proximity comes NIMBY backlash. In Oxnard, California, a coastal city
in Ventura county, House Farm Workers! is heading off NIMBYism through
community building. House Farm Workers!, a project of the
Ventura County Ag Futures Alliance Farm Worker Housing Task Force,
proposes to increase the supply of farmworker housing through community
education, dialogue and advocacy. Education is conducted through the
use of specially created videos and speaker bureaus to inform the public
about the farm worker housing crisis and its effect on the local agricultural
economy. The
county wide task force and local action groups are focused on addressing
resistance by homeowners to the building of higher density and low-income
housing, a lack of sites, and a lack of political will to support farmworker
housing construction. The project overcomes these obstacles by empowering
farm worker families to become strong, vocal advocates for proposed
farm worker housing projects in their communities. The groups also
foster relationships with elected officials through private meetings
and at council meetings.
OREGON
In Oregon, strict zoning laws and smart growth policies intended to preserve
open space and agricultural land impedes the capacity for developing farm
worker housing near or on farms. And yet in 1989, the Oregon legislature
passed a state tax credit to encourage more housing for farm workers. The
tax credit can be used by developers to build new housing or rehabilitate
existing housing, much of which are farm labor camps that are several decades
old. Despite the tax credit, which was increased in 2001 to allow deduction
of 50 percent of the eligible costs incurred, the number of units available
to house farm workers in Oregon is decreasing. However, the possibility of
transferring 100 percent (effective 1/05) of the credit to a donor and the
increase in funds allocated—currently $7.25 million—makes the
tax credit not only an incentive for donors but a promising tool for farm
worker housing. (Note: Oregon lenders qualify for a different state tax credit
for loans made to construct or rehabilitate farm worker housing).
Nonprofit organizations acting as housing developers
such as Community and
Shelter Assistance Corporation (CASA) of Oregon and Housing
Development Corporation of Northwest Oregon are finding success
in their efforts to provide housing in-town for year-round farm workers.
And while community-based housing –as opposed to on-farm—offers
many advantages such as access to services, stability and reduced dependence
on the employer, the higher cost of housing production in urban and
suburban areas limits the amount of housing stock that can be built
and absorbs a larger portion of the limited income farm workers earn. It
also increases the competition among low-wage workers for a shrinking
supply of affordable housing.
To address the need for seasonal housing that
is needed by migrant or temporary crop harvesters, Peter Hainley, executive
director of CASA, believes that the answer may be to stimulate the
economy of rural areas to employ more residents and support additional
housing. Integral to this strategy is increased funding for rural nonprofits
that are involved with providing a range of services in these communities
including job development, asset building, self-help housing and health
programs.
| Recruiting contributors
for this fund is a priority for CASA as the funding directly
stimulates new construction by increasing the capacity of local
nonprofit project sponsors. |
Towards this goal, CASA became certified as a
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2000 in order
to facilitate the development of housing and other essential community
facilities (e.g. community centers, medical facilities and Head Start
buildings) in underserved rural areas. One of the primary activities
of the CDFI is to finance predevelopment activities such as market
analysis, environmental studies and land acquisition. CASA also provides
critical construction financing to keep the project on target in anticipation
of funding from multiple sources. Recruiting contributors for this
fund is a priority for CASA as the funding directly stimulates new
construction by increasing the capacity of local nonprofit project
sponsors.
Catholic Charities is one such project sponsor
that CASA has assisted. The project, Sandy Vista, is located in the
small suburban town of Sandy and near the largest nursery producing
area in the state. The land was acquired from a private owner on the
contingency that it would be annexed into the town in order to avoid
potential NIMBY issues that could result from a public hearing. The
annexation also conveyed an infrastructure benefit to the town because
of the new sewer system that was completed for the project. Phase one
of the 54-unit housing development and community complex that will
house both migrant and year-round farm workers was just completed.
The first phase includes the 30 units to be occupied by migrant farm
workers and their families that move from farm to farm following various
seasonal crop harvests. This kind of housing can be especially difficult
for workers to find because of the short-term nature of residency.
The second phase of 24 units for year-round farm workers and their
families is currently under construction.
In particular, there appears to be more on-farm
housing per capita in Washington than in any other state discussed
in this article. A number of Oregon farms have labor camps, but many
of these are operating without certification due to rigorous health
and safety standards imposed by the state and the cost of complying
with these standards. The
success of using farm land for housing in Washington is based on the
strong coordination of government, private and nonprofit stakeholders
such as the state-funded One Stop Development Center, the
Washington Growers League, the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing
(ORFH), community-based
developers and of course the farmers themselves.
In the realm of temporary housing, perhaps nothing
reflects innovation and partnership more than the Rent-a-Tent program.
(In California, rather than tents, Yurts serve as temporary housing
for seasonal workers in the Napa Valley.) Although
controversial among several affordable housing advocates as a long-term
solution, the success of this practical experiment is a compelling
strategy worth highlighting. The Rent-a-Tent program started in 2000
with a demonstration grant from HUD. What began with a few tents has
grown into 193 tents on 13 cherry farms across eastern Washington.
Each tent can house six persons during the six-week cherry harvest
season. Prior to the tents, many of the cherry harvesters simply camped
wherever they could in their own tents. Currently, the Department of
Community, Trade and Economic Development (WTED) purchases the tents
with state funds and rents them for $75 per week to eligible growers
who have developed the necessary infrastructure to support housing.
At an initial cost of $3,100 and expected utility of seven years, the
tents appear to represent a viable solution. Pat Arnold, newly appointed
housing program manager at the Washington Growers League, reports that
she will continue to seek efficiencies for the Rent-A-Tent program
in the areas of labor and storage and looks forward to identifying
other equally innovative partnerships that benefit the farmers and
laborers.
Farmers can access state-funded technical assistance
to develop infrastructure that meets state and county regulatory guidelines. Creative
Housing Solutions, INC., which provides this assistance on behalf
of the state’s One Stop Development Center, also serves as a
liaison between the farmers and various government departments that
determine the regulations. Their role as liaison has helped to build
trust with the farmers and reduce some of the regulatory red tape for
the shared goal of increasing farmworker housing. Although many farmers
charge the workers a nominal fee to cover utilities such as water and
electricity, the cost of financing the infrastructure is still often
prohibitive. Dixie Tracht, executive director of Creative Housing Solutions,
sees this as an important area that bank and/or nonprofit lenders can
fill through low-interest loans.
Another strategy to close the gap on construction
costs, development fees and other expenses associated with housing
development for farm workers and their families is a farmworker trust
fund proposed by U.S. Senator Patty Murray. Similar to the Napa, California
model, the trust fund will be a vehicle for private and philanthropic
dollars to be amassed on behalf of farmworker housing. According to
Brien Thane of the Office of Rural and
Farmworker Housing, currently the fiscal agent managing seed funds
that Senator Murray secured to help establish the trust fund, it would
be used to expand the managerial capacity of organizations involved
with housing development and cover a number of miscellaneous costs
that can derail otherwise feasible projects.
Regional Solutions Beyond
Housing
The sheer number of farm workers in California, Oregon and Washington,
and the remarkable impact to these states’ gross state product
necessitated solutions. But what about other states that are not faced
with this same degree of population and land pressure. Do states with
fewer farm workers – especially migrants-- and a lower cost of
living cope better with housing these workers? For the community of
Wenden-Salome, Arizona, the answer appears to be no. The seasonal influx
of agricultural workers in this western valley region of Arizona actually
exacerbates an already economically and physically impaired community.
The Wenden-Salome Flood Recovery Commission, Inc. is taking up the
charge to improve the quality and availability of housing for the general
area, which is seen as a more holistic and sustainable approach than
merely providing housing for farm workers (see
Wenden-Salome).
 |
see larger
image of Agricultural Data
for Federal Reserve Bank of
San Francisco's District
|
This parallels the approach of nonprofits in other
geographies with a significant reliance on seasonal farm workers or
migrants, many of whom ultimately end up settling in the community
after the harvest is completed. The Idaho Migrant Council, Centro
de la Familia de Utah, PPEP, Inc. of
Arizona and Mid-Peninsula
Housing Coalition of California are going beyond just housing to
focus on solutions that empower the individual such as literacy and
ESL training, job skill development, health services and Head Start
programs. Rural Community Assistance Corporation, which assists rural
communities in 13 western states, also recognizes the importance of
a multi-pronged approach in serving agricultural workers. RCAC has
worked in affordable housing and environmental infrastructure for more
than 25 years and in 1999 established the Agricultural Worker Health
and Housing program (AWHHP) with a $31 million award from The California
Endowment.
Farm workers are enormously important to the economy
of the west. Of the nine states that comprise the Fed’s 12th
District, six depend on temporary (i.e. migrant and seasonal) resources
to meet the demands of their agricultural output. The solutions and
organizations highlighted in story, demonstrate the importance of local
leadership in resolving a complex issue.
| ...the
solution that any location decides on will depend on factors
and resources unique to that community |
Whether trailer parks, tents, dormitories, sweat
equity homes or apartment units, the efforts to overcome multiple barriers
to produce affordable housing for farm workers are as varied as the
crops grown. Where possible, the approach that seems to show the most
promise is rehabilitation of existing housing such as trailer parks
in California. Rehabilitation reduces pre-development costs associated
with new construction and delays that can come from permitting and
zoning, in addition to eliminating blight.
But, rehabilitation is not a universal solution.
As illustrated by the examples discussed, the solution that any location
decides on will depend on factors and resources unique to that community.
Hopefully these examples will prompt new ideas for dealing with a problem
that touches many segments of society—decent and affordable housing – and
motivate you to seek out and support organizations that are successful
in housing farm workers.
| Food
for Thought |
| In addition to being successful
agents of community development, these and other organizations
focused on housing farm workers can also serve as effective partners
for reaching a significant unbanked population. The opportunity
appears to be ripe to provide financial education and services
for a population that relies on informal mechanisms for cashing
payroll checks and other financial transactions. At least some
of these farm workers remit money to relatives in other countries,
while others are looking to establish permanent roots through homeownership.
A close working relationship with organizations that are resolving
one of the most basic needs—housing—presents financial
institutions with myriad opportunities to strengthen rural economies
and serve an often overlooked demographic—farm workers. |
Read more……
David Sidley, Coachella Valley Mobile Home Parks Transformed, Rural
Voices, Housing Assistance Council, Summer 2003: pp 21-22.
|
