At the June 18 board meeting, SACOG heard about the successes of Engage El Dorado, a collaboration between El Dorado County and the El Dorado Community Foundation. Engage El Dorado was funded by a $250,000 Engage, Empower, Implement (EEI) grant from SACOG in 2024, with the goal of seeking community voices to help develop El Dorado County’s Attainable Housing Strategic Plan. Engage El Dorado will use the community input they receive to make recommendations to the El Dorado County Affordable Housing Task Force and Board of Supervisors.
To maximize its reach—particularly among underrepresented groups—Engage El Dorado worked closely with nonprofits, food banks, major employers, hospitals, and local news outlets like KCRA. Through 14 in-person workshops and a survey with more than 1,000 responses, Engage El Dorado heard directly from residents across the county about their housing needs and desired solutions.
Data collected from community input shows that 78 percent of residents consider housing in El Dorado County to be expensive or unaffordable. Additionally, 70 percent of residents said that affordable housing near work, school, or services was “unattainable.” These community responses strongly match other data analyzed by the State of California, which shows that 80 percent of residents in El Dorado County do not have the average household income needed to buy a home in their county.
The next steps for Engage El Dorado include a community meeting in August, where residents are encouraged to contribute their input and ideas about affordable housing solutions. This data and residents’ responses will inform the housing strategy and recommendations made to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors.
Engage El Dorado recognizes that to successfully meet affordable housing goals, the county must work closely with community members, fostering trust and communication throughout the planning process.
Watch the presentation to the SACOG board on our YouTube channel.