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Housing advocates and developers urge commission to back $30 million Barnes Fund request
Summary
Nonprofit leaders, developers and a council member pressed the Metropolitan Housing Trust Fund Commission to support the Unified Housing Strategy recommendation of $30,000,000 for the Barnes Fund, arguing the money leverages private funds and is needed to maintain affordable-home production and repairs.
Housing advocates, developers and neighborhood nonprofits told the Metropolitan Housing Trust Fund Commission that the city must fund the Barnes Fund at $30,000,000 to meet swelling demand for affordable housing and repairs.
Sherry Stinson of Habitat for Humanity said the organization saw 5,000 applicants in the first 15 minutes when it opened applications for a new subdivision in Antioch, and described high land and infrastructure costs that create persistent financing gaps. "We had 5,000 applicants in the first 15 minutes," Stinson said, noting recent land and infrastructure costs pushed per-unit land costs into the six-figure range.
Eddie Latimer of Affordable Housing Resources told commissioners the Unified Housing Strategy recommends $30,000,000 and that the Barnes Fund has previously produced thousands of homes. "This will enable us to raise $300,000,000 to build the needed affordable housing," Latimer said, citing the fund's ability to leverage outside capital. Multiple speakers, including Mark Wright of the Helping Hand Foundation and Kaye Bowers of NOAH, echoed calls for predictability and scale so nonprofit and developer partners can plan larger projects.
Jamie Pennington, the housing trust fund coordinator, presented quarterly program data to the commission, reporting roughly $191.4 million awarded across rounds, approximately $111.0 million expended to date, 6,585 Barnes-funded homes, and 131 awarded contracts (80 complete, 51 open). Pennington said staff can provide additional leveraged-amount detail and maintain a public dashboard with performance breakdowns.
Councilmember Allen and staff discussed advocacy channels. Planning department staff said the department included a $30,000,000 Barnes Fund request in the mayor's budget submission and reviewed the budget schedule: internal OMB meetings and the mayor's proposed budget on or around May 1, followed by council budget hearings in May. Staff encouraged commissioners and attendees to submit individual letters and testify at council hearings once the mayor's budget is released.
The commission did not vote on a formal endorsement during the meeting; staff stressed there is not a formal mechanism for the commission as a whole to re-submit the department's ask before the administration's budget is released. Commissioners signaled they would follow the usual practice of showing up at council hearings and coordinating advocacy after the mayor's proposal is published.
The commission's next regular meeting is scheduled for April 28 at 2 p.m.
