Earlier this year Common Ground members voted to endorse the “Bay Area Housing For All” (BAHFA) Bond Issue to provide $20 billion in funding to build new affordable housing and to preserve existing housing in the nine Bay Area counties. However, the developers of this regional bond issue have decided to put this measure on hold. The reason is that the political battle has shifted to California Proposition 5 on the November ballot. 

What is Proposition 5?

This proposition will lower the required voter approval threshold for bond issues related to housing and infrastructure from 67% to 55%.

Why is this important?

It would be very difficult to pass an affordable housing bond measure with the existing 67% requirement for passage. Prop 5 gives local voters more power to address housing and infrastructure needs in their communities. The 55% threshold is the same level needed for the passage of school bond issues. Voters should have the same power to pass housing and infrastructure bond issues as they do for providing school financing.

Solano County is critically short of affordable housing. Consider this: 

• More than 13,000 renter households in Solano County don’t have access to an affordable home.
• 88% of extremely low-income (ELI) households in Solano County are paying more than half of their income on housing costs compared to 1% of moderate-income households. 
• In 2023 in Solano County, there were only 628 beds available for persons experiencing homelessness, less than half of what is needed.
• Renters in Solano County need to earn $36.36/hr, 2.3 times the minimum wage, to afford the average monthly rent of $1,891/month.

What can we do?

Common Ground urges our members to vote and mark your ballot with “YES” on Proposition 5. Share this link with friends and family about the importance of this proposition.