Revamp of Migrant Housing Plan Sought

San Diego County supervisors Tuesday sought revisions on a set of proposed incentives for migrant farm-worker housing after North County Supervisor John MacDonald protested that the county Farm Bureau had not been consulted in drawing up the plan.

The county staff-generated proposal would have allocated $55,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to subsidize permit fees for much-needed low-income housing projects, and would have speeded up processing of the projects under a “fast-track” system.

Wendy Benz, executive director of the Farm Bureau, said the county proposal would not accomplish the purposes for which it was designed.

MacDonald, who had asked county officials to come up with a program to aid growers in providing housing for their workers, said he was shocked that staff members had not sought Farm Bureau input in proposing the incentives for employers willing to provide the housing.

After supervisors approved a 90-day delay to allow for a revamp of the program, Benz said that a meeting of all agencies involved, including the state and county, might aid in simplifying the program and in avoiding bureaucratic snags over agencies’ differing rules and definitions.

She asked supervisors to reconsider simply waiving the county permit fees for farm-worker housing, a proposal they have rejected out of fear that it would cause budget deficits in the departments that issue the permits.

Use of block grant funds to offset the fees might subject participating growers to further governmental restrictions, Benz said, as well as require “another layer of administration” because the funds would have to be administered by a community-based nonprofit organization.