Bay Area County Approves $2 Million For Low-Income Housing

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved to spend $2 million to address a shortage of affordable housing for the farm workers at its Tuesday meeting.

“Our agricultural industry is the backbone of our food system, and it’s struggling here in San Mateo County. We’re taking action to support them,” said Supervisor Ray Mueller..

At the meeting, with all supervisors in attendance, they voted 5-0 to seed a fun that will provide loans to local farmers who provide low-income housing to their workers.

“By working to ensure agriculture has the financial resources available to provide safe housing for farmworkers and ranch hands, we’re strengthening our agricultural economy and building a stronger, more resilient future for every member of our community,” Mueller said.

To qualify, farm owners must meet requirements, including bringing units up to health and safety codes, maintaining below-market rates and renting only to eligible low-income workers.

Supervisors approved this to occur in two phases. Phase one will include enhancing existing housing stock and Phase 2 will focus on constructing new housing units.