Do You Understand What Affordable Housing Is In San Mateo County?

Several years ago I was part of a community group discussing affordable housing in San Mateo County.  What was most interesting to me was how many people participating had no idea what affordable
housing meant.  They made some pretty wild assumptions and generally that meant that it was ghetto housing.  As the two days concluded, it was really reassuring to see some dramatic changes in the
understanding of what it was.  In short, in San Mateo County, affordable housing means something the average person can buy, a house for under $500,000! Well under.

It takes a lot of income to afford to buy a $500,000 house and if you work for a city, school, hospital, fire or police department, library,or any kind of general business your income won’t allow you to do it without a spouse or second, or third person. People with a $77,000 income in San Mateo County are barely making ends meet so affordable housing is important to them and to us as a community at large.

There are some programs through San Mateo County that can provide assistance with down payments and these are well worth exploring.  Sometimes there’s money there and sometimes not, but you owe it to
yourself to learn more about them and see if you qualify.  This money is a godsend to those who qualify.

San Mateo has announced that there will be an infill housing project developed on El Camino Real where the old Goodrich Tire store once stood.  This will be true affordable housing for people with incomes below $70,000.  It’s so over due that I can’t begin to comment on the need.  it’s going to be a small project and the
lucky few who will be able to buy a home of their own there won’t be able to do it for several years but it is only a drop in the bucket of need.

Every time a developer announces that they will build new housing and include below market housing, there’s a complaint by the citizens of that community.  What is it going to take to get people to
recognize the need for housing for the people keeping our cities and towns running?  What happens when a major earthquake strikes and the police and fire department people are living 50 miles away from us
and can’t get here?  What happens to a community that is only high wealth?

It’s called the NIMBY factor, Not In My Back Yard.  I’ve got mine and you can’t get yours.  We all want our children to be able to buy a home in San Mateo County as much as they want to.  It’s up to all of us to encourage our towns, cities and the county to build more affordable housing.  We all win when this happens.