The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) has adopted a resolution to place a general obligation bond measure on the upcoming November 5th election ballot in all nine counties of the Bay Area. This proposed bond aims to raise $20 billion for the development of new affordable housing and preservation of existing affordable housing across the region.
Under this proposed BAHFA bond measure, 80% of funds will be allocated directly to each county in proportion to their tax contributions, with additional allocations for cities such as San Jose, Oakland, Santa Rosa and Napa that have significant low-income housing needs. The largest distributions are expected to go towards San Francisco and Santa Clara counties with $2.4 billion each, followed by San Jose and San Mateo County receiving $2.1 billion each.
Currently requiring approval from two-thirds majority voters, this BAHFA bond measure may see changes if Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 (ACA 1) is approved by California voters on the statewide ballot. ACA 1 proposes lowering voter threshold requirements for approving bonds related to affordable housing or infrastructure projects from two-thirds majority vote down to just over half at a minimum requirement of only55%. If passed by California voters during elections later this year,the lower threshold would also apply towards approval fortheBAYHAbondmeasure.
