\u201cThe plan was always to leverage the state and federal resources so that we maximize the amount of homes that we have,\u201d SV@Home Executive Director Regina Williams told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThat unfortunately comes with the reliance on the other resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are seven development projects looking to secure more funding, according to the county. It\u2019s uncertain when these projects will pencil out. Developers have up to three years to find the financing for permanent supportive housing projects before the county considers reallocating those funds to other projects \u2014 further delaying the homes that could be built and increasing costs.<\/p>\n
The county is trying to speed up the logjam by working with developers to make applications more competitive for state and federal funding and identifying ways to get more state and federal dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor projects that are having difficulty securing financing, county staff work with the developer partners to update project designs and financing plans to make the projects more financially feasible to be able to reapply for funds,\u201d Kathryn Kaminski, director of the county Office of Supportive Housing, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
Competitive tax credits<\/p>\n
The oversight committee\u2019s report shows there is more competition for tax credits, a category of funding that developers apply for to make the projects work. Congress expanded tax credits<\/a> through H.R.1, the federal spending bill passed last year, but this opened the door to more developers seeking funds, Linda Mandolini, CEO of nonprofit developer Eden Housing, said.<\/p>\n H.R.1 provided an increase to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, the primary source of federal funding for affordable housing, and made more bond funding available for additional developments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe good news is that we have more available low-income market tax credits,\u201d Mandolini told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe downside of that is we now have a lot more projects looking for investors, and we haven\u2019t yet grown the investor pool at the same pace.\u201d<\/p>\n But there\u2019s relief on the horizon, Mandolini said. The federal 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the largest federal housing bill in decades that was enacted into law last month \u2014 increases how much banks are allowed to invest in tax credits for affordable housing projects. Banks can now invest 20% into projects, up from 15%.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been some movement on the state level to address the lack of financing for affordable housing as well.<\/p>\n The state budget for this fiscal year allocates $500 million<\/a> for California\u2019s low-income housing tax credits program. The state has also created the California Housing and Homelessness Agency to streamline and fast-track affordable housing funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition, a $11.25 billion affordable housing bond<\/a>, put forth by the state Legislature, will go before voters this November.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state is acutely aware of the need to get projects over the finish line,\u201d Mandolini said. \u201cThey\u2019re doing all this work to reorganize how they allocate their funds. There\u2019s just a huge amount of work going on right now to get stuff done faster.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing voucher uncertainty<\/p>\n The Measure A oversight committee\u2019s report also shows \u00a0growing uncertainty with Section 8 housing vouchers. This could make it hard to fund deeply affordable housing for homeless or very low income families in future Measure A projects. Households that have a voucher only need to pay 30% of their income for an apartment and the federal government makes up the rest.<\/p>\n \u201cThe success of Measure A projects has a great dependency upon obtaining federal vouchers,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n So far, Santa Clara County has been able to apply 2,666 housing vouchers toward Measure A developments.<\/p>\n Williams said the county will need to find ways to pivot\u00a0its strategy of who the homes can be used for due to the limited amount of Section 8 vouchers.<\/p>\n \u201cI would think that there\u2019s still an opportunity to build affordable housing. It just wouldn\u2019t be as deeply affordable,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThat\u2019s a challenge because we know there are still people who are unhoused \u2026 and those folks need a home.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite these challenges, the report shows the county will eventually exceed its goal to build 4,800 affordable apartments for people in the lowest income bracket. The county has approved 6,793 homes and has built more than 3,300, with nearly 1,750 more homes under construction.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the county\u2019s done a tremendous job of advancing the goals of Measure A \u2014 housing thousands of residents,\u201d Ray Bramson, chief operating officer at nonprofit Destination: Home and San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight columnist<\/a>, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBut what the report, more than anything else, underscores is that we do need additional subsidies and we do need additional resources to make sure all of the housing can get built.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n