SF Supes Vote To Place $600M Affordable Housing Bond On Nov. Ballot
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to place an affordable housing bond on the November ballot, city officials said. Supervisors voted unanimously on a $600 million bond, which would allow for the construction of about 2,800 affordable housing units that could be started in the next four years.
Supervisors will take a second and final vote on the bond on July 16 and two-thirds of voters need to vote for it for it to pass. The housing units that would be built would serve vulnerable
residents such as seniors, formerly homeless people, veterans, educators and families.
"We are in a housing crisis that is pushing out our low- and middle-income residents and we desperately need more affordable housing," Mayor London Breed said in a statement.
Breed has made creating housing in San Francisco a hallmark of her time in office. The money will also pay for rehabilitating public housing among other housing efforts.
The bond initiative was proposed by Breed and Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee. It was co-sponsored by Supervisors Vallie Brown, Ahsha Safai, Shamann Walton, Catherine Stefani, Hillary Ronen and Rafael Mandelman.
Earlier this year, a working group organized by Breed and Yee crafted the measure. Based on the recommendations of the group, the measure will provide $150 million to repair and rebuild public housing and its infrastructure.
The measure will also allocate $220 million to rental projects that will be ready for construction in the next four years. These units would provide housing for individuals and families earning from zero to 80 percent of the area's median income, which is the midpoint of the range of everyone's income in a certain area.
About $30 million will be used to acquire and rehabilitate affordable rental housing that's at risk of being lost, and about $30 million more will provide loans for down payments and the purchase of land or buildings for the construction of affordable housing.
The measure will allocate $150 million for the creation of affordable senior rental housing.
Additionally, $20 million will go toward the pre-development and construction of affordable rental housing for educators and employees of the San Francisco Unified School District and City College of San Francisco who earn between 30 and 140 percent of the area's median income.
"San Francisco's most important strength is the incredible diversity of its communities," Malcolm Yeung, deputy director of Chinatown Community Development Corporation, said in a statement.
Yeung was a co-chair of the housing working group.
He added, "We must pass this bond to ensure that our diverse communities continue to have a home in this city."
© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
