SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A bill to produce more units of affordable housing for middle-income earners in the City of San Diego as well as Santa Clara County has been signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown. AB 1637, authored by Assemblymember Todd Gloria(D-San Diego), grants new authority to the San Diego Housing Commission and its counterpart in Santa Clara County to develop and finance mixed-income housing projects.
“We cannot forget about middle-income Californians – those who have jobs and work full-time yet still struggle with the monthly rent and won’t qualify for subsidized housing. They are hurt by this housing crisis too, and that’s why AB 1637 is so important,” said Assemblymember Todd Gloria. “This bill helps the middle-class by ensuring they have a real chance to put a roof over their head at a price they can afford. I am grateful Governor Brown signed AB 1637 and I look forward to finding more solutions like this to ensure the “missing middle” is no longer lost.”
AB 1637, also known as the Missing Middle Housing Act, authorizes the housing authorities in the City of San Diego and Santa Clara County to provide gap financing for middle-income housing projects – meaning, projects with at least 40 percent of units affordable to persons of low-income and 10 percent of units affordable to persons of middle-income. Currently, housing authorities can only assist with the low-income units of a project.
With the Governor’s signature, AB 1637 goes into effect in 2018 and will operate as a pilot program with a four year sunset.
AB 1637 was sponsored by the City of San Diego and supported by the California Association of Housing Authorities, California Association of Realtors, League of California Cities, San Diego Housing Commission, and San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The full text of AB 1637 can be found here.
