Local and State Ballot Measures

Measure H.  Affordable Housing Santa Cruz County – The Housing Solutions Initiative

This measure will provide affordable housing for local workers including teachers, healthcare workers, service workers and farmworkers, as well as vulnerable populations including people experiencing homelessness, veterans, seniors, people with disabilities and those suffering from mental or addiction illnesses. A bond measure of $140 million – proposed for passage by voters in November 2018 – will provide investment in affordable housing through three distinct funds:

• Affordable Rental Housing Development Fund This fund will create and preserve affordable rental housing by funding land acquisition and development costs.
• Home Ownership Fund This fund will facilitate first-time home ownership and help vulnerable homeowners keep their homes.
• Homelessness Fund This fund will support permanent supportive housing, transitional housing and emergency services facilities. All funds will be subject to regular financial audits and review by an independent community oversight committee.

California Proposition 1, “Housing Programs and Veterans' Loans Bond (2018)”

This would authorize $4 billion in general obligation bonds for housing-related programs, loans, grants, and projects and housing loans for veterans.

California Proposition 2, “Use Millionaire's Tax Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Housing Bonds Measure (2018)”

Ratifies existing law establishing the No Place Like Home Program, which finances permanent housing for individuals with mental illness who are homeless or at risk for chronic homelessness, as being consistent with the Mental Health Services Act approved by the electorate. Ratifies issuance of up to $2 billion in previously authorized bonds to finance the No Place Like Home Program. Amends the Mental Health Services Act to authorize transfers of up to $140 million annually from the existing Mental Health Services Fund to the No Place Like Home Program, with no increase in taxes.

Compare our policies to those of other bay area locations using The Urban Displacement Project at UC Berkeley's interactive map.

The three Ps

Reinvestment in Social Housing

Housing Trust Funds

Expansion of Linkage Fees and Bonuses

Land Use and Zoning

Community Controlled Strategies

Funding Cuts

Shift from Multi-Family Rental to Single-Family Home Ownership

Shift from Public to Private Sector

Financialization

Local Politics