YIGBY: Yes IN God's Backyard, Parts 1 & 2

Building Affordable Housing on Faith-Community Land

In their 6th cycle housing element plans (covering years 2021-2029), several Orange County cities identified church-owned or faith-community land as sites for affordable housing. We brought together two panels in March 2021 and May 2022 to describe examples of how churches, developers, and social service providers have partnered to built affordable housing for seniors, families, and people experiencing homelessness. These panels include examples from Jamboree Housing and National CORE, two of the largest developers of affordable housing developers in Southern California. The examples profiled in these webinars demonstrate that this faith-community / developer partnership can be an effective tool to meet the needs for affordable housing in communities where land is scarce. 

YIGBY "Part 1"
Looking at Possibilities in OC, LA, and Riverside

YIGBY "Part 2"
​Wesley Village in Garden Grove, CA

Building Affordable Housing in God's Backyard!
March 4, 2021
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Despite policy efforts aimed at increasing production, California still has a shortage of affordable housing. City leaders struggle to find space to accommodate new housing development in the face of NIMBY opposition. Faith communities often have unused or under-used space on their campuses. Many congregations have partnered with affordable housing developers to build affordable housing on sites zoned for religious use, and some cities have greased the wheels to make it happen faster! Come hear what is possible from three people who have walked this road!

• Honorable Rusty Bailey, Former Mayor of Riverside, CA
• Bishop John Taylor, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
• Sarah Walker, Senior Project Manager, National Community Renaissance (National CORE)
• Jill Shook, Founding Director of Making Housing and Community Happen

This panel is aimed at elected officials, city staff, faith community leaders, clergy, and community members who want to say YES! to affordable and attainable housing in their (and God's) backyard!

The Story of Wesley Village, Garden Grove CA
May 19, 2022

Building affordable housing on land owned by faith communities or congregations has emerged as a strategy in several cities' 6th cycle housing elements. Some cities are crafting ordinances to specifically enable this use. But what does this new affordable housing look like once it is built, and what is it like for the congregation once they have new neighbors? Completed in 2017 on the campus of Garden Grove United Methodist Church, Wesley Village has been operating for five years as a successful partnership between the church and Jamboree Housing. Come hear the story of how these two organizations partnered to meet the needs of both the church and the community, and how these new neighbors are working out. Featuring speakers:

• Benjamin Sanchez, Jamboree Housing
• Wayne Sheriff, Garden Grove United Methodist Church
• Tung Tran, Etapes Corp, Consultant to Jamboree Housing

Click here to learn more about Nat'l CORE's church partnerships

Click here to learn more about Jamboree's church partnerships

Slide deck: YIGBY Part 2 Wesley Village
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File Type:	pdf

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