CHC Industry Insight

Industry Insight - August 2020

A Note From Our Executive Director

As we enter the final few weeks of the legislative session, I wanted to share with you a statement from CHC and Housing California expressing our concerns with the Legislature’s ongoing efforts to produce an affordable housing package before the end of this year.

Affordable housing advocates have been quietly concerned for months about the significant number of proposals to expand access to affordable housing that have failed to advance this year—including the CHC-sponsored AB 3107 (Bloom), which we asked the author to pull from consideration last week.

Lisa and I also have serious concerns about the impact some of this year’s remaining bills could have on the state’s ability to provide the affordable homes that Californians need.

In the midst of a global pandemic, with months—and potentially years—of economic uncertainty ahead, California can, and must, do more to provide affordable housing for its most vulnerable residents, while also creating more high-skill, well-paying jobs that can help power the state’s economic recovery.

CHC and its members are prepared to get to work, and I remain optimistic that we can find a way to partner with housing champions in and out of the Legislature to significantly increase California’s production of affordable housing.

Sincerely,

Ray Pearl

In Case You Missed It

CHC pulled our sponsored bill, AB 3107 (Bloom), and submitted opposition letters on several housing bills, spelling out our concerns in letters to the authors:
AB 3107 letter
SB 995 letter
AB 1385 letter
CHC has one remaining co-sponsored bill working its way through the legislature, AB 434 (Daly), which would align the application process for several state multifamily housing programs.
CDLAC staff is proposing several changes to the existing scoring system, which were presented at the August 7 meeting and will be discussed again on the August 21 meeting.
CHC is co-presenting one day of Housing California's Virtual UnConference on Sept 2. Register Here, discounted rates are available for CHC Members.

Federal Update from David Gasson, Boston Capital

Happy August to all my CHC friends. Tis the month of lounging on the beach, vacations and finally putting aside all those troubles for some much deserved R&R. HEY, wake up and quit daydreaming. Yes, the world is still rotating on its axis and revolving around the sun but other than that it is a mess out there.

Congress was supposed to be recessing for the summer on August 10th but that isn’t going to happen as they are no closer to a deal on the next CARES package then they were when the House passed their version almost three months ago. Federal unemployment benefits have expired, eviction moratoriums as well as rental assistance is still conversational as are another round of stimulus checks. On top of all that sunshine, the President tweeted about his ending the Affirmatively Forwarding Fair Housing initiative by stating that the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream” is safe as those living it will not be “bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in their neighborhood…” The general mood is not good and as of the drafting of this update there really is no one that sees where or when these impasses are bridged.

All that being the case, we do feel like we are making progress on the tax front, specifically regarding the 4% fixed LIHTC. Last week our House champions Reps. DelBene (D-WA) and Walorski (R-IN) sent a Dear Colleague letter to the House Leadership urging inclusion of the fixed 4% rate provision as well as the revised 50% test and increase in the 9% LIHTC in the next package. The bipartisan letter was cosigned by 101 of their colleagues making it a powerful endorsement of our agenda. Thank you so much for the work you put in to getting the members of the California delegation on to that letter. We are also making headway in the Senate and have had very positive conversations with a number of Republican Senators and their staffs. Many of these conversations have originated in their home states and I want to thank those CHC members that have been engaged in these discussions and advocacy in those states. It is these efforts that will get us on the table in the Senate as a CARES package comes together.

As we get closer to the November 3rd election the noise and distractions will only get worse, if that is possible. We remain focused on our agenda and see a way forward to check some of our major provisions off of the list in the next few weeks. 2020 has been a very difficult year and no one knows how messy it will be as it draws to a close. What I do know is our industry has done an amazing job elevating our agenda and making sure we are a relevant part of the policy discussion. Keep up the amazing work and thank you.

CHC Member Spotlight

CHC Member: C&C Development

Project Name: Meridian Apartments

Location: Corona, CA

Units: 85 units with a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. Affordable units available for 30-60% of the AMI

Opening Date: Spring 2020

State & Federal Financing Sources: Tax-Exempt Bonds and 4% Tax Credits

Developed on a four-acre site in the city’s downtown area, the Meridian community was designed with large families in mind. The swimming pool, outdoor terrace, community meeting room, social services center, tot lot, and barbecue pavilion will serve the needs of Corona’s growing families. A partnership with the local Corona YMCA will ensure the residents are served for many years into the future.

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