PROGRESS REPORT

The Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition is a broad-based community coalition dedicated to expanding the accessibility and affordability of quality housing options in Santa Fe through long-term systemic change that benefits all residents. The coalition has come together to address the many issues currently impeding the affordability of housing for all who choose to live in Santa Fe. It is building an education, community engagement and advocacy infrastructure to leverage the voices and stories of individuals, businesses and institutions for the purpose of policy changes that support greater housing affordability and access for residents.

Accomplishments since the inception of SFHAC in February 2019: Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition works from an adopted policy platform which came out of the Mayor’s Working Group for Affordable Housing and Livable Neighborhoods.

In 2019, the coalition helped advocate for some of the first prohousing policy changes in over a decade, scoring two significant policy wins and being awarded a grant to work on system policy change over the next two years.

In June, the Santa Fe City Council adopted changes liberalizing the code governing accessory dwelling units (casitas), making them easier and less costly to build. The coalition helped turn out more than 100 pro-housing constituents, from all walks of life to show elected leaders that it’s time for action.

Throughout the fall, members of the coalition worked with the

Santa Fe Office of Affordable Housing to develop a long-term fix for the city’s Rental Inclusionary Housing Program, creating a solution to the fee-in-lieu option, which expired at the end of 2019. These changes will gradually raise the fee-in-lieu paid into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, while providing new incentives that will make it

easier for market-rate developers to include affordable units in their developments. Another important change will make it illegal for developers accepting affordable housing incentives to discriminate against people with housing vouchers.

What’s Next?

In December, the coalition was awarded a significant grant from a group of local foundations. Over the next two years, we will be working to create a permanent funding source for Santa Fe’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund at a minimum capitalization of $3 million a year. This is the single most impactful thing we could do as a community to support affordable housing. Stay tuned as we launch our campaign in early 2020. We hope you will join our work. To receive our newsletter or learn more about the coalition, visit santafehousingaction.org

The Coalition Steering Committee currently includes the following organizations:

• CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center

• Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce

• Santa Fe Area Homebuilders Association

• New Mexico Inter-faith Housing

• New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness

• The Housing Trust

• New Mexico Communities in Schools

• Santa Fe Public Schools

• Santa Fe Association of REALTORS

• ¡YouthWorks!

• Santa Fe Community College

• The Life Link

• Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity

• Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority

• Communities in Schools of New Mexico

• Homewise

• Youth Shelters and Family Services

• Presbyterian Medical Services

• St. Elizabeth’s Shelters and Supportive Housing

• Meow Wolf

Join us by signing up at santafehousingaction.org

You can support our work with a donation. Make checks out to Santa Fe Community Foundation, with “Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition” in the memo line or visit the foundation’s website at satafecf.org/ give-now. Under “Fund Search,” select ‘Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition.’ All donations are tax deductible.