San Francisco, CA – On Wednesday the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority made a decision to remove a $20 billion general obligation bond measure for the production and preservation of affordable housing from the November 5 general election ballot in all nine Bay Area counties.
The measure would have worked toward the production, preservation, and protection of an estimated 72,000 affordable housing units across the region.
It also would have served as a funding model for other parts of the state to potentially replicate to expand affordable housing beyond the Bay Area region.
“The BAHFA Board’s decision to withdraw the affordable housing bond measure from this November’s ballot is not one that was taken lightly,” Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) Chair Alfredo Pedroza and Belia Ramos, president of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)’s Executive Board, said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
They pointed out, “The Bay Area’s housing affordability crisis has been decades in the making and is far too big for any one city or county to solve on its own.”
For this reason the state Legislature established the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority.
“The BAHFA Board has always understood that it would be a steep climb to establish this source of funding,” the statement continued. “Recent developments have led the Board to conclude that the wise choice is to look ahead to another election season for a regional housing measure when there is more certainty and the voters have weighed in affirmatively on Proposition 5.”
The decision was met with disappointment from housing advocates.
“We are deeply disappointed that this incredibly important affordable housing bond will not be moving forward,” said Ali Sapirman, Organizer and Policy Associate with the Housing Action Coalition. “The Bay Area suffers from one of the worst housing crises in the country, and has become deeply unaffordable for working and middle class people and families. We also face a severe homelessness crisis, with people in every Bay Area county living on the streets without access to shelter and safety. Regional Measure 4 would have created tens of thousands of affordable housing units, providing safe, stable housing for the Bay Area’s most vulnerable residents.”
Sapirman added, “Even amidst budget shortfalls, affordable housing must be a top priority, or we will see thousands in our community continue to face housing insecurity or be forced to leave the Bay Area entirely. Every Bay Area resident deserves an affordable place to live, and this housing bond would’ve helped make that happen.”
Senator Scott Wiener called the decision to delay the bond “extremely disappointing.”
“The Bay Area’s housing crisis is severe, and we desperately need significant investments to fund new affordable housing,” Senator Wiener said.
“In addition to affordable housing funding, we also need to shore up Bay Area public transportation systems to modernize and integrate them and to avoid devastating service cuts,” the Senator explained. “We’ve worked for several years toward a 2026 ballot measure to modernize, integrate, and fund public transportation, in addition to funding our roads.”
The Senator warned, “Without action, major Bay Area transit systems, including Muni, BART, and Caltrain, will begin cutting service in 2026. That would be devastating for the Bay Area and would lead to increased traffic congestion, increased carbon emissions, and a huge number of residents unable to get to work, school, or other important destinations. I’ll continue working with stakeholders across the region to bring forward a measure to provide sustainable transportation funding at the ballot in 2026.”
The BAHFA did say they “will continue to work on increasing the production of housing at all income levels, to preserve existing affordable housing, and to protect current residents from displacement.”
Further they noted, “BAHFA’s commitment to a regional approach toward solving the Bay Area’s housing affordability problems is stronger than ever. When the climb toward passage of a regional revenue measure resumes, the Board looks forward to teaming with every one of the Bay Area’s nine counties and 101 cities; and with the hundreds of other public, private and nonprofit partners who already have invested so much energy into this effort.”
They added, “Their work to prepare for a November bond measure, and the relationships built along the way, have laid a strong foundation for future success. Each step brings us closer to the summit.”
In June, the Bay Area Housing Financing Authority board voted unanimously to put the measure on the ballot. It would be the region’s first housing bond.
“This is one of the most significant votes I’ve ever taken in my career, and that’s saying a lot,” said Hillary Ronen, a San Francisco County supervisor on the board—as reported in the Mercury News. “Housing should be a human right.”
What’s the rationale for withdrawing? What does Prop 5 cover?
Under Prop 5 threshold will be lowered to 55% for bonds supporting low-income housing, road and transit expansions, parks, wildfire resilience and other public infrastructure projects.
Who is the Bond Holder? The state? Or is it split among the counties? Among bay area cities?
I don’t know the fiscal situation of the state, county or cities but maybe now wasn’t the time to add $20B in debt…even for a much needed cause like affordable housing. Also, there’s the political aspect linked to confidence in the current economy….meaning people are generally more willing to vote to spend (go into debt) for things when the (local) economy is good….and there have been a lot of layoffs in San Francisco and Silicon Valley lately.
Here’s the reason it was withdrawn from the CD&PR:
Sponsors Remove $20 Billion Housing Bond from Bay Area Ballot
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) withdrew a proposed $20 billion housing bond measure, Regional Measure 4, from the November ballot due to significant errors in its cost projections. The bond, intended to fund affordable housing across the Bay Area, had faced challenges from opponents suing over its language and financial details, which inaccurately reported projected costs as $670 million instead of the actual $910 million. This setback follows four years of effort by housing advocates and local officials who had hoped to leverage high voter turnout during the presidential election. The decision to pull the measure comes as the last day to withdraw ballot items expired and the bond’s critics had argued it would unfairly increase taxes on property owners and renters. Moving forward, supporters of RM 4 will focus on promoting Proposition 5, which seeks to lower the required voter approval threshold for local affordable housing bonds. The withdrawal of the bond measure is a significant blow to affordable housing initiatives in the region, exacerbating funding challenges and potentially impacting future housing development.