San Mateo County sets aside $2 million for farmworker housing loans

San Mateo County has allocated million to renovate and build housing for its largely low-income farmworker population aiming to address long-standing substandard living conditions that garnered national attention after seven workers were killed at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay in The county s board of supervisors unanimously approved the funding Tuesday It will help qualified farm owners and operators to bring existing units up to safety standards or construct new housing The effort will roll out in two phases renovations first then new construction Funding for the effort comes from Measure K a voter-approved half-cent sales tax designated for local inhabitants projects Our agricultural industry is the backbone of our food system and it s struggling here in San Mateo County noted Supervisor Ray Mueller who represents the coastal district that includes greater part of the county s farmland By working to ensure agriculture has the financial tools to provide safe housing for farmworkers and ranch hands we re strengthening our agricultural commercial sector and building a stronger more resilient future for every member of our locality Related Articles Why do Bay Area homeless people turn down shelter beds Affordable housing at East Bay BART station gets council backing Here s where HOA fees have surged the the majority in the Bay Area Opinion Fourth-largest commercial sector Californians can t even afford essentials Trump s proposed cuts to Section rental aid could aggravate Bay Area homelessness The outlay builds on heightened masses scrutiny following the mass shooting which exposed the unsafe and overcrowded conditions plenty of farmworkers face particularly along the coast The new funding expands the county s Farm Labor Housing Loan Venture which offers interest loans with -year terms Units must be in San Mateo County and must be rented exclusively to very low-income farmworkers for the life of the loan or it must be repaid in full San Mateo County mentioned compliance to this requirement will be monitored annually Those eligible for placement in the housing include workers who earn less than of the area median income under for a single person or for a family of four in and work more than hours per week in local agriculture with at least half their income from farm work If a unit is to be leased then rent plus utilities must not exceed of the tenant s income and must remain within extremely low-income limits for the duration of the loan All housing must meet current wellness building and environmental codes including bringing unpermitted structures into compliance Eligibility is determined following a pre-application meeting site visit and review of the completed application Between and farmworkers live in San Mateo County according to a account by the Silicon Valley Society Foundation A UC Merced inquiry ascertained farmworkers in the region earned an average of in In San Mateo County those earning a year are considered low income The initiative also supports an agricultural sector that generates about million in gross value annually and aligns with state-mandated housing goals according to facts from the county San Mateo County is expected to build at least homes in areas under its jurisdiction by In April the first manufactured units of a planned -home affordable housing society for farmworkers arrived at Stone Pine Cove in Half Moon Bay The first families are expected to move in by June This latest financing follows a prior million allocation which by had funded the construction and rehabilitation of units for farmworkers San Mateo County is among several Bay Area jurisdictions under scrutiny by state housing regulators Local governments that fall out of compliance with their state-approved housing plans hazard losing funding or being subject to the builder s remedy which allows developers to maneuver around local zoning laws if their projects include enough affordable housing