City News
City to Hold Listening Session on Workforce Housing and Downtown Vibrancy November 16
November 2, 2026, City News
Help Shape How Sebastopol Grows Together!
The City of Sebastopol is working on Sebastopol Growing Together: A Strategy for a Livable Community, a plan to support homes for the people who work and live here while protecting the character that makes our downtown special. The project builds on the recently adopted Workforce Housing Overlay, which allows homes in commercial areas along Highway 116 and downtown.
Over the past several months, local business owners, property owners, housing advocates, tenants, and community organizations have shared what they value about Sebastopol and what it needs to thrive. Now we want to hear from you. The strategy focuses on the Highway 116 corridor and Downtown Core, with ideas for making it easier to build workforce housing, keeping downtown lively and walkable, and supporting the local businesses that give Sebastopol its identity.
What Is the Workforce Housing Overlay?
Many people who keep Sebastopol running, including teachers, healthcare workers, shop employees, and service workers, can’t afford to live in the town where they work. The Workforce Housing Overlay is one of the City’s tools for changing that.
The overlay allows housing on eligible sites along the Highway 116 corridor and downtown, where shops, services, and transit are already close by. It sets clear, predictable standards so that well-designed homes can move forward without a lengthy approval process. Focusing new homes in these areas helps protect Sebastopol’s neighborhoods and surrounding open space.
Sebastopol Growing Together is about getting the details right: where the overlay applies, how new buildings fit alongside existing storefronts and streets, and how to keep homes affordable for local workers. Your input will help shape those choices.
Join Us at the Community Listening Session
Monday, November 16, 2026, 6:00pm
390 Morris St, Sebastopol, CA 95472
. We’ll talk about housing needs and the renter experience, and about what keeps downtown’s commercial character and local economy strong. [Spanish interpretation will be provided.]
Other Opportunities to Learn More and Share Feedback
- Planning Commission Study Session
October 27, 2026, 6pm - Planning Commission Public Hearing
TBD, December 2026 - City Council Meeting
TBD, December 2026
Learn more, sign up for updates, and take the survey through November 30 on the project website here.
Your voice helps Sebastopol grow in a way that stays true to who we are. Thank you for being part of it.