{"id":27347,"date":"2023-07-13T13:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=27347"},"modified":"2023-07-13T13:00:52","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T20:00:52","slug":"game-changer-bay-area-could-get-up-to-20-billion-for-affordable-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/13\/game-changer-bay-area-could-get-up-to-20-billion-for-affordable-housing\/","title":{"rendered":"Game changer? Bay Area could get up to $20 billion for affordable housing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a>Noah Arroyo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 12, 2023 Updated: July 13, 2023 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A regional housing bond measure would help fund affordable housing projects like the one rendered here, slated for construction in San Francisco\u2019s Hunters Point neighborhood.Mithun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As San Francisco and other cities face pressure from the state to build unprecedented levels of affordable housing<\/a>, officials throughout the Bay Area are hatching a plan to help the construction with a windfall of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They aim to put a regional bond measure on the November 2024 ballot for as much as $20 billion \u2014 and possibly try to amend the state constitution to help it and similar measures pass. Because builders could use the money to qualify for other funding, it could unlock as much as an additional $30 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never had the entire region have those kinds of resources,\u201d said Kate Hartley, director of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, which is drafting the measure. If the bond measure and the amendment were passed, it would be \u201ca game changer for housing efforts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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San Francisco consistently ranks among the most expensive cities in the nation. Without access to affordable housing, many low- and middle-wage earners must live elsewhere and face long commutes if they work in the city, or quit those jobs and go to work closer to where they live. That lack of housing also complicates recruiting for thousands of vacant city and law enforcement jobs.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge step forward, and without these resources it will be hard for the region to meet the state mandate,\u201d said Jesse Arregu\u00edn, mayor of Berkeley and president of the Association of Bay Area Governments, which will review the measure before it goes to the region\u2019s voters. \u201cThis is a critical need, and we need to act now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure would authorize the issuance of either $10 billion or $20 billion in bonds \u2014 a final decision will be made by early next year \u2014 which would fund grants and loans to preserve or create affordable housing in all nine Bay Area counties over a 10-year period. Some cities would get dedicated funding, either because they have large populations or they\u2019re slated to build at least 30% of their counties\u2019 low-income housing in coming years. If a $20 billion bond measure were approved, $2.4 billion would ultimately go to San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That would help San Francisco build the 82,000 housing units \u2014 46,000 of them affordable to low- and middle-income tenants \u2014 that the state has mandated be built by 2031. If that number isn\u2019t met, the city could lose state funding and control over local land-use decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general-obligation bonds would be repaid with a real-estate tax increase. Property owners with assessed values of $500,000 would pay between $75 and $100 per year more if voters passed a $20 billion bond. It\u2019s uncertain how much voters might be willing to accept, Arregu\u00edn said. Future public polling will help the measure\u2019s authors decide which figure to land on, Hartley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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