By Chris Mohr

A police officer who commutes nearly two hours each way to his job with the city of San Mateo. A young mother who is just a few years into her public-school teaching career. A young father who works for the County’s Public Works Department — the people who fill the potholes. A retired private practitioner of alternative medicine and healing.

These are just a few of the real people in San Mateo County who need a home they can afford, and who would like to live in the community where they work or grew up. Whether home is an apartment, an entry-level condo or a starter house, these opportunities are out of reach for many people who live, work and grow up in San Mateo County.

There’s still a need for affordable housing on the Peninsula, even as sales have slowed and appreciation in prices has moderated in the wake of the mortgage credit crunch. Single-family home prices remain in the stratosphere compared to the rest of the country. And the National Low-Income Housing Coalition recently ranked San Mateo County as the fourth most expensive rental housing market in the nation.

Fortunately, our community is making progress.

The Housing Leadership Council (HLC) is organizing “More Homes for a Stronger Community,” the sixth annual Affordable Housing Week from May 10 to 17. The purpose of the week is to spotlight successes in creating opportunities for people like those mentioned above — and to focus on the considerable challenges that remain. This weeklong series of events is made possible with the generous support of underwriting sponsor Wells Fargo.

Solutions include specific developments like HIP Housing’s South San Francisco apartment building, which will have a Grand Opening on the evening of May 12, and BRIDGE Housing’s Trestle Glen, a 119-unit apartment building next to Colma’s BART station, which will have a groundbreaking ceremony on the afternoon of May 15. The Trestle Glen development will include units for “extremely low-income” people. Creating such units is one of the goals of Housing Our People Effectively (HOPE), the plan of the county and the cities to end homelessness in ten years. By creating affordable opportunities for families that currently don’t have them, these developments will strengthen our community immeasurably.

On the policy front, it’s an exciting time as city and county governments are exhibiting an unprecedented amount of cooperation and collaboration toward the common good.

Nineteen cities and the county have joined together with the private sector to form the Housing Endowment And Regional Trust (HEART). Now five years old, HEART has invested $5.25 million in the development or preservation of 487 affordable homes. In the process, HEART has leveraged funds from other sources at the rate of $13 for every $1 from HEART. This leveraging is the key to HEART’s success.

On Tuesday, HEART will launch a new program to assist for first-time and “move-closer” homebuyers who live or work in San Mateo County. Partnering with Meriwest Credit Union, HEART will extend the purchasing power of buyers in today’s market.

Later that afternoon, the Housing and Community Development Director for the State of California, Lynn Jacobs, will be hosting a meeting to gather input on public revenue sources at the state level for affordable home creation. She has been tasked by Governor Schwarzenegger to bring back a proposal for 2009. San Mateo County residents and employees have a great opportunity to provide direct input to the state on this critical issue. The meeting will be 2-4 p.m. at the South San Francisco Conference Center.

Recognizing that many homeowners are facing challenges with their mortgages, Project Sentinel, HLC and Wells Fargo are hosting a foreclosure prevention workshop at the Doelger Senior Center in Daly City on May 15 at 6:30. The session is free and open to any homeowner in San Mateo County.

As the variety of events throughout the week demonstrates, success in meeting our need for more affordable homes requires participation from every level of government, business, and the social sector. The most important piece of a successful strategy, however, is support from individuals across the community. For that reason, HLC invites your participation at these events and more. A full calendar of events is available online at www.hlcsmc.org.

Chris Mohr lives and works in South San Francisco. He is the executive director of both the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County (HLC) and the Housing Endowment And Regional Trust, the HEART of San Mateo County. He wrote this piece on behalf of HLC.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Christopher Mohr, Executive Director
(650) 872-4444 ext. 1#
cmohr =at= hlcsmc.org

Affordable Housing Week Set for May 10-17, 2008

Housing Leadership Council teams with members, Wells Fargo

South San Francisco, California—The Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County (HLC) has announced Affordable Housing Week will happen May 10-17, 2008.

Affordable Housing Week is a Bay-Area wide series of events celebrating successes in creating affordable homes as well as shedding new light on the ongoing challenges. HLC organizes Affordable Housing Week in San Mateo County, and this year Wells Fargo is the Underwriting Sponsor. The week will feature opportunities for a broad range of audiences to learn about new initiatives, developments and advocacy tools. A full listing of events is given below. Complete event details along with downloadable event flyers are available at www.hlcsmc.org.

Two highlighted events for the week include:

1. State Funding for Affordable Homes: Stakeholder Meeting, Tuesday, May 13
Throughout California, the lack of funds for affordable homes is a critical challenge facing low and middle-income residents. In response, the California Department of Housing and Community Development is leading an unprecedented effort to identify potential revenue sources for a dedicated source of state funding for affordable homes. Department Director Lynn Jacobs will bring together local stakeholders in San Mateo County to gather ideas for a permanent source of state funding for new affordable homes. This event is open to the public, and participation is especially welcome from business, education and other communities that bear the brunt of high housing costs.
• When: Tuesday, May 13, 2:00-4:00 PM
• Where: South San Francisco Conference Center, 255 South Airport Boulevard
• RSVP: permanentsource =at= hcd.ca.gov

2. Consumer Workshop: Foreclosure Prevention, Thursday, May 15
Together with Project Sentinel and Wells Fargo, HLC is hosting a Foreclosure Prevention Workshop for at-risk borrowers. The event will cover the details of the foreclosure process, and provide information to borrowers who are at risk of defaulting or have already done so. The event is free and open to anyone who owns a property or lives in San Mateo County.
• When: Thursday, May 15, 6:30 PM
• Where: Doelger Senior Center, 101 Lake Merced Boulevard, Daly City
• Contact: Project Sentinel, (888) 324-7468, pshudinfo@projsen.org

Additional events include the following. Full details are available at www.hlcsmc.org:

Monday, May 12
5:30 pm: Grand Opening, South San Francisco Apartments
Join HLC Member HIP Housing in celebrating the renovation and re-opening of 15 affordable homes.

Tuesday, May 13
Noon to 1:30 pm: HEART Executive Briefing and Luncheon

Wednesday, May 14
6:00 to 8:00 pm: Advocacy Training: Housing Element and General Plan Updates
Learn how you can make a positive impact when your community updates its General Plan or Housing Element

Thursday, May 15
3:30 to 5:30 pm: Groundbreaking: Trestle Glen
Join BRIDGE Housing as they begin to build 119 new affordable homes.

Friday, May 16
7:30 to 9:00 am: Legislative and Policy Breakfast

Saturday, May 17
9:00 am- 1:30 pm: Bus Tour and Bistro Lunch
Visit a variety of affordable developments throughout San Mateo County. RSVP Required: bustour@hlcsmc.org.

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Still, the fact is that foreclosures are up significantly even in San Mateo County, and the northern part of the county is one of the hardest-hit.

So, as part of Affordable Housing Week, HLC is organizing a foreclosure prevention seminar in Daly City on Thursday, May 15. It will be held at the Doelger Senior Center, Room 5, 111 Lake Merced Blvd. from 6:30 to approximately 8:30.

Staff from Project Sentinel, a HUD-approved housing counseling agency and an HLC member, will walk homeowners through what they need to do to stave off dreaded foreclosure. They key is to get help BEFORE it’s too late.

A representative from Wells Fargo, the underwriting sponsor of Affordable Housing Week, will also talk about the process from the lender’s point of view, and offer information and resources for homeowners.

Finally, if you’re in trouble now and can’t wait until May 15, then contact Project Sentinel directly at (888) 324-7468.

You can also try the HOPE Now Alliance, a national alliance whose stated mission is to prevent homeowners from foreclosures and assist borrowers who seek help and guidance. Their number is 888-995-Hope and website is http://hopenow.us.

The site is currently a parking lot. Pending transfer of the land from Woodside to Redwood City, the development is ready to proceed. The development will provide 68 apartments to faculty and staff of the San Mateo Community College District at low rents for five years, allowing them to build up savings toward a downpayment. The district also provides downpayment assistance to help with purchase of a home.

See the story in today’s Daily News: City council OKs Canada College apartment plan.

Congratulations to Barbara Christensen for shepherding her second major development through the process. The first was College Vista on the campus of College of San Mateo.

That was the screaming headline on the front page of the Examiner last December 10. Inside the paper, a calmer article reviewed plans for Peninsula Station, the proposed development by Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition in San Mateo. On the site of the Goodyear Tires store, of course.

Last night, 4/22/08, the San Mateo Planning Commission unanimously approved the development, which HLC endorsed. The proposal heads to the City Council on May 29. I was the only speaker last night. It would be great to get some people out to testify in support in May!

Also, on Monday night, two other HLC-endorsed projects got final approval. The Foster City City Council approved the Pilgrim/Triton area master plan, with up to 730 new homes including 146 below-market rate units, and the San Mateo City Council approved the first section of development at Bay Meadows II.

All in all, some very good news for housing advocates.

What interested me was that even as people worry about slumping home prices, they understand the reality that tightened credit and mortgage underwriting leave prices still out of reach of many would-be homebuyers:

A huge majority - 82 percent - of respondents think it is “very” or “somewhat” difficult for most first-time home buyers to afford a home.

Today, the San Mateo Daily Journal demonstrated a similar understanding of the issue, with an editorial about the Bay Meadows development:

The Bay Meadows Land Company will make plenty of money on this development — particularly the large number of office buildings it plans. But to make this development truly successful, the community needs to ensure it provides a variety of housing opportunities for all income levels… To be a truly successful sustainable transit-oriented development, this property should have a large amount of housing priced below the current average market rate.

Indeed, Bay Meadows II will have 15% below-market rate homes when it’s complete in 15-20 years. HLC advocated for that at several hearings.

And we very much appreciate the Journal’s call for housing opportunities at all income levels. In fact, that’s HLC’s mission — “to accelerate the creation of housing at all affordability levels to create opportunity and a viable quality of life.” They’re paying attention!

The development is a prime example of transit-oriented development, located as it is near the CalTrain tracks and the El Camino Real corridor.

They have had numerous calls from homeowners facing foreclosure, so I was interested to attend the morning workshop on that topic. The presenters were Maeve Elise Brown from Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA), a California statewide, not-for-profit legal service and advocacy organization, and Kevin Stein, from the California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), which advocates for the right of low-income communities and communities of color to have fair and equal access to banking and other financial services.

Brown gave the startling statistic that in California, 20% of subprime adjustable-rate mortgage loans are 30-90 days past due on payments, the first step heading toward foreclosure. In California, there were 57,000 foreclosure proceedings started in January 2008 alone.

Brown listed proposed changes to federal law, including amendments to the Truth in Lending Act, the proposed Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act (HR3648) and Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act (HR 3915), and proposed changes to bankruptcy laws. The

Stein reviewed state legislation, including SB 1137, which would amend the foreclosure process; AB 1830, mortgage reform and anti-predatory lending. Stein said CRC is calling for outreach and education as well as support for housing counselors; for lenders to work out loan modifications with borrowers; and outlaw bad lending practices. He also had some charts and graphs illustrating the nature of the problem, drawn from CRC’s analysis of federal mortgage disclosure data.

All in all, an informative session on a complex and rapidly evolving topic.

New Derry project wins support

Menlo Park Planning Commission OKs 108-condo project

The Menlo Park Planning Commission approved the new Derry condo-commercial project Tuesday. The 108-condo project is expected to go before the City Council in May for final approval.

Full story is online here: http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=1870

General Plan Review: “Winds of Change”
Adapting to the Changing Realities of the 21^st Century

Don Weden
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
6:00pm
The Historic Fox Theatre, Downtown Redwood City, 2215 Broadway
$10.00 fee payable at door
NO RSVP REQUIRED

Retired Planner Don Weden will be speaking at “The Forum at Redwood City: A Continuing Conversation on City Design” on Wed., April 2, 2008, from 6:00 - 7:45pm! Don’t miss this timely presentation on “General plan review - winds of change: Adapting to the Changing Realities of the 21^ST Century.”

Flyer available (PDF): click here.