Regional leaders are brainstorming ways to keep affordable housing production up and eyeing a hefty funding source.
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) wants to put a multibillion-dollar bond measure on the November ballot, with the funds going to the region’s nine counties to help facilitate affordable housing. The bond’s details have yet to be determined, though BAHFA is considering a range between $10 billion to $20 billion.
BAHFA is scheduled to approve the bond’s language for the ballot on June 26. Santa Clara County could receive up to $2 billion from the proposed regional bond based on estimated amounts.
Huerta said during the panel that a funding source of that scale would immediately help fund dozens more projects, compared to the existing competition for funding.
“If we can have a robust, significant, flexible new funding source, it could be a game changer,” he said.
The county has been relying on Measure A, a $950 million bond measure approved by voters in 2016, to fund affordable housing projects. Hernandez previously told San José Spotlight Measure A helped pay for more than 6,000 affordable homes across the county, though funding from the measure will be spent by the end of 2024.