Workshops Address Questions About Possible Housing Bond Measure

More than 550 people attended two recent public workshops hosted by the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) to provide information on strategies to work toward meeting the Bay Area’s housing needs.

Central to BAHFA’s work is new funding for the production and preservation of affordable housing. Among the options is a bond measure that would be placed on the 2024 ballot in all nine Bay Area counties.

BAHFA, a first-of-its-kind regional authority created to address the Bay Area’s chronic housing challenges, held the workshops as part of its public information effort around the potential bond, which could bring $10 billion to $20 billion to the nine-county Bay Area.

The workshops served to inform the public about BAHFA and answer questions about the potential bond measure. Attendees posed a wide range of questions, ranging from “who qualifies for this housing and how will the money be distributed?”  to “what resources are available for senior housing?” and “how can we incentivize local jurisdictions to reduce restrictions on affordable housing?”

The workshop recording and slide presentation are available to view on the BAHFA webpage. A frequently asked questions document will be updated to include answers to many of the questions raised during the presentations.

The public is invited to attend upcoming meetings by BAHFA’s governing boards on the proposed bond. These meetings, which will take place over the next several months, will include discussions on BAHFA’s spending plan for the regional share of proposed bond revenue and ultimately determine whether to place the housing measure on the 2024 ballot. View the schedule of upcoming BAHFA Governing Board meetings.