Lincoln, California has a rich history, including its founding as a railroad town, the discovery of coal, and the establishment of the Gladding, McBean pottery company. In 1859, Theodore Judah, an engineer for the California Central Railroad, bought land around the base of the Sierra Foothills and sold it to Colonel Charles "Lincoln" Wilson, the railroad's president. Wilson laid out the town of Lincoln and began selling lots. Lincoln grew 282 percent between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest-growing city over 10,000 people in the U.S.[8] Its 2022 population was 52,534.[9] The racial makeup of Lincoln was 34,087 (79.6%) White, 629 (1.5%) African American, 399 (0.9%) Native American, 2,663 (6.2%) Asian, 115 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 3,125 (7.3%) from other races, and 1,801 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7,597 persons (17.7%).[18] There are approximately 17,500 housing units at an average density of 867.2 per square mile. The median household income in Lincoln, California, in 2022 was $99,434. There were 1,435 units (8 percent of all housing units) in multifamily buildings and 71 mobile homes.
I. Questions regarding areas of existing housing/neighborhood services
a) Affordable housing: Lincoln provides Placer County brochures on fair housing, tenant rights, rehabilitation grants and loans, first-time, homebuyer programs, and Section 8. The County Section 8 assistance program helps low and very low-income families, persons with disabilities and seniors so they can live in affordable, safe, and decent housing. (City of Roseville and Rocklin have their own section 8 program).
b) Fair Housing and code enforcement: The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, they work with the Fair Housing and Nor Cal Legal Services. The City enforces fair housing and complies with fair housing laws and regulation through a twofold process: review of City policies and code for compliance with State law and referring fair housing complaints to appropriate agencies. The City conducted a comprehensive review of the City’s zoning laws and policies in 2012 for compliance with fair housing law, and has since amended individual zones districts as necessary, in 2016 and 2018, to ensure that land use policies, permitting practices, and building codes continue to comply with state and federal fair-housing laws. In addition, when considering development proposals, including Specific Plans or other policy documents, the City will endeavor to ensure that everyone has equal access to sound and affordable housing (Policy 13).
c) Describe how code enforcement is working in the city? In Table A-24, of the Lincoln Housing Element, 12,545 housing units, or 69 percent, of Lincoln’s total housing stock was constructed between 2000 and 2009. Based on the age of the housing stock, and conversations with the City’s Code Enforcement Officer, the City estimates that less than 10 percent of the housing units in Lincoln have deferred maintenance or need rehabilitation.
d) Landlord Tenant Mediation Services: –In 2021, Placer County entered a contract with Placer Dispute Resolution to provide community mediation and conflict resolution services for Placer County residents, property owners, and business owners, offered at low-cost, are voluntary and confidential.
e) Besides county mediation services, what kind of local tenant protections are in place for residents? Are they working? Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC), the only civil legal aid office for the county, assists low- income and senior residents in the City of Lincoln who face housing discrimination and other issues. In August 2020, the Auburn office of LSNC provided information on fair housing issues in Placer County. LSNC staff expressed that the most common complaint they receive across Placer County is regarding a lack of affordable housing. Paired with a surge in suburban development, these factors result in segregated communities due to a lack of accessibility for many low-income residents. Other complaints they receive regarding fair housing include refusal to rent, discriminatory treatment, and termination of tenancies by landlords, predominantly due to the residents’ income class and income source (i.e., Section 8 Vouchers). While income is often a driving factor in many fair housing cases, LSNC also reports that they receive a significant number of disability discrimination cases, often alleging a refusal to grant reasonable accommodation requests. LSNC confirmed that these issues are not isolated to Lincoln and are experienced by residents across their service area.
f) Foreclosure Assistance: Placer County offers foreclosure assistance through programs like the "Workforce Housing Preservation Program" and by providing access to Home Loan Counseling Centers in Sacramento
g) Gas: They use PG& E and for gas. There is help with lower-income residents for electric, propane or firewood with the high costs of heating and/or cooling. Annual utility bill assistance can range from. $350 to $1000. Pioneer Community Energy is another electricity provider in the area offering 100% renewable energy. They procures the energy, while PG&E delivers it, maintains lines, and sends bills.
h) Household Hazardous Waste Cleanup: They rely on Placer county.
II. Questions about Affordable Housing.
a) What percentage of the city are homeowners, and what percentage renters? According to the California Department of Finance, as of 2019, the majority of dwelling units in Lincoln (17,657, approximately 92 percent) were single-family homes. There were 1,435 units (8 percent of all housing units) in multifamily buildings and 71 mobile homes.
b) What is the vacancy rate? The 2014–2018 ACS reported that 97 percent of Lincoln’s 17,607 housing units were occupied. By comparison, only 87 percent of homes in Placer County were occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%. This very low vacancy rate can push up the cost of housing and cause overcrowding.
c) How many residents live in overcrowded conditions: The 2014–2018 ACS found that approximately 1 percent of households in Lincoln lived in overcrowded (1.01 to 1.5 people per room) or severely overcrowded (more than 1.5 people per room) conditions. Overcrowding is a more significant issue among renters; 7 percent of rental households in Lincoln were overcrowded or severely overcrowded, compared to less than 1 percent for owner-occupied households.
d) What percent of the city is cost burdened? Those spending more than 30% and those spending more than 50% of their income on housing considered extremely cost burdened? Almost half (48%) of households that rent their home spend over 30% of their income on housing. Almost 1 in 5 (17%) households that own their home spend over 30% of their income on housing.
e) How many Section 8 units exist in the city? This information was not found.
f) How many units have been subsidized by developers? Are affordable units spread throughout the city? 12.8% of Lincoln's housing units are on the Subsidized Housing Inventory. Lincoln has a total of 691 affordable housing units. You can find a list of 8 financially assisted affordable housing developments on page 29 of the Lincoln Housing Element. This list also provides the dates by which their subsidy will expire and could risk becoming market rate.
g) Preservation of Affordable Housing: There doesn’t seem to be any tenant rights protections except in the case where affordable housing is being converted to market rate. City will contact property owners of units at risk of converting to market-rate housing within one year of affordability expiration to discuss the City’s desire to preserve complexes as affordable housing. Participation from agencies interested in purchasing and/or managing at- risk units will be sought. Property owners are required to give a nine-month notice of their intent to opt out of low-income use restrictions. The City will work with tenants to provide education regarding tenant rights and conversion procedures pursuant to California law.
h) Does Lincoln have Inclusionary Housing? In-lieu fees? There are no inclusionary units or in-lieu fees in Lincoln.
i) Are section 8 voucher holders finding landlords willing to rent to them? Are there any efforts or incentives in the city to encourage landlords to do so? Please see 1.b) above. Consider what Roseville and Rocklin is doing with the landlord incentive program.
j) What is the need for more affordable housing (i.e. RHNA numbers)? How has the city faired on meeting the RHNA numbers and reaching benchmarks in the past and today? The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) determined that Lincoln needs 5,120 housing units for the 2021 to 2029 planning period. Please note what % were completed:
2013-2021
2021-2029
k) Does the city have plans to build affordable housing? Are they accessing funding and planning for this? Making land available with the right zoning?
Land zoned for residential development can accommodate 10,143 units, well in excess of the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). Sites are available at a range of densities and in a variety of styles to meet the needs and preferences of Lincoln residents. Lincoln’s zoning regulations and development permit processes do not create unreasonable restrictions ability to accommodate affordable housing. Here are some of the initiatives in the LHE:
· Lincoln was to consider annexing Village 5 by the end of 2022 which is permissibly zoned for 428 affordable housing units
· Consider using a city-owned land and rezone it to RD 20 so it can work for affordable housing
· Incentives to produce affordable housing were to be considered such as deferred fees, reduced parking, expedited applications and assistance with grants, loans and tax credit applications.
· Explore a housing trust fund with a commercial linkage fees and other funding sources.
· Utilize mixed income zoning and some density increases from 20 dwellings per acre to 30 du/ac.
· Consider a 35% density bonus when 20% of the units are for low, or a when 10% of the units are for very low.
· Lincoln will explore the adoption of a local inclusionary housing and in/lieu fee program by June 2022.
l) Are there any plans to do TOD –Transit Oriented Development? Probably not.
m) Have there been efforts to support congregations interested in providing affordable housing on a portion of their underutilized land? No information was found on this.
n) Has there been interest in building ADUs? Over 401 ADUs built in Placer County but there is no available research on the number of ADUs in Lincoln. Single-family homes are allowed 1 ADU per property (attached, detached or conversion of a garage, shed or other habitable spaces) and if the property is owner occupied, the property allowed a Junior ADU within the footprint of the home. This city is amending their local policy to be in accordance with Assembly Bill 2299 and Senate Bill 1069. Lincoln will promote ADUs with guidance and educational materials and procedures, and construction resources on the City’s website and work with City Council to identify possible incentives for the development of ADUs.
3. Questions about Homelessness.
a) How many were officially counted in the last count? Do you think this is accurate? What have been the homeless counts in the city for the past 5 years? In 2023, the number of unhoused people in Lincoln, California, supposedly decreased from 47 to around 20 due to the city's Homeless Pilot Program, supported by the faith community, local volunteers, and non-profits. However, this may be an undercount. According to the LHE:
In August 2020, the Lincoln City Attorney, a member of the Homeless Task Force, and the Lincoln Police Department confirmed that the homeless population in the City is much higher than the number reported in the (PIT) point-in-time count. In 2019, law enforcement estimated approximately 150 homeless individuals within the City.
The City was very upset about the Gathering Inn’s “Medical Respite Center” that opened up in the city for unhoused people with serious medical conditions. There was fear it would attract unhoused people. https://www.lincolnca.gov/en/news/city-of-lincoln-expresses-disappointment-over-lack-of-transparency-in-medical-respite-center-project.aspx
b) How would you describe the attitude of the city regarding homelessness and what measures are being discussed and implemented to address this? Do the city leaders generally adopt the housing first model? The City was concerned about a Medical Respite Center for unhoused people yet the application required that community input not be allowed until application approval. This felt unfair to the city leaders. Yet, Transitional and supportive housing is permitted “by right” in Lincolns R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts. SB 2 requires that cities provide at least one zoning category where emergency shelters can be located without discretionary review. As of 2011, emergency shelters are a permitted use in the Light Industrial District (L- I). There are over 100 acres of L-I zoned land adjacent to the downtown area where the city is to amend the Zoning Ordinance to allow transitional and supportive housing types without discretionary review in all zones that allow multifamily housing or mixed-use development, including nonresidential zones, per Government Code Section 65583 and 65650.
d) Is there an openness to having permanent supportive housing? And if so, are the steps to make this happen? Have they purchased land for this? PHS is allowed, but presently no active project. While the city does not have any shelters for those experiencing homelessness located within the city limits, it does participate in the provision of housing for the unhoused through its membership and staff time on the Placer Consortium on Homelessness (PCOH).
e) Are there homeless prevention plans and programs in place? If so, please describe them.
In Placer County, views requiring the cooperation of the County and cities together, with a Continuum of Care (CoC) comprehensive approach designed by the community as a coordinated housing and service delivery system, bringing homeless and service providers together to plan a balance of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing and service resources. The goal: To make the critical transition from the streets to jobs and independent living. The (CoC) also includes a homeless prevention component and the following:
· Emergency shelter through motel vouchers and support for the Gathering Inn program
· Shelter for those fleeing domestic violence (year-round and seasonal)
· Transitional housing with supportive services;
· Permanent housing with or without subsidized rent; and
· Additional supportive services that address basic, therapeutic, and income needs.