In a major setback for affordable housing advocates, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority has pulled from the November ballot a $20 billion regional housing bond that could have sent a $699 million windfall to Marin County.
Despite legal challenges that have complicated their efforts, the bond’s promoters intend to keep fighting for the measure, but they plan to do so on a slower timetable, putting off the vote until 2026 or even 2028.
“Everywhere you look, there are people living on the streets or people having to leave West Marin because they can no longer afford to pay their high rent,” said Socorro Romo, director of West Marin Community Services. “We will continue working on this. We had a setback, but we’re not done.”
For now, the bond’s proponents will focus their efforts on passing Proposition 5, a statewide measure that would reduce the threshold for approving affordable housing bonds from 67 percent to 55 percent.
Both Prop. 5 and the regional bond, which would have benefited nine Bay Area counties, had been headed to the ballot this fall as part of a two-part strategy for addressing the region’s acute housing shortage. Polling showed the bond was unlikely to win a two-thirds vote but had a chance of clearing the lower threshold.
But both measures were challenged in court by a well-funded coalition of anti-tax organizations led by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. That statewide group spearheaded Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot initiative that sharply limited the ability of California cities and towns to increase property taxes.
The anti-tax groups raised questions about the wording of Prop. 5 and some of the financial calculations included in the voter guide to promote the Bay Area bond, which, due to a math error, understated the annual cost of paying off the bond.
“The decision to pull the bond measure is extremely disappointing for everyone who understands the vital role affordable housing plays in the region’s economic and social health,” said Kate Hartley, the B.A.H.F.A. director. “Despite this setback, we will continue our work to produce and preserve the affordable housing millions of Bay Area residents need.”
Supervisor Dennis Rodoni shared her disappointment. “The bond, if passed, could have had tremendous impacts on affordable and workforce housing in Marin and West Marin,” he said.
Given the legal challenges, backers of the bond decided to recalibrate their strategy, postponing the vote and focusing on passing Prop. 5 with an upswell of community activism.
“We have this amazing, powerful grassroots coalition of Marin residents who have organized to do something about affordable housing, and we’re going to activate them to make sure Prop. 5 happens,” said Maya Friedman of the Marin Organizing Committee. “We have to be strategic and focus. We’re building something important for the long haul.”
Marin County supported the bond, and its Board of Supervisors set aside money this spring to hire a consultant to confer with local officials, nonprofits and citizen groups about how to use the potential $699 million in funding.
“I’m deeply disappointed that these funds won’t be available to support affordable housing,” said Leelee Thomas, a county housing specialist. “But we will continue to work together with our cities and towns to support affordable housing and workforce housing in our communities.”
For now, the county will focus on how to use the $25 million it has allocated to Marin’s own affordable housing fund for the next five years—an investment that would have been dwarfed by the bond allocation.
The decision to pull the bond came amid a series of meetings organized by a local housing coalition, Marin Housing For All, to rally support for the measure, including a session at the Point Reyes Community Presbyterian Church this month.
Sarah Thorp, who moved to West Marin two years ago, is among the many renters confronting the expensive housing market. She has a management job at the community services agency but still can’t afford her own place.
“It’s challenging to have a full-time position and feel like I would need a second job in order to live on my own and be fully independent,” she said.
The housing bond had given Ms. Thorp a sense of optimism. “It felt like there was something to be hopeful about that might change this housing situation,” she said. “I hope they can reform it into something that can help the people who really need affordable housing.”