HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 7361
City of Palo Alto (ID # 7361)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Inter-Governmental Legislative Affairs Meeting Date: 10/17/2016
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: Measure A Endorsement
Title: Request for City Council Endorsement of Santa Clara County Measure
A, an Affordable Housing Bond Measure
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Planning and Community Environment
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a motion endorsing Santa Clara County Measure
A, an Affordable Housing Bond Measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot.
Executive Summary
On June 21, 2016, the County of Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to place a $950
Million Bond Measure (Measure A) on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the resulting
funding would be used to support affordable housing for vulnerable populations including
veterans, seniors, the disabled, victims of abuse, the homeless and individuals suffering from
mental health or substance abuse illnesses. See Attachment A for more specific information
about the ballot measure.
Passage of Measure A requires a two-thirds majority approval by voters and supporters have
asked for the City’s endorsement.
If approved, the measure would help to address the regional housing crisis and further the
goals and policies in the City’s adopted Housing Element, which include the following:
Policy H3.1: Encourage, foster, and preserve diverse housing opportunities for very low,
low, and moderate income households.
Policy H3.4: Pursue funding for the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of
housing that is affordable to very low, low, and moderate income households.
Policy H3.5: Support the provision of emergency shelter, transitional housing, and
ancillary services to address homelessness.
City of Palo Alto Page 2
If approved by the voters, the measure would allow the County to issue bonds, in one or more
series, with a principal amount not to exceed $950 million. The bond would raise property taxes
$12.66 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
Palo Alto-based affordable housing projects could compete for the funds resulting from this
ballot measure and the County has indicated its willingness to work with stakeholders in
establishing criteria for use in evaluating responses to Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA).
Environmental Review
Endorsement of County Measure A is not a project requiring review under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Attachments:
Attachment A - Information on Measure A (DOCX)
Measure A (November 2016 ballot) information
The language of the measure appearing is:
“To provide affordable local housing for vulnerable populations including veterans, seniors, the
disabled, low and moderate income individuals or families, foster youth, victims of abuse, the
homeless and individuals suffering from mental health or substance abuse illnesses, which
housing may include supportive mental health and substance abuse services, shall the County
of Santa Clara issue up to $950 million in general obligation bonds to acquire or improve real
property subject to independent citizen oversight and regular audits?”
If approved, the bond would represent the largest commitment to date for addressing the
county's housing crisis. A 2015 survey found that Santa Clara County had more than 6,500
homeless people, making it the fourth largest homeless population in the nation.
If passed, the County would issue the bond in three phases, each providing about $316 million
for housing projects. The first bond issuance would be scheduled for September 2017, with the
next phases coming in 2021 and 2025.1
$700 million of the funding would go toward projects for vulnerable populations, including the
homeless and those living on extremely low incomes. 2 $100 million is geared towards low
income families, and $150 million is for working families and first-time homebuyer programs. 3
The mechanism for repaying the bond is a $12.66 surcharge added on residential and
commercial properties for every $100,000 of assessed value. The average homeowner can
expect to pay approximately $63.00 annually in additional property taxes. The bond is
expected to be fully paid by 2055. Those seeking bond funding (cities and nonprofit
organizations) would enter a competitive process, with priority given to proposals
demonstrating project readines and leveraging other grant programs.
Lastly, oversight of the bond will come from the newly established Citizens Oversight
Committee for the Housing Bond, a nine member committee appointed by the Board of
Supervisors. Committee composition will include at least one attorney, one or more housing
advocates, the County Assessor, one or more professional accountants, at least one investment
professional, and one representative from organized labor, a civic organization, a business
organization and the Santa Clara County Cities Association.4
1 See Palo Alto Online, June 23, 2016; accessed September 29, 2016.
http://paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/06/23/santa-clara-county-approves-950-million-housing-bond-for-
november-ballot
2 Those living on less than 30 percent of the area median income; $23,450 for an individual and $33,500 for a four-
person household.
3 See “Yes on Affordable Housing,” accessed on September 29, 2016, http://yesonaffordablehousing.org/about/
4 More information on the oversight body can be found here: http://yesonaffordablehousing.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/09/Oversight-Memo.pdf