Mayor Lee’s Statement on Additional $50 Million in Proposed Affordable Housing Bond for Housing in Mission
Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement regarding an additional $50 million in bonding capacity, allowing the proposed Affordable Housing Bond for the November 2015 ballot to reach $300 million without raising property taxes:
“This is a challenging time for our City with a housing crisis that demands our continued coordinated action and leadership. We know the Mission neighborhood needs more affordable housing, and that is why we must work together to aggressively build more affordable housing in the Mission to stabilize the neighborhood and keep families in our City.
I thank Board President Breed and Supervisors Christensen, Cohen, Farrell, Tang and Wiener who have championed our 2015 Affordable Housing Bond. I look forward to working with the entire Board to add $50 million identified by the Controller to be dedicated to the acquisition and construction of affordable housing in the Mission neighborhood. We have been looking at ways to increase the total amount of the 2015 Affordable Housing Bond, and this increase in the bonding capacity does just that, allowing us to propose a $300 million bond that does not raise property taxes.
The 2015 Affordable Housing Bond is a crucial component of my now more than $1.1 billion five-year affordable housing response plan that will build, rehabilitate and preserve 30,000 homes by 2020 with more than 10,700 permanently affordable homes for low and middle income families throughout the City. The bond allows us to invest in housing that stabilizes neighborhoods and increases the affordability for our City’s families without raising property taxes.
This additional $50 million is crucial to my Mission 2020 strategy that includes site acquisition and sets a series of ambitious goals aimed at building more housing and stabilizing the Mission neighborhood where two-thirds of residents are low and moderate income. We will accomplish these goals by implementing strategies that stops the displacement of long-time tenants, increases the supply of affordable housing in the neighborhood, acquires buildings for affordable housing, creates greater job opportunities for residents, and strengthens the small business character in the Mission neighborhood. The Mission is the center of Latino culture in the Bay Area and remains one of our City’s most beloved neighborhoods.”
“This is a challenging time for our City with a housing crisis that demands our continued coordinated action and leadership. We know the Mission neighborhood needs more affordable housing, and that is why we must work together to aggressively build more affordable housing in the Mission to stabilize the neighborhood and keep families in our City.
I thank Board President Breed and Supervisors Christensen, Cohen, Farrell, Tang and Wiener who have championed our 2015 Affordable Housing Bond. I look forward to working with the entire Board to add $50 million identified by the Controller to be dedicated to the acquisition and construction of affordable housing in the Mission neighborhood. We have been looking at ways to increase the total amount of the 2015 Affordable Housing Bond, and this increase in the bonding capacity does just that, allowing us to propose a $300 million bond that does not raise property taxes.
The 2015 Affordable Housing Bond is a crucial component of my now more than $1.1 billion five-year affordable housing response plan that will build, rehabilitate and preserve 30,000 homes by 2020 with more than 10,700 permanently affordable homes for low and middle income families throughout the City. The bond allows us to invest in housing that stabilizes neighborhoods and increases the affordability for our City’s families without raising property taxes.
This additional $50 million is crucial to my Mission 2020 strategy that includes site acquisition and sets a series of ambitious goals aimed at building more housing and stabilizing the Mission neighborhood where two-thirds of residents are low and moderate income. We will accomplish these goals by implementing strategies that stops the displacement of long-time tenants, increases the supply of affordable housing in the neighborhood, acquires buildings for affordable housing, creates greater job opportunities for residents, and strengthens the small business character in the Mission neighborhood. The Mission is the center of Latino culture in the Bay Area and remains one of our City’s most beloved neighborhoods.”