MEETING 8 JANE 2016

Pascal Sasich, Assistant CEO of Burbank Housing Development Corporation made a presentation on not-for-profit housing development in Sonoma County.

 

Burbank housing has been around for over 35 years. Pascal has been with them for the past 13 years following experience in other nonprofit building sectors.

 

Burbank housing is the largest residential developer in Sonoma County. Over the past 30 years they have built over 2,747 rental units on 57 properties and currently provide housing to over 10,000 people. In addition to having rental units, they have been involved in over 760 units of "sweat equity" ownership over the years.

 

Their rental units serve the workforce of our community, namely those people who are earning at or below the areas median income. Over 50% of their properties are rented to people considered a very low income, at or below 50% ($41,300) of the area median income of $82,600 for a family of four. 20% of their properties are rented by people who are at or below 30% of this value, roughly $24,.800.

 

They also provide housing to special needs segment of the population. There are no shareholders in Burbank housing, and salaries for the staff are paid out of the proceeds of the rents.

 

Projects are typically financed with a very small amount the private debt, approximately 10-15%. The remainder of the money comes from governmental support in the form of tax credits for large entities that want to invest in these properties. This accounts for approximately 50% of the housing development Corporation's income. Much of this money also comes from county and state sources as well as some city money. Burbank housing is always searching to find more local money to help support their projects.

 

There is always a demand for affordable housing. Currently there is a waiting list of over 12,000 families for 2,800 units. There is approximately one turnover of these units per day. The list of people seeking housing is always changing and it is possible to move up the list fairly quickly with wait times of 1-3 years being common.

 

Funding is the major issue facing Burbank Housing, as with other nonprofit housing agencies. Burbank Housing is constantly exploring other sources of income such as bond issues which serve only for a limited period of time, as well as procuring a permanent base of funding at the state level, similar to the redevelopment fund money that was available up until approximately eight or nine years ago. There is work on developing a low income housing tax credit at the federal level, which might help to provide additional corporate source of funds for their programs.

 

Members wishing to learn more about Burbank housing development Corporation can visit their website at www. Burbank housing.org.