A major opportunity for affordable housing funding in San Jose is approaching – the campaign for a Commercial Linkage Fee (CLF)
The health and economic shocks of the pandemic have laid bare the vulnerability of communities of color and lower-wage workers in Silicon Valley where overcrowding and high housing costs have magnified the crisis. The greatest hurdle to developing the affordable housing needed to help stabilize families and communities is a lack of dedicated local funds. One of the standard tools to generate this funding charges a small fee to developers of non-residential properties– commercial and office space– to help provide affordable housing for the new employees, many of whom won’t be able to afford the high local rents. This tool – the Commercial Linkage Fee – helps respond to the pressure that new jobs put on an already strained housing market.
San Jose is the last major city in Santa Clara County without such a fee. However, the research process is moving forward, and the City Council is scheduled to consider the CLF at the end of August. Even in these uncertain times, big developments moving ahead around the city have the potential to raise hundreds of millions of dollars of critical affordable housing funding over the next 5-10 years.
Please join us for an update on where we are at in the process, what moving pieces to look out for, and how this all relates to expanding opportunities for real people. Leaders of the campaign will report on the findings of city studies about the range of possible fee levels — set to be released on July 17th, and discuss opportunities to get involved as advocacy efforts ramp up over the coming weeks.