Senator Skinner:
Senator Skinner sees this as another complicated issue. There is a shortage of units in the Bay Area, including Berkeley and Oakland. A significant number of units are offered at market rate - unaffordable for many. One problem is that neighbors often oppose affordable housing. Another problem is that the Federal government hasn’t funded affordable housing since Reagan. In the last 2-3 years, however, more money has been invested in affordable housing than in a very long time.
Affordable housing is now typically built by market-rate developers. To achieve 20% affordable units, for example, cities have had to allow 80% market-rate units. It takes nonprofit developers longer to build affordable housing and often, by the time the permits are in place, costs have risen to the point that they cannot afford to build the project. Senator Skinner has put forward bills to limit the amount of time in the approval process. There are organizations that are helping with resources and solutions, such as Eden Housing.
Regarding landlords who deliberately keep apartments vacant, Senator Skinner talked about the Ellis Act and Costa Hawkins Rental Act which sought to undermine rent control. When landlords refuse to rent to Section 8 applicants, cities can send “testers” to look at apartments and, in theory, enforce equitable rentals. In practice, Section 8 laws and regulations are not being enforced.
Senator Skinner is not sure whether it’s possible to give statewide incentives to encourage landlords to rent to Section 8 tenants. LA established a program like this with some success, so it is work exploring as a statewide option.
Turning to resources for unhoused people who need full support, Senator Skinner mentioned the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) and the Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP). She said that this is a small segment, as most unhoused do not need complete support. She mentioned three projects under the HomeKey program that are showing promise. The Golden Bear Hotel is an example of HHAP funding, used to purchase and convert existing property into housing and for services. This hotel is a permanent housing option; people can stay there or transfer to different housing. A dormitory at the former Alameda College of the Arts has been converted to housing for unhoused seniors; it also offers services. A third project is the MacArthur Hotel.
When the Senator met with local mayors in December, she realized that certain details the State required were so onerous that the programs were not effective. As an example, BART received $350,000 to deal with homeless people on transit. They awarded a contract to the Salvation Army to implement a program, but the SA has a policy of complete abstinence, such that they could not have this requirement for only one part of the population. In the end the BART contract served only one person.
Senator Skinner is looking into how to restructure funding sources to make housing legislation clearer, get the best results, and steer funding towards purchase money for properties and services.