$20B Bay Area affordable housing bond pulled from ballot, could return for future vote

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A $20 billion funding to address the Bay Area's lack of affordable housing options is now off the table.

The Affordable Housing Bond promised to be a solution, but the Bay Area Housing Financing Authority voted Wednesday to remove the bond from the November 2024 ballot.

"This is one of the most difficult votes that I will be taking," Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal D. Glover said.

Not often does a unanimous decision have such hesitation, but that was the case when the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority voted to pull the $20 billion affordable housing bond from the November ballot.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez was among the reluctant 'yes' votes.

"We know that we need the best shot in communicating with the voters in a way that helps people understand how important this opportunity is to getting housing built in our community, and that the timing was off," Chavez said.

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The bond would have raised funds through a surcharge on property tax bills and distributed those significant dollars to Bay Area counties based on their contributions.

Including big dollars to big cities - with $2 billion coming to San Jose alone.

In the North Bay, $2 billion would have been spread out among the four counties and the other five counties would've gotten around $2 billion each.

It was $2.4 billion for Santa Clara County - money Supervisor Chavez says could've gone a long way.

"We have 12,000 homes somewhere in the pipeline that are affordable that just need a little bit more money to get over the finish line and get built - 12,000," Chavez said. "So for us, this is a significant loss."

When the need for housing is top of mind as the state continues to clean up encampments and move homeless off the streets, why this vote?

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The BAHFA commissioners say there is not enough support for the measure at this time. There was only 55% approval in recent polls.

It's disappointing for the commissioners, but there's hope for a future ballot.

"I would call for and ask that we all take that energy of disappointment to ensure that Prop 5 passes to ensure that the very first step takes place so that we can move forward with this when it comes through again," Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said.

Prop 5 would lower voter approval thresholds from 67% to 55%.

If this passes in November, an effort to get the Bay Area Affordable Housing Bond approved could come again in 2026.

It hopes to finally provide the money Bay Area residents desperately need.