As you know, California is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Nowhere is that crisis more closely felt than right here in our Silicon Valley region. During my first term in the Assembly, I've committed to making housing affordability a priority issue. As part of that commitment, I'm happy to be a partner in leading the Assembly's efforts to provide more than $1.1 billion to address the challenges of housing affordability and authoring legislation to help increase our housing supply.
In our area, less than 25 percent of workers and just 40 percent of households are able to rent or buy average-priced housing. In fact, $167,957.12 is the median income to afford a house that costs $855,000, which is the median home price in San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara. This is simply unaffordable for too many of us.
I know first-hand the magnitude of this issue, as I cannot even afford to own a home in the area that I am elected to represent. However, I'm more concerned for our working, lower-income and homeless families. Since 2008, median rents have soared by 20 percent, while median incomes have dropped by 8 percent. The time to act is now.
The governor's May budget revision goes a long way in supporting funding for mentally ill homeless individuals as well as streamlining our State Density Bonus Law to increase the state's housing supply as proposed in AB 2501, which I'm proud to author. However, the budget still lacks a meaningful investment in affordable housing.
My Assembly colleagues and I have proposed a real investment in affordable housing by providing over $1.1 billion to address the state's critical housing needs. Of the $1.1 billion, we provide $650 million in new funds to meet the range of housing needs for working and lower-income families, as well as Californians who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
While we continue to work for a permanent source of funding for affordable housing, the time is now to reinvest in our communities, and ensure that people can afford to live in the same place that they work. I'm proud to support the Assembly Democrats' plan and work with my colleagues and the governor to prioritize a comprehensive approach to our affordable housing crisis.
Sincerely,
Evan Low
Assemblymember, 28th District
