Board advances local-preference housing ordinance, directs staff to add public-safety and health-care points

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday moved to advance a draft ordinance (Title 21) that would create local preference categories for affordable housing applications and instructed staff to add preference points for first responders and certain health-care workers and return the item for formal adoption.

The measure — presented by county planning staff as a local-preference framework tailored to unincorporated San Benito County — would give eligible households "points" in affordable housing project resident-selection processes for factors such as current residency in the district, displacement, high housing-cost burden, veteran status and other categories the board chooses to include. Planning staff recommended the board set rules defining documentation and developer responsibilities for verifying preferences.

County officials said the policy is intended to increase neighborhood stability, keep long‑term residents and workers in place, and prioritize local households when affordable units become available. The planning presentation described a points-based system where applicants could accumulate multiple…