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June 8, 2009
Would new neighbors get along in Prosser?
Low-income housing proposed next to upscale winery complex
PROSSER,
The
people of this little city, which relies on both, are wrestling with
where those workers will live.
Catholic Charities Housing Services has proposed building a low-income
housing complex right next to a crown jewel of Prosser's fast growing
wine tourism industry: Vintner's Village, a cluster of about 11 wineries
and tasting rooms.
Both
sides are talking, and the housing complex is more than a year from
construction. But the issue is prompting this image-conscious city, the
first in the state to write agritourism zoning laws, to examine its
housing needs.
"The
bigger issue in the city in the long run is how we want to approach
affordable housing in general," said Charlie Bush, city administrator.
Plans are still conceptual, but Catholic Charities
envisions a 50-unit complex of townhouses on 20 acres at the corner of
It
may start as mixed use, with some units reserved for farmworkers, others
set aside for laborers in other industries. Senior housing and
low-income homeowner residences might follow someday, said Mario
Villanueva, executive director of the nonprofit.
The
location is a stone's throw to the south of Vintner's Village, which
draws throngs of tourists to the city's well-known wine events. The
32-acre area is poised to roughly double in acreage over the next five
years or so, with part of its growth area bordering the proposed housing
property.
Catholic Charities operates nine affordable housing complexes in
Demand is high. One of the group's developments, a 50-unit complex in
Wapato, has 300 applicants on a waiting list, Villanueva said.
In a
2006 statewide survey, 38 percent of farmworkers complained that
affordable housing was difficult to find. Nine out of 10 said housing
availability might make a difference year to year in where they look for
work.
In
Prosser, commercial industries, particularly tourism, have exploded in
recent years. That's good news for the economy, but housing has not kept
up, Bush said.
Cities don't have to encourage low-income projects, but the state's
growth management act requires them to make room for high-density
housing near jobs.
Catholic Charities' complexes usually look like any apartment building
or townhouse development, but they rent to farmworkers making less than
half of the area's median income. Some of the units are reserved for
seasonal workers.
Villanueva said they are well-maintained and all tenants must pass
criminal background checks.
Affordable housing, no matter who builds it or where, commonly meets
resistance from residents in this state, said Janet Abbett, a contract
manager for the state's Housing Trust Fund, which helps finance
projects.
However, tourism is a new neighbor, she said.
"The
tourism thing really hasn't butted up against farmworker housing," he
said. "That is kind of a new angle."
Backers of the project contend the workers at restaurants, wineries and
hotels, both existing and proposed, need to live somewhere. So do those
who work at the area's vineyards and orchards.
"Grapes don't turn into wine by themselves," said Marty Miller,
executive director of the Office of Rural Farmworker Housing, a
Yakima-based private nonprofit that functions as the developer for many
of Catholic Charities' projects, including the one proposed in Prosser.
"It takes a significant labor force."
Putting them next to the wineries makes their commute easier and might
even add a sense of authenticity to Prosser's tourism industry.
"(It
could) demonstrate to tourists that not only are communities like
Prosser growing with their wine industry, but they're also progressively
addressing their workforce housing needs," Miller said.
*******
Opponents believe there's a need.
"It's a chore for people to have to drive 20 or 30 miles to get to
work," said Larry Olsen, president of Olsen Brothers Ranches, part of a
family that has been farming near Prosser for 100 years.
Some
of Olsen's employees complain of driving from Mabton and Sunnyside to
reach their jobs, Olsen said. The Olsen business is working with the
state on its own on-farm worker housing unit for seasonal laborers.
However, next door to tourist amenities is the wrong place, critics say.
Prosser's wineries have grown up near the city's two Interstate 82 exits
for a reason.
"You
want to have those two wings ... as tourist friendly and attractive as
possible," Olsen said.
Even
attractive housing would not look right, he said.
Olsen is a co-founder of Olsen Estates winery, one of the anchors of
Vintner's Village. He said the family has tentative plans for more
tourism-related businesses, but he declined to elaborate.
Officials at the
Low-income housing "is going to take away some of the ambiance of coming
into a ... high-end, tourism-related place like Vintners' Village," said
Jan Jackson, the port's marketing manager.
Port
directors want to someday apply for a rezone to agritourism. Other
developers have plans for hotels, bed and breakfasts, boutique cheese
vendors and other businesses, if not more wineries, both south and north
of the proposed housing development.
"We're trying to protect the rights of our tenants, who have purchased
this property and put a great deal of money into it,"
The
wineries in the area cost between $2 million and $3 million, he said.
Other critics, including Prosser Mayor Paul Warden, say a housing
development of any kind would rob the area of commercial developments,
which bring in more revenue through sales and property taxes.
Catholic Charities has an agreement to purchase the property, but that's
about as far as the paperwork has reached, Villanueva said.
Under the city's long-term plans, which were established long before
Vintner's Village, the property is designated for high-density housing.
But
for now it's an unincorporated island that would require annexation into
Prosser to get water and sewer lines. For that to occur, Catholic
Charities must persuade a majority of the island's other property owners
to seek annexation.
The
group has not applied for annexation yet.
It
would not be the first high-density housing development in the area.
Right across
However, city officials have discussed rezoning the area to agritourism,
said Mayor Paul Warden.
"We
just haven't got on there and changed the colors on the map yet," Warden
said. Warden owns a bed and breakfast at his home across town from
Vintner's Village.
If
they do, they have to make room for high-density housing somewhere else,
Bush said.
Villanueva said he is willing to listen and explore other Prosser
locations, but the city has few other choices. All other locations would
require a zoning change.
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