Identifying a lack of housing in Crescent City as a key issue the mayor and council authorized its grant team on Monday to apply for $485,092 for the next five years to build affordable housing within the city.The money comes about from California Senate Bill Two which attached a $75 real estate fee for the purpose of affordable housing in communities to address California’s significant housing shortage and rise in homelessness identified as California’s chief issue under California Governor Gavin Newsom.Under the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program cities can apply for funds for building, rehabilitation, preservation of affordable housing and so called “Granny Units” to assist those living in poverty, needing accessibility or people who have fallen into homelessness.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');The program offers 10-year deferred loans to developers at zero percent interest with an option of loan forgiveness after ten years if the terms of affordability are met.Mayor Jason Greenough encouraged the passage of the grant application saying, “Anything we can do to encourage more production is a positive thing in my mind because we have a shortage of housing.”The council unanimously voted to seek out the grant.The council also agreed to accept a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy for a “Coastal Stories” project which would offer a QR code on signs at parks along the shore such as Battery Point and Brother Jonathon so that when the code is activated a person can hear ten unique stories which bring to life the history of the land and the Tolowa People. In addition a website is connected so that people may hear the stories as told by Tolowa Elders.In passing the grant acceptance the mayor stated that, “This is no small thing, our history matters.”The council also accepted the request of City Manager Eric Weir to test for a potential backup well to Ranney where the city receives all its water. Ranney, according to Weir is in great shape without a danger of failure but given the opportunity to offer redundancy and resilience, it’s worth exploring a second well, according to Weir, which could offer a 14 day water backup system in case of emergency.The test well is near the chlorination center and makes sense if the water is there and does not impinge on other wells which are privately used nearby, Weird told the council.Should the well check out as useful, the city would get an additional 10% of water for its use at a total cost of $1.3 million which Weir said grants are likely to cover 100% of costs. Should the well be workable it adds to Ranney Well which already covers the city’s needs and an additional water storage of five million gallons also already exists for Crescent City. The city uses roughly 2 million gallons per day.The council authorized the exploratory well and requested greater detail of the long-term plan should the well appear workable.And the annual Candlelight Walk through Old Growth Redwoods to be held on December 3rd and 4th is sold out through the Redwood Parks Conservancy but the city has an opportunity to participate through a national auction process to benefit the Conservancy.This year the City of Crescent City voted to offer a seven-day pass to the Lighthouse RV park as a way of creating awareness of Crescent City’s shore and RV Parks to encourage visitors from around the country to learn more about Lighthouse Cove and the amenities Crescent City offers its visitors.The council voted unanimously to support the auction. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });