Farmworker housing review moving very slowly

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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

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By DAVID RYAN
Napa Valley Register

A county push to see whether 120 property owners with private farm labor dwelling permits are complying with local laws is about half complete, six months after staff began working on the issue.

During a Tuesday report to the Napa County Board of Supervisors on code enforcement issues, code enforcement team leader David Guidice made clear his three-person office is busy dealing with a multitude of matters, from chasing down illegal short-term rentals to sniffing out buildings constructed wholly without permits.

As a result, Guidice has made little headway in finding out whether private dwellings approved years ago for farmworker housing are, in fact, being used for that purpose.

In May, former Napa Valley Housing Authority Director Peter Dreier accused the county of a cover-up of a housing program involving some of the county’s largest vineyard property owners. Dreier said the county had failed to keep track of more than a hundred dwellings on agricultural land where property owners would be allowed to house farmworkers. The program was designed to ease farmworker housing problems, but county officials acknowledged earlier this year that they had never followed up to make sure the homes were being used for the intended purpose.

Dreier’s revelation came months after he was forced to step down for his role in a separate controversy, where he acknowledged transferring $1.4 million in city of Napa housing money to another agency without authorization.

Guidice made it clear Tuesday his office was focused on health and safety violations where residents may be living in substandard conditions. Less harmful use permit violations took a back seat on his priority scale.

Nonetheless, the county has been making slow progress trying to figure out if its private farm labor dwelling program is housing any farm laborers.

Starting in July, code enforcement officers sent out initial contact notices to half the estimated 120 farm labor dwelling permit holders. The notices are designed to inform permit holders — who may have no idea about the requirements of the farm labor dwelling permits — that only farm laborers are allowed. The laborers are defined as anyone who works the land who is not related to the family of the landowner.

Napa County Planning Director Hillary Gitelman said Guidice is in the process of conducting interviews for a part-time position to help out with the dwelling permit contacts.

“I think his hope is that once he has this extra help person on board it will speed up the process,” she said, adding the position would be paid for with funds from a county legal settlement.

Supervisors were far more concerned about the prospect of the code enforcement program finding ways to pay for itself through fees and fines. Gitelman said she would need time to analyze that issue for the board.

To do that with limited county resources, Gitelman suggested the code enforcement team could further prioritize its mission, focusing on what the supervisors thought was most important.

One thing the supervisors did find important was addressing the common practice of homeowners renting Napa Valley properties as vacation getaways without acquiring business permits. The properties commonly appear on travel and vacation Web sites.

Owners of bed and breakfast inns say the practice cuts into the profit of their legitimate, tax-paying businesses.

County officials have been debating what to do for years, considering everything from suing property owners to stop the practice to essentially making their rentals legitimate in order to impose hotel and business taxes.

Supervisor Mark Luce said the county either needs a robust code enforcement program in that department or none at all.

“It is such an economic incentive to skirt around the law here in Napa Valley

1 comment(s)

Concerned Citizen wrote on Nov 7, 2007 7:21 AM:

" All I can say is, 'who cares WHAT Drier has to say about anything?' I was so glad to hear of his stepping down from the position of "feeder at the public trough." His manipulations and dishonesty over the years have been disgusting and his removal from position; albiet self imposed; was better late than never. Good riddance. As for the farmworker housing..that's another story and another sham being perpetrated on Napa Valley. What a joke..and the joke is on the good ole average joe, taxpayer, hard worker, responsible family member who has to live among the 'rich and famous' here in Napa who skirt most rules and regulations with the blessings of the powers that be. "

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