To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Approve FY 2025/26 Recommendations to Award In-Lieu, Measure X Housing, and Permanent Local Housing Allocation Funds
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. APPROVE the Department of Conservation and Development’s FY 2025/26 recommendations for the allocation of $1,054,134 in Inclusionary Housing Ordinance In-Lieu Funds, $9,707,500 in Measure X Housing Funds, and $1,767,453 in Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds.
2. APPROVE the recapture of FY 2023/24 Measure X Housing funding of $2,000,000 previously awarded to the Anton San Ramon project in San Ramon, developed by Anton Development Company.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No general fund impact. In-Lieu fees are approved and conditioned as part of a project’s land use entitlements and paid at the time of building permit issuance. Measure X funds are part of a countywide, 20-year ½ cent sales tax increase approved by Contra Costa County voters on November 3, 2020. PLHA funding has already been awarded to the County, which will cover the cost of the PLHA recommendations and up to 5% of the total PLHA grant for the County’s administrative costs.
BACKGROUND:
Available Funding
In-Lieu Funds: Every residential project in unincorporated Contra Costa County consisting of five units or more is subject to the County’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (IHO), Chapter 822-4 of the County Ordinance Code. The IHO promotes affordable housing by requiring 15 percent of units in the development to be affordable units. Alternative methods of compliance include the payment of a fee in-lieu of building affordable units on-site, building off-site, or any other feasible alternative. The in-lieu fees are approved and conditioned as part of the project’s land use entitlements, paid at the time of building permit issuance, and deposited in a fund with DCD. These funds may only be spent on new affordable housing construction in unincorporated Contra Costa County. Available balance is $1,054,134.
Measure X Housing Funds: Measure X is a countywide 20-year, ½ cent sales tax approved by Contra Costa County voters on November 3, 2020. Collection of the tax began on April 1, 2021. The ballot measure language stated that the intent of Measure X is “to keep Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed; fund community health centers, emergency response; support crucial safety-net services; invest in early childhood services; protect vulnerable populations; and for other essential county services.”
On November 16, 2021, the County Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of Measure X funding to establish a new funding source for housing-related activities, now termed the Measure X Housing Fund (MX Housing Fund). 65% of MX Housing Fund is allocated to capital projects related to housing, including new and rehabilitated units. Eligible uses for this portion of the Measure X Housing Funds include:
• Affordable housing for populations earning up to 80 percent Area Median Income (AMI), with a focus on ≤50 percent AMI.
• Acquisition, pre-development, construction, rehabilitation, and operating and reserve funds.
• Innovation pilot programs and capacity building technical assistance for affordable housing activities (acquisition, pre-development, construction, rehabilitation, and operating and reserve funds).
• Grant writing for affordable housing activities (acquisition, pre-development, construction, rehabilitation, and operating and reserve funds).
The allocation of Measure X funds for affordable housing development projects in FY 2025/26 is $8,675,000, with 10 percent set aside for Program Administration, leaving $7,707,500 available for projects. In addition, there is $2,000,000 in recaptured Measure X funds available to reallocate. (see below). Therefore, there is a total of $9,707,500 available for Measure X eligible capital development projects.
PLHA Funds: The Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Program is a new State program with entitlement and competitive components. The State designated Contra Costa County as the administrator of the entitlement grant award for the Contra Costa “Urban County”, which includes the unincorporated communities and all the cities except for Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, and Walnut Creek, which has their own entitlements. The PLHA funds may be used to:
• Increase the supply of housing for households at or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI);
• Facilitate housing affordability, particularly for lower- and moderate-income households; and
• Promote projects and programs to meet the local government’s unmet share of regional housing needs allocation.
The allocation of PLHA funds for FY 2025/26 is $1,860,477 with five percent set aside for Program Administration, leaving $1,767,453 available for projects.
Anton San Ramon - Recapture of $2,000,000 of Measure X Housing Funds
On May 9, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved an allocation of $2,000,000 of Measure X Housing funds to Anton Development Company (Anton) for the Anton San Ramon project located at 2233 San Ramon Valley Blvd, in San Ramon. The Measure X allocation had three contingencies:
• Measure X funds committed, as evidenced by an executed loan, by June 30, 2025.
• Construction must commence by June 30, 2026.
• Confirmation that the project’s financials are compliant with the County’s Affordable Housing Program Guidelines.
On March 12, 2025, Anton notified County staff they are no longer moving forward with the Anton San Ramon project and no longer need the $2,000,000 Measure X allocation of funds for the project. Staff recommends recapturing the Measure X Housing funds previously awarded to the Anton San Ramon project. Approval of this recommendation would make the recaptured funds available to be reprogrammed to other affordable housing applications submitted in the 2025/26 Request for Proposal process.
FY 2025/26 NOFA/RFP Process
On October 9, 2024, a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for County affordable housing funds (federal and local sources, including In-Lieu, Measure X Housing and PLHA) and a Request for Proposals (RFP) was released and published in all editions of the Contra Costa Times and posted on the County’s DCD website to solicit applications for the development, acquisition, and/or rehabilitation of affordable housing throughout the County. On October 23, 2024, County staff hosted a Technical Assistance Meeting to provide information to prospective applicants on the NOFA/RFP. County staff also held virtual office hours on four separate occasions in November 2024 to provide additional technical assistance to prospective applicants.
The County received 21 total federal and/or local funding applications by the December 5, 2024 deadline. Four applications have since been withdrawn by the respective applicants. Each applicant was required to submit an application describing the proposed project, need and target population, steps necessary to carry out the project, and proposed budget. Applications were reviewed by staff for completeness and eligibility and against criteria listed in the RFP. Applicants were also interviewed by staff to respond to or clarify any issues related to the application. After the assessment and analysis was completed for each housing application submitted, DCD staff prepared a report and recommendations for the various affordable housing funding programs to present to the Affordable Housing Finance Committee (AHFC), the advisory committee to the Board of Supervisors (Board) that reviews staff’s recommendations on affordable housing financing activities.
A meeting of the AFHC was scheduled for Tuesday May 20, 2025; however, the meeting was unable to be held due to lack of quorum of committee members. There was not a day that was available for all AHFC members to reschedule an additional meeting prior to the Board meeting on Tuesday June 24, 2025, where all federal and local funding are being considered for approval to meet federal or state deadlines.
The recommendations included in this report are solely for the local and State sources (In-Lieu funds, Measure X Housing funds, and PLHA funds). The allocation of federal funds for capital housing development activities is being considered in a separate Board action on the June 24, 2025 meeting agenda.
Awarding funds to the recommended projects will facilitate each proposed project moving forward to a construction start in a timely manner. By securing local gap financing, each project may now apply for other competitive funding from the State of California in 2025 or 2026 and score more competitively for programs including but not limited to Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities, Multifamily Housing Program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (either four percent or nine percent). Staff is recommending funding four (4) projects in a total amount not to exceed $12,479,087 (combined amount in In-Lieu, Measure X, and PLHA funds) as follows:
1. El Cerrito Plaza - A South: 515 Richmond Street, El Cerrito developed by Related CA
2. The Riveter - Supportive: 100 38th Street, Richmond, co-developed by Eden Development, Inc. and Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond
3. Orbisonia Village: 530 South Broadway Avenue, Bay Point developed by Pacific West Communities, Inc.
4. TBV Villas at Renaissance: 1827 San Joaquin Street, Richmond, joint venture between Guiding Light, Inc. and Sandidge Urban Design Group, Inc.
In addition, the following attachments are included to summarize the housing applications received:
• Attachment A: Summary of Housing Applications Received
• Attachment B: Housing Application Staff Reports
• Attachment C: Staff Funding Recommendations
• Attachment D: Housing Applications Scoring/Ranking
Contingencies for Approval: Each of the housing applications recommended for an award of funds have contingencies related to timely expenditure. Details of each contingency for a specific project can be found in the Housing Applications Staff Reports Attachment. If a project’s expenditure is not completed in a timely manner, the funds may be recaptured and awarded to another project able to meet timeliness requirements to execute loan documents and commence construction.
Applications Not Recommended for Funding: Projects not recommended for a funding award are generally consistent with the County’s priorities for producing new affordable housing units, preserving existing affordable housing stock, or increasing the supply of permanent supportive housing for special needs populations. The primary reason such projects are not recommended for funding is project readiness. Given the limited County funds and the urgent need for housing, staff prioritizes projects with fewer, more readily addressed funding gaps and more proximate, realistic completion dates.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Negative action will prevent these affordable housing developers from moving forward with their FY 2025/26 projects. The applicants would have to wait and apply for funds from the County in next year’s funding NOFA/RFP, which could jeopardize the projects or significantly delay each project’s construction schedule.