May 1, 2007

Housing affordability strikes poor and middle classes

By State Assemblymember Jim Beall
Special to the Times

Housing affordability is not just a problem for low-income families. Since 2000, average statewide rents and home prices have more than doubled. Hard working Californians can neither afford to purchase a home nor rent apartments. Many that can afford to buy a home can only manage it by purchasing 50 to 100 miles from where they work. This dynamic does not produce the quality of life Californians expect in the Golden State.

In 2006, voters passed several public work bonds totaling more than $42.7 billion dollars to address our crumbling infrastructure. Proposition 1C provides nearly $2.9 billion for housing for lower-income residents and development in urban areas near public transportation.

California’s need for affordable housing is reflective of voters’ commitment to provide funding for this purpose. Prop 1C bond language stipulates that the state legislature will have control over a little more than one-half of Proposition 1C’s $2.9 billion. The remainder is appropriated automatically for housing programs consistent with Proposition 46, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Fund Act that passed in 2002.

Proposition 1C didn’t provide any specific direction regarding funding eligibility and criteria to be used to evaluate project funding applications for the four programs established in the proposition; affordable housing innovation, regional planning and housing and infill incentive, transit-oriented development and housing urban-suburban-and-rural parks. Although the legislature is responsible for deciding how to spend nearly half of the funds, if they don’t pass legislation, the governor will have broad discretion to allocate funds to projects.

This year, 26 bills were introduced to help implement Proposition 1C funds. During a recent hearing convened by the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development, many proposals were considered about allocating Proposition 1C funds. Some proposals included a set aside for environmentally sustainable housing including green buildings and universal housing design. Another included creating a pilot program that would explore housing teachers on school sites. A few proposals centered on creating a revolving acquisition fund to provide loans for affordable housing projects.

As a founding board member of the Santa Clara County Housing Trust, I strongly support the proposal to set aside $40 million for local housing trusts through Proposition 1C’s Affordable Housing Innovation Fund.

The Housing Trust is an innovative public private partnership that raises money to build affordable housing through a blend of corporate and community investors. Its strategy turns each dollar raised into an investment 10-fold in value by blending private and public dollars.

The program provides matching grants to local governments of nonprofit organizations that create ongoing revenue streams to support the development of affordable ownership and rental housing. All 15 cities in Santa Clara County participate in the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County.

With an original investment of $24.5 million, the Housing Trust has leveraged $2.1 billion and built 6,166 affordable homes. Thirty-five Housing Trusts have been created in California since Proposition 46.

For more information on the Santa Clara County Housing Trust, visit http://www.housingtrustscc.org. For more information on Proposition 1C, visit the California state’s department of Housing and Community Development at http://www.hcd.ca.gov/fa/bonds.html.