Welcoming the Newest Member of the SV@Home Team: Thomas Murphy, Communications Manager
|
The SV@Home Team is thrilled to welcome Thomas Murphy, Tom, as our new Communications Manager! Tom brings more than thirty years of experience in the planning and execution of external communications. In his previous role, Tom served as a communications professional in the technology industry concentrating mostly on semiconductor firms in the Silicon Valley and around the world.
Tom’s first encounter with Silicon Valley’s affordable housing issues came in 1999 when his landlord imposed a thirty-five percent increase in monthly rental fees while he was earning industry recognition for his business reporting as Senior Editor at Electronic News.
Before that, he earned a journalism award for his work on an environmental clean-up of the beach town of Avila Beach as a Senior Reporter for the Santa Maria Times.
Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in English from The College of New Jersey. In his spare time, he enjoys the beach, redwoods, and breathtaking sunsets with his family.
“I’m excited to join the Silicon Valley at Home team to expand affordable housing opportunities. This group is serving a vitally important role in improving the quality of life in one of the most expensive places on Earth to live. It’s a very inspirational mission.”
You can reach Tom at Thomas@siliconvalleyathome.org
|
RSVP Today for the April HAC:
What’s happening with evictions?
|
The massive economic and health impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic triggered a potential eviction crisis in Silicon Valley and across the country. In response, a variety of eviction moratoriums, tied to emergency rental assistance programs, were implemented to prevent mass displacement by addressing both the tenant and landlord sides of the crisis. How were those laws implemented? What outcomes did we see in the eviction court when protections were in place? As these protections are peeled back, what limits are exposed and how are the courts dealing with the eviction cases coming forward?
Learn about these issues and more at April’s HAC! We will cover eviction laws, the legal process of eviction and ideas on how they can improve, especially in light of recent changes.
|
Featured Speaker:
Erin Neff is a staff attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley where they fight for housing rights through policy advocacy, affirmative litigation, and defending tenants in eviction cases. Their work includes partnering with other community organization to support tenant centered laws, such as the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, as well as advocating against laws that criminalize homelessness and perpetuate discriminatory housing practices. Prior to joining the Law Foundation, Erin worked in rural parts of California, defending indigent families in eviction proceedings. Erin also spent several years in New York City, where she worked at the Legal Aid Society, defending families from eviction in Brooklyn.
|
ICYMI: Eviction Protections Webinar
With the State COVID-related eviction protections coming to an end today, we hosted a webinar with our partners at Project Sentinel on what people need to know, what to expect, and where to get support.
|
For those who have been impacted by COVID and have past due rent:
- If you receive a notice to pay rent or quit, apply for rent relief immediately at housing.ca.gov and let your landlord know in writing that you applied. March 31 is the last day you can apply.
- Pay April rent and be sure to indicate in writing that your payment is for the month of April.
- If you receive an Unlawful Detainer (UD) eviction notice, seek legal assistance immediately.
- Do not move out without learning more about your rights and existing resources.
Things are changing rapidly, including a new state bill that extends certain protection. However, the four points remain relevant to any tenant who is behind on rent due to COVID. More about the updates to the eviction moratorium can be found in our policy section below.
|
NPH Announces 2022 Affordable Housing Leadership Awards!
|
Last week, NPH announced the 2022 Affordable Housing Leadership awardees who will be honored on April 28th! We’re proud that the awardees include our Board Member, Jan Lindenthal of MidPen Housing, as well as Sonya Freeman and Bernadine Martin, of our member and partner Eden Housing. SV@Home is looking forward to joining NPH next month to celebrate the distinguished honorees!
You can register here. We hope to see you there!
|
Apply for NPH’s Bay Area Housing Internship Program (BAHIP)!
|
There’s still time to apply to be a part of NPH’s next BAHIP cohort! The deadline has been extended to April 1st and you can apply here!
BAHIP is the premier one-year, paid internship program that trains Bay Area low-income college students of color to jumpstart their careers in affordable housing development and project management. Check out the program description and the recording from one of the info sessions.
Interns are placed with a number of SV@Home’s closest Non-Profit Development partners and members and we are always thrilled when members of this next generation of housing leaders get to work on projects in Santa Clara County!
|
SV@Home Spends A Day Volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley
|
The pandemic had massive health and economic impacts on our community. Through our work at SV@Home, we know the many ways that COVID affected housing. The pandemic made our unhoused population, and those in crowded living conditions, significantly more vulnerable to getting sick, and the economic strains of both illness and loss of work left many of us without the resources we needed to pay rent, and keep food on our table.
At SV@Home we recognize that food insecurity is exacerbated by the housing affordability crisis, and the pandemic has dramatically increased the need for assistance. As the need has grown so too has the local commitment to respond. Our team was honored to be a part of this local commitment as we devoted an afternoon to volunteering with Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley. Together with other volunteers, we managed to pack 960 Boxes and 24,000 lbs of fresh produce! One afternoon, and healthy food for 960 families.
|
SV@Home Staff on Panels! – Our Preservation and Protection Associate, Emily Ann Ramos was on a panel for Mountain View Teen Center Career Day. She presented on what a career in housing advocacy looks like and shared the challenging and rewarding nature of our work. If you’re interested in joining fellow professionals in affordable housing or you want to explore this career, check out the Coalition of Housers network and get involved today!
|
SV@Home Supports San José Park Fee Taskforce
|
The City of San José is currently convening a Taskforce of stakeholders to study, review, and weigh-in on the future of its park fee program, which has an important impact on the cost of new development and availability of amenities for residents. SV@Home’s very own Senior Housing Development Associate Rick Gosalvez represents SV@Home as an active stakeholder on the Developer Impact Fee Study for Park Fees Taskforce.
Earlier this month, the Taskforce met to review and discuss a range of topics, including where park fees are spent and when they are paid. Currently, San José requires that park funds be spent on projects within a certain distance of the new development paying those fees. In order to better serve under-invested communities that lack park resources, the Taskforce recommended the City explore allowing the Parks Department discretion to be able to prioritize and disburse funds citywide. However, this action would require an amendment to the City’s General Plan, which is not being considered at this time.
Also of note was the discussion regarding when developers are required to pay their park fees. The City is in the process of aligning with state legislation (AB 602), which states that development fees should not be collected at building permit issuance, but rather at the time of final approval or certificate of occupancy. AB 602 is applicable for fees adopted after July 1, 2022 and includes fees related to housing that require a nexus study. Moving back the timing of fee payments improves development feasibility as it lowers risk by deferring upfront capital requirements for projects that are not yet generating cashflows.
SV@Home supports both flexibility of park fee spending to invest in underserved neighborhoods and the option for developers to defer fee payments as a means to increase the viability of housing projects throughout the City. We will continue to work closely with the City and partners to advocate for a balance of fees that support services in our community and enable housing production to move forward!
|
#MembershipMatters – Become a Member Today!
Become a member today to help us continue to educate people across Santa Clara County about the importance of affordable housing for all.
|
Welcome to SV@Home’s Policy Rundown, your need-to-know overview of important housing policy actions and developments from the past two weeks
|
Eviction Moratorium Update
|
As we anticipate the expiration of State eviction protections (under AB832), we find ourselves once again watching last minute measures moving through state and local government. In Santa Clara County, nearly ⅔ of tenants who have applied are still awaiting rent relief assistance from the State. Currently State protections expire on April 1. Evictions can proceed even if relief applications are pending.
In a number of jurisdictions, including Mountain View and San Jose, city councils have taken steps to respond, with San Jose initiating a local voluntary eviction prevention and defense fund. However, local eviction moratoria discussions were preempted by a state bill (AB 2179) which extend protections for tenants with active rent relief applications through June 30. The expectation is that rent relief payments will be distributed before then. The bill also preempts local jurisdictions from creating, reinstating or extending their own local moratoriums, thus the related actions of the city of San Jose and Mountain View will likely be withdrawn.
The potential for the state bill to provide some immediate protection for many across the state is critical given the backlog in rent relief applications. The law was viewed as a compromise and was endorsed by the leadership in the state legislature. Due to Governor Newsom being out of town, Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis signed it into law on March 31. This was the first California state bill signed into law by a woman.
|
HCD Multifamily Releases Guidelines for $650M Super NOFA
Today, The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced final guidelines for its Multifamily Finance Super NOFA. The program simplifies the application process for developers by centralizing the process for four HCD funding sources through one application. The application and information will be available through the SNAP application portal in mid-April. HCD will be accepting applications through June 28, 2022 and expects to announce awards in November of 2022. For more information on workshops, how to apply, and key dates, visit HCD’s Super NOFA website.
|
EAH’s Affordable Housing Project in Los Altos Moves One Step Closer to Construction
|
Last Tuesday, the Los Altos City Council voted 3-2 to approve a ‘Story Pole’ exception for EAH’s 90-unit, 100% affordable housing project at 330 Distel Circle, which will allow the project to move forward more quickly. The project is compliant with the City’s height allowances, meaning that it is entitled by-right. ‘Story Poles’ are poles placed around a construction site to demonstrate the total height of a new building. The waiver will help to mitigate costs and potential delays. As an alternative to story poles, EAH will make renderings and signage available to illustrate the project for community review as the development progresses.
Council, the community, and SV@Home are excited to see Los Altos’ first ever 100% affordable project advance. For more information on the project, visit the EAH’s 330 Distel Circle project page.
|
Block 15 Breaks Ground in Sunnyvale!
|
Last Wednesday, Related California’s CEO of Northern California Affordable and Northwest Divisions Ann Silverberg invited partners and stakeholders to celebrate the groundbreaking of their 100% affordable Block 15 project in Sunnyvale. The groundbreaking marks the coming of 90 new affordable homes in downtown Sunnyvale that will be built on city-owned land. Twenty of these affordable homes will be set aside for individuals with developmental disabilities.
SV@Home was excited to celebrate with several housing coalition partners including Housing Choices, Housing Trust, the Housing Authority, Google, and the City of Sunnyvale. We are looking forward to returning for the Grand Opening in 2023!
|
Palo Alto Objective Standards Begin to Take Form, Now is Your Time to Comment
Last Tuesday, the City of Palo Alto invited community members to learn and comment on height transition and objective standards ordinances Council will consider on April 11th and May 16th. This is important for affordable housing production as adopted standards will set the guidelines that will enable affordable housing developers to streamline projects in the City.
Per the Housing Accountability, SB 330, and SB 35 State housing laws, developers only need to comply with adopted objective standards. Proposed standards discussed included privacy and sight line actions developers will need to include to ensure resident privacy and view access. Staff shared examples to illustrate massing configurations that would not reduce residential densities.
Developers and other interested parties can review the Revised List of Guidelines to Transform document and provide comments directly to the City. If you have comments, be sure to submit them as soon as possible for consideration and inclusion prior to the Architectural Review Board (ARB) meeting on April 7th. Email your comments to Jodie Gerhardt (jodie.gerhardt@cityofpaloalto.org) and Amy French (amy.french@cityofpaloalto.org).
For additional details, check out the City’s Multifamily and Mixed-Use Height ordinance and Objective Standards page.
|
RSVP Today for the April HAC:
What’s happening with evictions?
|
The massive economic and health impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic triggered a potential eviction crisis in Silicon Valley and across the country. In response, a variety of eviction moratoriums, tied to emergency rental assistance programs, were implemented to prevent mass displacement by addressing both the tenant and landlord sides of the crisis. How were those laws implemented? What outcomes did we see in the eviction court when protections were in place? As these protections are peeled back, what limits are exposed and how are the courts dealing with the eviction cases coming forward?
Learn about these issues and more at April’s HAC! We will cover eviction laws, the legal process of eviction and ideas on how we can improve, especially in light of recent changes.
|
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Presents: Assessing the Landscape of Corporate Ownership for Small Rental Properties
Friday, April 1st at 11:00am
The share of small (one-to-four unit) rental properties owned by corporate entities has grown steadily over the past several decades, rising from around 3 percent in 1990 to approximately 18 percent in 2018. To date, however, there has been little research into key questions about the types of entities that own the properties and where they are located. In this presentation, Adam Travis, a PhD candidate in Sociology & Social Policy and Meyer Fellow will present research that draws on data from the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas to examine the current landscape of corporate housing ownership. The research highlights the often-overlooked importance of small- and mid-sized corporate landlords. It also shows that rates of rental housing ownership by corporate entities vary considerably at both the metropolitan and neighborhood level and are consistently higher in neighborhoods with larger shares of Black residents.
|
West Valley Community Services Presents: Chefs of Compassion
|
Friday, April 1st at 6:00pm
The 11th annual Chefs of Compassion, a benefit gala for West Valley Community Services, is on Friday, April 1, 2022!
Chefs of Compassion is a unique fundraising experience hosted by the team at West Valley Community Services. This event challenges well-known local chefs to prepare a three-course dinner with ingredients sourced from our in-house market.
This gala is held in support of West Valley Community Services. Since opening its doors 48 years ago, West Valley Community Services has provided a continuum of basic needs, family support services, and housing services to homeless and low-income individuals and families in the west valley communities of Cupertino, Saratoga, West San Jose, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and the surrounding mountain regions. Our comprehensive services include the in-house market and mobile park-it market offering food at no cost. We also provide homeless support, affordable housing, emergency financial assistance, family support, referrals, education, and case management.
|
NCRC Presents: Fair Lending Tool Webinar
Tuesday, April 5th at 10:00am
Join us to learn how to use NCRC’s interactive Fair Lending Tool to produce a report on mortgages, small business lending and bank branch networks for any city, county or metro area in the nation.
NCRC’s Director of Research, Jason Richardson, will walk us through the tool using data on the Detroit MSA, highlighting key findings along the way.
You’ll also hear how local leaders in Detroit use this type of data to strengthen their work to create a just economy in their communities. If you are not currently an NCRC member, join now to gain access to the Fair Lending Tool, along with many other benefits. Access the tool here!
|
SPUR Presents: What It Takes to Deliver Affordable Homes for Bay Area School Employees
|
Thursday, April 7th at 5:00pm
Due to the high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area, school districts here face significant challenges in attracting and retaining teachers and staff. Join us for this digital discourse to learn about the County of Santa Clara’s 110-unit teacher housing project in Palo Alto, funded in part with a $25 million contribution from Meta, and in partnership with the City of Palo Alto and local school districts and Jefferson Union High School District’s efforts including the $33 million general obligation bond, Measure J, approved by voters in 2018 to fund 80 units of housing for teachers and staff in northern San Mateo County. We’ll learn about the opportunities, obstacles and lessons learned as well as how these initiatives might be replicated throughout our region.
|
A Walk Down Castro: Exploring Urban Environmentalism with MV YIMBY
Thursday, April 7th at 6:00pm
On this walking tour, experts and local policymakers will teach us how Mountain View can fight climate change by creating a walkable, transit-rich city. The walking tour will begin and end in the portion of Pioneer Park that’s just behind the Center for the Performing Arts, and, as we make our way up Castro, we’ll talk about the future of the pedestrian plaza, Caltrain, VTA, housing, and more.
The walking tour will even include two special guests: Mountain View Mayor Lucas Ramirez and Vice-Mayor Alison Hicks!
|
Mountain View YIMBY’s Happy Hour
Thursday, April 7th at 7:30pm
Join fellow YIMBYs for Mountain View YIMBY’s first happy hour in years! We’ll meet outdoors in Downtown Mountain View at Das Bierhauz, which offers a variety of snacks and drinks.
Das Bierhauz is across the street from Caltrain, VTA, a bus hub, and safe BikeLink storage facilities. We recommend using the Transit app or VTA’s trip planner to find the best route for you. If you prefer to drive, you’re likely to find a nearby spot in Parking Lot 4, 8, 5, and 9.
This is a companion event for our walking tour on Castro, which starts at 6 pm on the same day. You don’t need to attend the walking tour to grab a drink though.
|
Terner Center Presents: Lessons from California’s Homekey Program
Thursday, April 14th at 12:00pm
Join the Terner Center on Thursday, April 14 from 12 pm to 1 pm PT for Lessons from California’s Homekey Program. The webinar will explore lessons from the first round of funding for California’s Homekey initiative, an innovative program developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to address homelessness by dramatically increasing funding for interim and permanent supportive housing, often through motel/hotel conversions.
Drawing from our recent paper, this webinar will cover how local agencies, service providers, and nonprofit developers are implementing Homekey in regions across the state, including different approaches to using Homekey funds and providing housing and resident services. The webinar will also address the implications for future rounds of Homekey as well as lessons that are more broadly applicable to affordable housing and homelessness programs.
|
SCANPH Presents: Houser Hour with Buffy Wicks
Tuesday, April 19th at 3:00pm
Join us on April 19th for a moderated discussion to delve into the most pressing questions from housers for Assemblymember Wicks.
Featured Speakers:
Moderator: Joss Tillard-Gates, Senior Program Director, Policy, Enterprise Community Partners; SCANPH Board Member
California State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland)
|
|
