Bay Area Voters Approve Affordable Housing Measures, Mostly by Wide Margins

This post has been updated with more current results.

The dire need for more affordable housing in cities like San Francisco wasn’t a huge talking point in the presidential election. However, in the pricey Bay Area, the issue was front and center on a number of local ballots. Voters are embracing  local measures that promise to create new housing for low- and middle-income residents.

Here’s a brief rundown:

In Alameda County, early vote tallies pointed to large approval of Measure A1, a $580 million housing bond. And that lead held up when the final vote came in, as voters approved the measure 72-28 percent. The general obligation bonds will finance the construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental units, loans for moderate-income homebuyers and upgrades to existing low-income housing. The measure easily got the two-thirds approval needed to pass.

In Berkeley, residents voted heavily in favor of Measure Z1, passing it by 83-17 percent. The measure gives the city the green light to create 500 new below-market-rate units. Voter approval is required by the California Constitution for the new projects to go forward.

In the meantime, Oaklanders embraced Measure KK, a $600 million infrastructure bond earmarking $100 million for affordable housing. A citizen oversight committee would audit all spending from the measure. The measure passed 82-18 percent, as of Wednesday afternoon.

In Santa Clara County, Measure A barely passed, with 67 percent approval. The measure requires two-thirds approval to pass. The sweeping affordable housing bond measure would allow the county to borrow up to $950 million to create and preserve an estimated 5,000 affordable housing units.

San Mateo County voters voted handily in favor of Measure K, which extends a half-cent sales tax through 2043. The measure has nearly 70 percent voter approval, as of Wednesday afternoon. The Board of Supervisors placed K on the ballot to help fund affordable housing for families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.

And in San Francisco, voters approved Proposition C, a measure that would allow the city to repurpose $261 million in unused general obligation bond funding that voters originally approved in 1992 for seismic upgrades. Under Proposition C, bonds would be used to acquire and rehabilitate multi-unit properties and convert them to permanently affordable housing. The local measure got 76 percent approval, as of Wednesday afternoon.