Report: Measure K funded 3K homes in San Mateo County

San Mateo County’s investment in housing over the past nine years has had a major impact on the lives of around 6,000 to 7,000 residents who are currently housed in units they can afford, Evelyn Stivers, Housing Leadership Council executive director, said. 

“[Residents] are sleeping in comfortable, private, safe, secure, dignified homes they can afford in San Mateo County tonight, because of Measure K,” she said. 

In San Mateo County — where a family of four making $149,000 is considered low-income due to the exorbitantly high cost of living — investments in affordable housing are of particular importance. Renters need to be making 3.7 times the county’s minimum wage to afford the cost of an average two-bedroom apartment, the report said. 

Stivers lauded the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors’ decision to spend 28% of Measure K funds on homelessness and housing initiatives like affordable housing over the past nine years. The funding has been fairly equally distributed throughout the county, she said, from projects like a large-scale senior living development with a child care center on the first floor in Redwood City to investment in future farmworker housing at 555 Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay. 

That particular farmworker housing project has been stalled in development plans for some time, but the investment into specific marginalized San Mateo County communities is integral, Stivers said. 

“It’s been shocking how expensive it’s been on the coast and how it’s been very challenging for farmworker housing on the coast,” she said. “But we’ve been doing it.” 

It’s been “heartwarming” to see support grow for affordable housing projects over time, both from the community and from local city governments, Stivers said, a change in attitude that she attributes to a desire for those who serve the community — like teachers, nurses and grocery store employees — to be able to live in the community. 

All 21 jurisdictions in San Mateo County besides Half Moon Bay now have a state-certified plan for affordable housing development, known as a housing element. 

“The positions of no growth are no longer popular,” Stivers said. “I think we have seen the tide has shifted. More people want neighbors that are stably housed and long-term residents they can get to know.” 

The county’s investment via Measure K funds has been of major benefit to those in need of affordable homes, but it’s important those contributions continue as potential losses of federal funding and safety net programs make life even more challenging for low-income people, Stivers said. 

As some residents may be forced to decide between paying rent or paying their medical bills, a focus on new development of affordable housing will be more important than ever because of how much more expensive it is to bring people out of homelessness once they’ve become unhoused, she said. 

“We’re about to hit the rapids, and it’s going to take a lot of leadership and brilliance and coming together,” Stivers said.