“Practice what you preach.” If only it were that easy! Now, it may be. At least for the principle of housing as a human right and the ever-increasing urgency to support people in our communities who need a place to lay their head at night. Recent signed-into-law legislation simplifies the process for faith organizations and nonprofit colleges to take action to house their neighbors who struggle with homelessness.
Faith Director at the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County Reverend Penny Nixon can attest to the eagerness of faith institutions to provide housing relief for their neighbors. Her congregation had been exploring what they can do to ease the housing needs of their community.
Before this year, the answer unfortunately was: Not a lot. “Building affordable housing was like a race track with too many hurdles.” Nixon explains.
With the Governor’s signature last week making Senate Bill 4 official, many obstacles toward more affordable housing construction will be cleared. “SB4 takes away so many hurdles and says, ‘OK, go,’” Nixon observes. She can name at least 12 congregations interested in utilizing the new policy — including St. James AME Zion Church of San Mateo, where she is helping manage an affordable housing project they are now positioned to move forward.
SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act, unlocks over 171,000 acres owned by religious organizations and nonprofit colleges for the construction of affordable housing. That potentially developable land is five times the size of Oakland — and a huge opportunity to create badly needed affordable homes.
For many years, Bay Area residents have named affordable housing and homelessness as their top concerns for the region (EMC Research.) Yet, for decades, non-profit affordable housing developers have had limited opportunities to create the affordable homes the community needs and wants. That’s now turning the tide.
SB4 was passed alongside a number of recent streamlining efforts that all work to remove unnecessary requirements getting in the way of building more affordable homes. These are barriers like restrictive zoning policies and extensive reviews that increase the time, money, and people-power it takes to get an affordable housing project off the ground.
These streamlining efforts are a key piece to affordable housing advocates’ strategy to address California’s housing shortage. Paired with deepened investments to create and preserve affordable housing, prevent homelessness, and strengthen protections, the region is on its way to changing the landscape of affordable housing for the region.
For SB 4, this policy update serves a long-held moral imperative by congregations to go beyond treating the symptoms of our housing conditions — feeding the unhoused, hosting drives for essentials — and to contribute to permanent solutions. While fulfilling immediate needs is crucial, the opportunity of SB 4 is next-level for these mission-driven organizations.
As Reverend Nixon sees it, “it doesn’t matter what tradition you’re from. All our sacred texts talk about shelter as a necessity, the importance of shared community, and the call for a society where everyone can thrive.”
We don’t need a miracle when it comes to housing affordability; we need courage and commitment to enact the systemic changes needed to make more affordable homes easier and faster. Progress is at our fingertips and soon we’ll be opening the door to more affordable homes in our region.
Now that’s a reason for all of us to keep the faith — faith that progress is possible, that affordable housing solutions are on their way, and that we can create a Bay Area where everyone has a stable, affordable place to call home.
