California is in serious need of housing. Is Proposition 5 the solution?

NAPA, Calif. -- If California is going to build itself out of the housing crisis it's going to need a lot of money.

A report released this summer by the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) and Enterprise Community Partners identified 433 housing projects stuck in predevelopment because they lack $9.7 billion in public funds to move forward.

Proposition 5 in the November ballot could help unlock some of that money.

While the statewide measure is not a housing bond, it would lower the threshold to approve affordable housing bonds from two-thirds to just 55%.

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Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos says Proposition 5 allows cities and counties to raise revenue for affordable housing.

"It's great to be able to zone for them, but if you can't afford to actually build the project you still have the same problem and all you have is a plan with nothing to back it up," said Ramos.

Recently, she visited the 24-apartment unit Valle Verde project, which is set to open for tenants soon after eight years of planning and construction.

"Everyone is identifying housing, the affordability of housing, the supply of housing. Those are very real concerns," said Ramos, who is also the president of the Association of Bay Area Governments.

While housing continues to be a top concern for California residents, support for Proposition 5 is not overwhelming.

A Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll in September indicated only 49% of likely voters supported the measure.

"If Proposition 5 were to pass, you would see higher property taxes after every election because of all the different entities that can put bonds on the ballot," said Susan Shelley of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Shelley says the two-thirds threshold keeps local governments from incurring too much debt.

An analysis of 151 bond measures put before voters since 2002 found that about half passed with a two-thirds majority. If the threshold had been lowered to 55%, the approval rate would have skyrocketed to 86%.

In 2000, California voters approved Proposition 39, which lowered the approval threshold for school district bonds from 66.67% to 55%.

"We currently have a 55% threshold to pass school bonds, but that's very narrow. Prop 5 is not narrow. Prop 5 is anything that qualifies as public infrastructure, which is everything that the government does," said Shelley.

Proposition 5 would apply to bonds that would help finance affordable housing and public infrastructure projects.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley president Janice Jensen is in favor of lowering the threshold.

"Prop 5 is a wonderful tool in the tool chest when you are building affordable housing," said Jensen during a visit to Esperanza Place, a housing development with 42 affordable townhomes in Walnut Creek.

Jensen said Habitat for Humanity would not have been able to build the complex without public funds.

"Affordable housing is always a public-private partnership. This is a very expensive development," added Jensen.

If Proposition 5 is approved, the lower threshold would apply not just to future affordable housing bonds in the future, but also to any local housing bonds on this year's ballot.

The Association of Bay Area Governments had planned to include a $20 billion housing bond this year to help pay for those stalled 433 housing projects but decided to withdraw it at the last minute to focus on the passage of Proposition 5.

If that measure is placed on a future ballot and approved, it would increase property taxes on a $500,000 home by $100 a year.

"We haven't kept up with the need for housing. You can't ask to do more with the same amount of funds. What we are doing by lowering the threshold is to meet the will of the people," said Ramos.