The $10 billion affordable housing ballot measure

Barbara Lee's fundraising struggles continue through mid-year; Hayward’s violent Fourth; Inspirational BART Board candidate in District 7

A 211-unit low-income and senior affordable housing development at Brooklyn Basin in Oakland that opened in 2021.

COUNTY NEWS

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

—BETTING THE HOUSE—In recent years, voters in Alameda County have approved $580 million in bonds to help create more housing units and alleviate rampant homelessness. Oakland voters, last year, approved a $850 million affordable housing bond. But it’s still not enough.

—Expect the county to launch some type of ballot measure next year to further fund new affordable housing.

—An extension of Alameda County’s Measure A1, mentioned above, is one possibility. Measure A1 was approved by voters in November 2016. Downside—the bonds are still being paid by the current tax for another decade or more.

—A entirely new affordable housing ballot measure is another idea floated by county staff. Downside—Staff time to study the initiative could be as long as one year.

—But it appears the county is leaning toward joining the proposed nine-county Bay Area regional tax measure for the November 2024 ballot.

—The ballot measure for building new housing regionwide could create up to $10 billion in new revenues, including $984 million set aside for Alameda County, and another $382 million just for Oakland.

—Despite the various bond measures, along with state and federal funding in recent years, there is still a need for more financial resources.

—In unincorporated Alameda County, more than 7,900 affordable units are currently in the pipeline, costing between $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion just to get projects off the ground, said Michelle Starratt, the director of the Alameda County Housing Department.

—The proposed ballot measure backed by the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) has a few early unknowns working against it.

—For instance, the BAHFA has not yet done any polling. In 2018, Bay Area Regional Measure 3, which raised bridge tolls (except the Golden Gate) $3 by 2025, was approved with only 55 percent of the vote, and 53.9 percent in Alameda County. A simple majority was needed for passage…

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