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State awards San Luis Obispo $750,000 for affordable housing

August 3, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

The state recently awarded San Luis Obispo $750,000 to support the development of affordable housing projects through the city’s affordable housing fund.

“It is so encouraging to me to see 50 communities have put in the work to earn the title of ‘prohousing,’ and that many others are working to establish policies and practices that expedite the approval and creation of housing faster and at the adequate scale,” said Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez. “It will take the concerted effort of forward-thinking community leaders to address housing need at all incomes levels today and into the future.”

The California Department of Housing and Community Development’s award will be used to boost funding for projects by non-profit and public entity housing developers like Transitions Mental Health, Smartshare Housing, Peoples Self Help Housing, and the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo to build supportive housing or rental apartments for low and very low-income eligible households.

“The City of SLO recognizes the need to improve housing opportunities across the housing continuum to meet the major city goal for housing and homelessness and advance sustainability, equity, and economic resiliency for our community. The prohousing incentive program award will help fund critically needed housing opportunities that help prevent homelessness and provide access to below market rate and supportive housing,” said City of San Luis Obispo Community Development Director, Timmi Tway.

The prohousing incentive program is a state investment to create and conserve affordable housing. The California Department of Housing and Community Development awards program funds to eligible jurisdictions with prohousing designation.

On Jan. 31,  the State of California recognized the City of San Luis Obispo as one of seven new prohousing designation communities, bringing the total number in the state to 37, which has now grown to 50. San Luis Obispo aims to accommodate up to 3,354 new homes between 2020 and 2028.

 


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The financial mindset and wordsmithing of titles are an embarrassment to the California voters.


5

A friend and I were talking not long ago about the affordable housing myth here in SLO and concluded that every time a new development in the city is built, our 40+ year old homes go up in value. The philosophy that if you build tons more, often cheaply built housing and make it denser, it will reduce prices so more people can afford to buy a home appears to be a myth. Can anyone tell me where that has actually worked anywhere else in California? It’s even further out of reach here due to SLO’s desirability and Cal Poly’s failure to build more on-campus housing for its increasing enrollment. Other than a small number of Housing Authority or Self Help units, affordability for many is, and probably always will be, too far out of reach, no matter how much money we throw at this issue. In the meantime, the city’s plan of build baby build, without addressing infrastructure improvements is causing major traffic and other problems that is making it even more difficult and unaffordable to live here. Go figure!


4

Who wants to bet the full $750,000 is spent on “studies” on how to create affordable housing?


7

What a joke. Just burn $750,000 in cash at an encampment. At least that way a few homeless could light their cigs.


20

Given the crazy amount agencies pay for producing affordable housing, this grant will provide funds for only about 3 units. Big deal.


27

Of the $750,000 likely $600,000 or more will go to administration aspects, permitting, fees, studies, consultants and such leaving very little to actual affordable housing.


74

‘San Luis Obispo aims to accommodate up to 3,354 new homes between 2020 and 2028.’


‘The prohousing incentive program award will help fund critically needed housing opportunities that help prevent homelessness and provide access to below market rate and supportive housing.’


So, tell me, how many of the 3,354 new homes are going to ‘prevent homelessness and provide below market rate housing’? There is absolutely no connection to the above two statements because these housing developments that are being built are never going to be ‘affordable’ to remedy the homelessness or low-income housing needs.


Take a look at how many new homes have been already built in 2022-2024. Did any of them actually prevent homelessness or provide below market housing to those in need?


Is anyone paying attention????


65

when will government ever learn that whatever it subsidizes increases. Take over student loans costs explode and they create a whole generation of debtors. Throw money at the “homeless” problem and their numbers grow 10 fold in a decade. Keep it up.


29

When you build and sell new cars, even expensive cars, people buy them, and then sell their somewhat old cars. Someone with a lower budget will then buy the used but good condition car and sell their old 150k mile car for even cheaper. Then someone with a very low budget can buy that old car for dirt cheap and therefore have a way to get to work or visit family.


This doesn’t mean there aren’t cracks people can fall through, but when someone’s 1995 Accord finally dies it’s good that there is a 2002 Civic on the market. If not for new cars, there wouldn’t be old cheap cars for the people who need them, and more people might just have to go without a car.


Replace car with housing. The same principal applies.


-15

absolutely false analogy! Real estate is COMPLETELY different


13

Capitalism and the free market work EXCEPT FOR JUST THIS ONE THING. Get real.


-3

“San Luis Obispo aims to accommodate up to 3,354 new homes between 2020 and 2028.“

Remind me again, where are we getting the water for all these new homes?


48

Didn’t you hear? Two years of pretty good rainfall cured the drought.


12

We’re not in the early 90s anymore, the city has plenty of access to water. If water is really your limit to growth, then SLO could easily double it’s population, and even then there are ways to access more water.

https://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/utilities-department/water/water-sources


-11

Who wants to do that? The only folks I hear screaming for more development are mostly dead or charged with all kinds of white collar crimes (Belsher, Mike Petitit, Adam Hill et all).


6

More importantly, the city belongs to the residents, Where are all the residents calling for all these new homes? Aren’t the boxes on Madonna Road bad enough? The more we build, the more the demand goes up. SLO won’t be a very special place much longer at this rate.


11

A majority wants more housing. I think new housing is great, it enables more people to call SLO home and build a happy life and new family here.


Places without demand look like Gary Indiana or Detroit Michigan. We have a good thing here. Maybe more people will make SLO even more special. In 1924 or 1824 I’m sure there were people who thought that freezing the town as it was was the only way to keep it special – I’m glad they didn’t get their way!


-3