New laws signed by Gov. Newsom clear way for more farmworker housing

On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new slate of laws meant to expand housing for farmworkers, a community whose struggle for safe places to live has gone uncovered for too long.

"It's been a frustration I think we all have- you see bill signing and it's like OK. It's the beginning now of the next phase, the real work," Newsom said.

That real work is now beginning in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. Assemblymember Gail Pellerin said a Santa Clara County Supervisor brought a bill that needed revisions to her attention.

"It was difficult to implement because the housing had to be located on farmland and farmland doesn't always have access to water and sewer and other things you need for living," Pellerin said.

MORE: Half Moon Bay City Council votes to approve housing development for senior farmworkers

AB3035 will now allow farmworker housing to be built within 15 miles of a farm. This makes more parcels of land, whether they're city-owned or county-owned, to be options for development.

"These are families, they're attending our schools, they're working in our communities and we want to make sure they have a safe place to live," Pellerin said.

ABC7 News spoke with Raymon Cancino, who runs a social services agency in Santa Cruz County. He considers this bill a huge win for the farming communities.

"It's going to allow us to raise housing caps from 36 units to 150," Cancino said.

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California's largest urban farm, Agrihood, which also has 165 affordable units for senior and veteran residents is opening in Santa Clara.

Cancino did note the law does not provide the necessary funding.

"Unfortunately, we know the state's budget and the state budget woes that the biggest influx of making a big dent isn't in any of these bills which is funding for all housing," Cancino said.

Other bills signed by Newsom include helping migrant farmworkers secure housing year-round and not just seasonally. Another helps extend paid sick leave.

"I think that's one of the issues is that we're so detached from our food ecosystem that we don't know all the work, and preparation that goes into it," Cancino said. "Having some actual goals similarly like we have city RHNA goals in terms of how many housing units need to be in relation to your community that you have to build out. I think the same expectation should be done on farming and agriculture."

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