Transform will continue its yearslong campaign for a regional housing measure. The $10 billion proposed bond would allow Bay Area communities to add many more affordable housing units, providing stability and creating vibrant communities.
The Bay Area is suffering a severe affordable housing deficit, with tens of thousands of residents experiencing homelessness and millions more struggling to pay rent. We need more funding to address this crisis. In addition to the benefits for our rent-burdened and houseless neighbors, an infusion of funding for affordable housing through a regional housing measure would also have significant climate benefits, in particular by helping the Bay Area reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, California’s largest source of emissions. Read our analysis.
On the November 2024 ballot, Proposition 5 didn’t get enough votes to pass. The statewide measure, which would have reduced the percentage of votes needed to pass local bonds for affordable housing and other public infrastructure from two-thirds to 55%, would have made it easier to pass measures like the Bay Area’s regional housing bond. Regional Measure 4, a $10 billion Bay Area housing bond, was pulled from the ballot before the election because backers feared it wouldn’t get enough support to pass. Transform and our allies will continue to campaign for this vital affordable housing measure and for sensible ballot reforms.
Affordable housing built with funding from a regional housing bond measure would create lively neighborhoods where people can easily walk to common destinations. Foot traffic would increase safety for all on the street. People would be able to choose to ride a bike for fun or to get where they need to go. Frequent, reliable transit would provide connections throughout the region.
Infill housing built with funding from the regional housing bond will take the equivalent of 17,000 cars off the road annually, reducing GHG emissions by more than 3 million metric tons.
Studies have shown that when affordable housing is within easy access to public transit, people drive less and take transit more. The housing bond will put this within reach.
Residents living in newly created affordable housing near transit will save $154 million per year in travel costs because transit trips are less expensive than car trips and they will be able to reduce vehicle use and ownership.
By Jenn Guitart, Transform Executive Director
On August 14, 2024, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) unanimously voted to remove Regional Measure 4 from the 2024 ballot. The measure would have raised $20 billion to alleviate the Bay Area’s housing and homelessness crisis. Unfortunately, the measure was scuttled in response to a series of eleventh-hour challenges by extremist anti-housing and anti-government activists. This is a tragic missed opportunity for voters to say yes to urgently needed affordable housing and homelessness funding.
This decision is heartbreaking for Transform and other housing advocates, and, more importantly, for the hundreds of thousands of people in our region who now must wait longer for the affordable housing and homelessness solutions Bay Area residents need and deserve.
The decision is also a major setback for our climate and transportation goals. By funding the construction of over 40,000 new affordable homes near transit, the measure would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over three million tons and spurred an additional five million transit trips per year.
While it is frustrating that a well-resourced group of naysayers halted progress on housing and homelessness this election, Transform and our partners will continue to build the necessary power to win big on these critical issues.
All is not lost in the fight for affordable housing. Transform and our partners will be working hard to pass Prop 5 this November, which will lower the voter approval threshold for housing and public infrastructure bond measures to 55%. This measure is critical to advancing future affordable housing bond measures across the state.
Beyond November, our region continues to face significant challenges, from the housing and homelessness crisis to a looming transit fiscal cliff. New regional funding measures for both transportation and affordable housing are urgently needed. Passing both measures in the coming years will take unprecedented collaboration, creativity, and courage.
Transform will play a leading role in both these efforts as we continue our work to empower communities of color, innovate solutions, and advocate for policies and funding — all with the aim of helping people thrive and averting climate disaster. And we will need supporters like you in this fight to build up the necessary resources, political will, and movement organizing to beat the anti-taxers in future election cycles.
In the meantime, get ready to vote yes on Prop 5 in November, and stay tuned for future calls to action in the fight for housing, transportation, and climate justice for our region.
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