County advisory committee recommends funding seven affordable‑housing projects; staff to advance contracts

County housing staff briefed the board on the most recent affordable‑housing RFP round. Housing division staff said they received eight applications requesting roughly $4.7 million and that the advisory committee recommended funding seven projects at varying levels using $3.35 million available from documentary recording fees, sales and use tax rebates and HOME funds.

Britney and George described projects recommended for funding, which include new construction (Bethany Village — 23 units; Saint John's 2 — 36 senior units), acquisition and new construction for Chalice Place (85 units for seniors/disabled), Casa Mia (13 units of permanent supportive housing), Riverwalk Point (a 53‑unit rehab project for low‑to‑moderate income households), and partially funded transitional housing ADU(s). Staff said several projects are "last‑in" dollars and are contract‑ready; they asked commissioners to allow staff to draft agreements and bring them to the legislative agenda to speed implementation.

Commissioners asked about how the county ensures county residents can access city‑based projects and about the maintenance of funding restrictions on units; staff said restrictions and reservation of units for county residents would be addressed in contract restrictions. Commissioners also asked staff to return with additional detail on capacity and potential cross‑portfolio funding strategies (e.g., mixing CDBG and affordable‑housing funds) in future briefings.

Next steps: staff will prepare contracts for the recommended projects and bring those forward on the next legislative agenda; CDBG recommendations will follow in a separate briefing.