Multi-City Nexus Effort to Address Affordable Housing Crisis

The need to preserve and construct affordable housing in Silicon Valley is critical. One way to combat the housing crisis we are facing is through a multi-city nexus effort that would help jurisdictions explore the feasibility to fund affordable housing through impact fees on new commercial and/or residential development. The current efforts underway in Santa Clara County are modeled after an ongoing multi-city nexus approach in San Mateo County.

Impact fees, which are charged on new development to help mitigate the proposed impact they will have on affordable housing, have been enacted on residential and commercial developments in Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Mountain View and on residential rental developments in San Jose. In order for these fees to be charged, a study that looks at the nexus between the development and the impact of the development, along with recommending a fee level to mitigate the impact must be conducted.

A 2013 report put out by the Cities Association of Santa Clara County and Housing Trust Silicon Valley, showed how Santa Clara County had the potential to raise significant funds for affordable housing if impact fees were charged for commercial and residential developments. At the time of the report, there were three commercial and three residential developments being constructed. Using the $10 a square foot fee implemented by Mountain View, these projects would have resulted in the County of Santa Clara raising more than $26 million in funds to combat the affordable housing crisis.

The harsh reality is that one in three families in Silicon Valley do not earn enough to be self-sufficient.  With the cost of housing rising and wages barely increasing, especially for low-wages workers, people are being priced out of their homes with little hope of finding affordable accommodations.

This multi-city nexus is a smart, innovative, and regional approach necessary to address the affordable housing crisis we are facing. It is imperative that the County and its corresponding cities support this effort, after all, its success depends on it.

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