Santa Clara County could see a bump in affordable homes

Santa Clara County may see another funding boost to build more affordable housing—if voters approve a bond measure in November.

On June 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $11.25 billion affordable housing bond measure that would provide funding for home ownership, permanent supportive housing and the preservation of affordable housing. The bond would break out $1.25 billion towards helping vets buy homes. The other $10 billion would go into various affordable housing and homeownership programs, including investments for farmworker housing, at-risk youth, homeless people and tribal communities.

If passed by voters, it could help more than 40,000 Californians with home buying assistance and the construction of tens of thousands of affordable homes.

“It is the biggest housing bond I have worked on in my whole career,” Linda Mandolini, CEO of nonprofit affordable housing developer Eden Housing, told San José Spotlight. “It is really focused on helping lower-income Californians and seniors and folks who are just having a hard time making ends meet in California.”

Two years ago, housing advocates attempted to pass a $20 billion affordable housing bond in the Bay Area. But after the measure faced legal challenges, commissioners on the Bay Area Finance Housing Authority voted to pull the bond from the ballot. They said it would be better to wait another election cycle when there was more certainty for the measure to pass.

This statewide measure will only need a simple majority vote, or 50% plus one vote. Silicon Valley advocates are hopeful residents understand how critical it is.

“I think Californians are very focused on making life more affordable,” CEO Alex Shoor of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit working to stimulate affordable and sustainable housing in the county, told San José Spotlight. “There’s no greater indicator of the lack of affordability in the state, and no greater way of improving that affordability than building housing, to bring down the cost of housing.”

The state is facing an affordability crisis, where gas prices, groceries and rent are among the highest in the nation. Californians are opting to move out of state to give their pocketbooks more breathing room. In the Bay Area, where the costs of housing top the nation,  40% of Santa Clara County residents said they are likely to leave the region in the next few years.

The need for the statewide housing bond has become more urgent, advocates said. If voters pass the measure, it will come just in time as the county’s Measure A  money, an affordable housing bond approved by voters in 2016, has been spent.

Measure A injected $950 million into building more than 5,000 homes across the county. The housing bond was the first of its kind to prioritize deeply affordable and supportive housing for the county. But the housing crisis is so severe that advocates said more is needed to fill the gap.

“It’s a big problem. It requires big investment,” Mandolini said. “Not only will (the state bond) create a meaningful number of new affordable housing developments, it will preserve existing affordable housing. It will give us more opportunities to take advantage of private investment.”

Debra Townley, who lived in her car for years while managing a chronic health condition, said the money that would go into rehabilitating affordable housing is just as important for people who can’t afford a decent place to live.

“A lot of times people like us end up in buildings that they can afford…and often it’s very run down and depreciated,” Townley told San José Spotlight.  “It’s just not conducive to good health. It also isn’t conducive to having a wheelchair or a service dog.”

Townley said she and her son’s life changed when they were placed into affordable housing that only required 30% of their income and accommodated individuals with disabilities. But thousands more are waiting to be housed, as the county grapples with the highest number of homeless people it’s seen on record, at more than 10,700.

“Our mental health has gotten better. Our physical health is somewhat better. My outlook about the future is so much better,” she said. “There’s so many aspects of life that get better when you have a solid ground. Affordable housing allows that for us.”

Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.