A Regional Housing Challenge
The Bay Area’s housing challenge continues to impact our community. Many households, including workers and families, are not able to afford to stay in their homes.
Our lack of affordable housing continues to be cited as the community’s most pressing issue. Our 2023 County community survey showed that housing availability and affordability remain among the highest priority among residents.
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA)
BAHFA was created in 2019 as a regional entity to help solve the affordable housing shortage in the nine Bay Area counties. It is the first regional housing finance authority in California.
Their purpose is to raise, administer and allocate funding and provide technical assistance to address regional issues of:
- Affordable housing production
- Affordable housing preservation
- Tenant protections
These are commonly referred to as the “3Ps”.
BAHFA works together with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).
BAHFA November 2024 Affordable Housing Bond Measure
BAHFA is considering a regional $10-20 billion bond measure for the November 2024 ballot to invest in building and preserving affordable homes. If approved by voters, Marin County would receive a share of approximately $330 million which would support work towards the 3 “Ps”: production, preservation and protection. Learn more about the bond measure on MTC’s webpage and this BAHFA 101 video.
What Are Our Priorities?
If voters approve this regional bond, Marin’s portion of funds would be directly administered by the Board of Supervisors. By early 2025, we will need to prepare and adopt a Plan of how we plan to use these funds.