HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN SEASIDE

Too many people in Seaside are being squeezed by the rising cost of housing. When you have to spend more than a third of your paycheck on rent or a mortgage, something is not right, and something is not fair. Families are forced to cut back on basic needs, put their future on hold, or leave the community they grew up in and love. I do not believe that should be accepted as normal. I believe the people who work here, raise families here, serve here, and grow older here should have a real and growing chance to live here.

That is why I support a housing strategy that is both practical and fair. We need more housing choices for every stage of life and at every income level: apartments, townhomes, smaller starter homes, accessory dwelling units, workforce housing, and affordable homeownership opportunities. Seaside already has important tools in place. Our inclusionary housing ordinance requires new residential development to include affordable units, and the Seaside Housing Collaborative was created to help acquire, build, and preserve affordable and workforce housing in our city. I believe we need to use those tools more aggressively and more strategically.

I also believe renter stability must be part of the solution. Building more housing matters, but so does protecting people from being pushed out before relief arrives. That means stronger renter protections, better tenant education, fair housing enforcement, access to mediation, and practical eviction-prevention support. The City works with ECHO to provide fair housing services, tenant and landlord counseling, dispute resolution, and rental mediation, and Seaside has also supported rental assistance tools for residents at risk of homelessness. We should build on that work and make sure more residents know where to turn before a housing problem becomes a housing crisis.

Homeownership must remain part of this conversation. If working families and first-time buyers are locked out year after year, Seaside loses stability, diversity, and the opportunity to build generational wealth. I want the City to expand workshops, partnerships, and access points that connect residents to first-time home buyer programs, resale-restricted opportunities, and other pathways that make ownership more realistic. The City already directs residents to CalHFA home buyer programs and to the Housing Authority of Monterey County for voucher support, and that kind of practical outreach should be strengthened.

Public land and major development projects should also work harder for the people of Seaside. When the City has leverage, we should use it. The Main Gate parcel is required to set aside at least 25 percent of its residential units as affordable to lower-income households. Growth should not just add units. It should add real opportunity for the residents who keep this city running every day.

If I am re-elected, I will fight for housing policies that create more housing choices, strengthen renter stability, expand homeownership opportunities, support the work of the Seaside Housing Collaborative, and make sure major projects produce real affordability instead of empty promises.

I want Seaside to be a city where young people can begin their lives, working families can stay rooted, seniors can remain in the community they helped build, and long-time residents are not priced out of their own hometown. That is what housing affordability means to me, and that is what I will keep fighting for.

“I believe that if you work hard, contribute to this community, and want to build your future here, Seaside should give you a fair chance to call it home.” — Ian N. Oglesby