San Benito County on track to give locals preferential treatment for affordable housing.

"This ordinance is more than a housing policy, it's about keeping families and workers and seniors rooted here in San Benito county."

San Benito County is on track to be the first county in the region to give special priority to locals trying to get into affordable housing.

The Board of Supervisors is in favor of a local tenant preference ordinance, with a point system to make other characteristics stand out on affordable housing applications.

First of all, you have to live in the county.
Then, you get additional points for working in the county, being a teacher or agricultural worker, being displaced or disabled, being a senior citizen, or spending the majority of your income on rent.

Lots of people support the ordinance even if it doesn't apply to them. Some, however, think it could be a bigger help if the point system was more tiered, giving extra priority to those in the most dire need of housing.

“Homeless vets, for instance, you know, people who need any sort of, benefit and, you know, whatever gets them to qualify ahead of other people, especially when they particularly need it more than other people. I mean, I think they should be at the front of the line,” said new Hollister resident Andrew Penry.

And some wonder if the system could indirectly hurt folks who are just arriving to San Benito County.

“If you’re already living here than you already have an advantage and you already have a community here, and I do believe that it’s good that the people who have had history here get some privilege, but there are other people who are being pushed out into places like this who cannot afford what other people can afford here," said new Hollister resident Shenley Penry.

"Anything is better than what we have right now," said Hollister resident Nancy Welsh.

She's grateful the county is at least doing something to try to make it easier for folks to keep a roof over their heads.

"There's students that live in the car. We have single moms, we have people that work. The agricultural community are waiters. I we deserve a good place to live and to have, you know, decent living. And for everybody, it's a human right."

The board of supervisors largely agrees.

"This isn't going to solve everything, but it's just a little piece of it. Because we cannot simply build our way out of, affordable housing. And that's because we can't build enough supply to keep up with a seemingly endless demand, because we have demand from everywhere," said Supervisor Dom Zanger.

Supervisor Zanger… and Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki both justified the special treatment for county residents.

“Long time residents who lived here that have serious concerns about whether their children and their grandchildren are going to be able to live here and you build community by having generational, residential, communities. And we are in the process of losing that. We are in the process of losing our identity,” said Kosmicki.

The board will vote on the ordinance at a later meeting

That ordinance will be amended to include points for first responders, public safety and healthcare workers, as well as double points for veterans.

The ordinance is expected to pass that vote.