Council members to discuss HOPE trust fund at today’s meeting
The Santa Barbara City Council today will address the city’s housing crisis by reviewing a draft ordinance to create an affordable housing trust fund called the Housing Opportunities, Preservation and Equity Fund (HOPE).
After the staff presentation, council members will review the draft ordinance and advise staff about what, if any, changes they want to make, and direct staff to return with a revised ordinance that reflects their comments and concerns.
The council will meet at city hall, 735 Anacapa St., starting at 2 p.m.
The establishment of a new housing trust fund was initiated by the council at its Oct. 4 meeting as a means of addressing the city’s housing crisis, staff noted in its report to council.
“The Housing Opportunities, Preservation, and Equity (HOPE) Fund will support a variety of housing-related initiatives, including new development, acquisitions, and rehabilitations of real properties,” staff said.
“The fund will also support programs and services that assist households with incomes that qualify for assistance and will focus, in particular, on meeting the needs of the local workforce and assisting people struggling to afford or maintain existing housing due to soaring costs.”
Councilmembers Eric Friedman and Meagan Harmon spearheaded the council’s Oct. 4 vote to create the affordable housing trust fund for the city.
“It would send a strong message to the philanthropic community that we are taking the housing situation seriously,” Councilmember Friedman said at the time.
Councilmember Harmon added that the creation of a public-private partnership would be a form of coalition building “to build homes and find affordable permanent housing solutions, and say we have made a meaningful difference for our neighbors.
“We have an opportunity to engage, leverage city dollars and have a multiplier impact of loaning this money.”
On Dec. 6, the council approved a budget allocation of $2,883,548 from the city’s General Fund as initial funding towards the HOPE fund and $250,000 towards a “right to counsel” pilot program. Once the fund is established, staff will transfer the previously appropriated budget allocation into the fund.
If approved, the proposed ordinance would establish a new HOPE Fund supported by a variety of sources, including but not limited to: philanthropic donations, private foundation–based funding, grants, nonprofit organizational funding, charitable trusts’ and organizations’ donations, for-profit entity investments, private-equity funds, limited-equity housing cooperatives’ monies, venture capital, investment and portfolio funds.
Other funding sources would be bond funds, fundraising proceeds, housing trust funds, community development banks, community housing grants, employer-sponsored funding, local business and employers’ donations, credit unions’ funding, land banks, property donations, property equity loans, the city’s General Fund, special tax measures and private wills.
At the discretion of the city administrator, the fund may receive monies from other sources.
According to staff, “monies deposited in the fund must be used to increase, improve, or maintain the supply of affordable housing or provide certain approved affordable housing-related programs and services.
“Depending on the source of funds, and other legal restrictions, use of the fund monies should benefit households that reside within the city.”
Eligible households would be those with maximum household incomes up to 200% of the area median income as determined by HUD and amended from time to time, which includes Upper-Middle, Middle, Moderate-, Low- , Very Low-, and Extremely Low-Income Households.
email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com
