Santa Monica's teachers, nurses and firefighters could get a new path to homeownership under a housing plan the City Council directed staff to advance on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

The Missing Middle Housing Realignment Plan, presented by Planning Commissioner Shawn Landres on behalf of the commission, centers on cottage courts: clusters of six or seven detached homes of about 850 square feet arranged around a shared courtyard. The council told staff to fold the blueprint into the city's next housing plan and to evaluate backing a state bill supporters say could cut construction costs for the housing type.

"Santa Monica can build homes for its own workforce on the open market if we let the building form do the work," Landres told the council.

The plan targets households earning roughly 120% to 200% of area median income. Landres described the band as people earning too much for subsidized housing but too little to buy in the city. A firefighter and teacher together making $162,000, a police officer with a working spouse, and a nurse raising children all fall in that range, he said, yet none qualify for subsidized affordable housing.

The gap is stark.

About 90% of the people who work in Santa Monica cannot afford to live in the city, according to figures cited at the meeting. The median home now sells for well over $1 million.

The council's direction is a step toward formal adoption, not a final vote to build or fund specific projects. Staff must incorporate the commission's blueprint into the city's broader housing plan update before any cottage courts can be approved. Individual council member votes on the Aug. 5 direction had not been published in meeting records.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reported the council action on Thursday, Aug. 6, in a story by staff writer Maaz Alin. The specific state bill under consideration has not been publicly identified.

Residents can track the plan's progress through the city's posted council agendas at santamonica.gov.