To nobody’s surprise, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority agreed on Wednesday morning to put a $20 billion regional bond on the November ballot in nine counties. But opponents of the mammoth tax offered a serious, compelling critique. Will Sherman reports in this Opp Now exclusive. Although outnumbered, a group opposed to the biggest housing bond in the state’s history showed up early to the MTC’s Beale Street entrance in downtown San Francisco, carrying homemade signs that read “$20b bond + 28b waste,” and “No Bonds for MTC.”
The Board of Supes continued a vote on a statewide rent-control measure Tuesday because Sup. Ahsha Safai, a likely supporter, left the meeting early. It will be back July 2.
In the meantime, it’s worth looking at how the big landlord lobby is organizing against the measure—and trying to stop its sponsor from funding future pro-tenant legislation.
It’s a trail of big money and front groups.
The Big Real Estate lobby, with the support of California Yimby, is going to great lengths to defeat a measure that would allow effective rent control in California—including a lobbying campaign to stop the SF Board of Supes from endorsing the measure.
At the center of the local effort is Sup. Catherine Stefani, who this week tried to block a normally routine effort by the supes to endorse the state bill.
A recent court ruling exempted five charter cities from a controversial housing law. That’s given anti-density advocates across California an idea.
When a judge ruled recently that a controversial state housing law did not apply to a handful of southern California cities, Julie Testa saw it as an invitation.
Testa, the vice mayor of Pleasanton, wanted what Redondo Beach was having. She wanted to turn her bedroom community east of San Francisco Bay into a charter city.
There is much to question about a Housing Bond which will cost $48B in total debt service, yet
yield only $16B in proceeds for housing. At an average of $178K per unit, what will be built are
not Homes, but Corporate Rental Apartments, owned by wealthy investors who can benefit from
the 9% investment tax credit, and depreciation writeoff. And this Bond would continue a trend to institutional ownership of housing, not unlike the Mining and Mill towns of the 19th century.
How do you lie in plain sight and make it seem real? You pretend you have a problem, put a LARGE number to it and then use the State government to control the process.
This is a scam for developers and unions to make money at the cost of taxpayers. The Bay Area is looking to put a $20 billion bond on the November ballot—that is $40 billion including interest. We are told that San Fran, which is losing population MUST build.
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
The Great Housing Challenge: WHAT MATTERS TO CONSTITUENTS? A 4-part Town Hall Series on Zoom (August-November) Thursday nights, 5:00-6:30 pm Part 1: Safety Matters! State-imposed density increases fire risk which increases insurance costs. How one Sonoma community is fighting back. You can, too. Presenters: Amy Kalish, president, Citizen Marin, and (invited) Carolyn Scott, filmmaker “Small is Beautiful: The Quest to Save Valley of the Moon (Sonoma)” The California Dream is collapsing into a California Nightmare! Legislators have passed 150 laws since 2017, without increasing the supply of affordable housing. Evidence shows conditions are getting worse. What matters? Affordable housing, of course. And also safety, taxes, elections, and the constitution. SIGN UP FOR THE SERIES TODAY Register Sign up once and re-use your Zoom link throughout the series.
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
