City establishes new housing department to address community’s growing and diversified housing needs
Mountain View, Calif. — City Manager Kimbra McCarthy is pleased to announce the promotion of Wayne Chen as the City of Mountain View’s first Housing Director in the newly formed Housing Department. Chen currently serves as the City’s Assistant Director of Community Development. Chen’s first day as Housing Director is Monday, July 10.
“I am extremely pleased to promote Wayne Chen as Mountain View’s first Housing Director,” said McCarthy. “Wayne has a demonstrated commitment to our community and he is widely recognized throughout the region for his experience leading significant and complex housing projects. He has also been instrumental in advancing Council’s strategic priority towards ‘Intentional Development and Housing Options.’ His innovative mindset and creativity in finding housing solutions, especially for affordable housing, will serve the City and Housing staff well in the years to come as we build a new Housing Department and advance the ambitious projects in the City’s Housing Element.”
"It is a privilege to have the opportunity to serve Mountain View as the City’s first Housing Director under the newly formed Housing Department,” said Chen. “The City – like the region – continues to have a diverse range of housing needs that need immediate and long-term responses. As a Housing Department, the City will have an enhanced ability to respond to those needs. It is incredible to work in a city with the type of leadership and support for affordable housing as provided by the City Council, the City Manager’s Office and the community.”
With the adoption of the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Recommended Budget, the City formed a new Housing Department to address the resources needed to implement both existing programs and new initiatives to be responsive to a wide range of housing needs of the community. The department will be directly involved in 22 work plan projects related to the implementation of the 2023-31 Housing Element. Other significant priorities for the department will include advancing a displacement response strategy, developing an asset management system/program to monitor and track the City’s rapidly expanding affordable housing supply, expanding Housing’s legislative efforts in coordination with the City’s legislative team, and further integrating the City’s Race, Equity and Inclusion planning into the Housing Department’s work.
Since joining the City, Chen has overseen a significant increase in the number of existing and planned affordable housing units. In 2016, there were approximately 1,200 affordable units in Mountain View. Today, there are over 1,800 units, representing a 50% increase. Over the next five years, there is an anticipated pipeline of 12 fully affordable housing projects and several “below market rate” projects, comprising over 1,700 units, which would nearly double the number of such units once all projects are completed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chen led the creation of the City’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Program, the negotiations and entitlement for a 120-unit mixed-use affordable project in downtown Mountain View on a City-owned parking lot (“Lot 12”), an $80 million funding partnership with Santa Clara County, and the first interim housing project in California called LifeMoves Mountain View through the State Project Homekey program which received the Urban Land Institute Americas Awards for Excellence in 2022.
Chen joined the City in 2016 as the Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager in the Community Development Department (CDD). In 2018, he was promoted to Assistant Director in which he oversaw the City’s housing programs including the Below Market Rate housing program, the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) program for the development of 100 percent affordable housing projects, the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) programs, and the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (CSFRA) and Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance (MHRSO). Chen also served as interim Planning Manager and Housing Manager during periods of staff transition as well as led CDD’s annual budget process. Prior to his Mountain View positions, Chen was with the City of San José Housing Department for nine years in positions of increasing responsibility including as Division Manager overseeing policy, the federal grants program and the rent stabilization program. Chen has a master’s degree in public policy from University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard University. Chen’s annual starting salary is $262,000.
Photo of Wayne Chen
About the City of Mountain View
Located between the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay, Mountain View is a diverse community with an estimated population of 83,601. Mountain View covers just over 12 square miles, featuring over 1,000 acres of park and wildlife areas including the 750-acre wildlife and recreation area called Shoreline at Mountain View. In the heart of Silicon Valley, Mountain View is home to a vibrant downtown and headquarters to many nationally and internationally known corporations including Google, LinkedIn, Intuit and NASA’s Ames Research Center. For more information, visit MountainView.gov.
Media Contacts
Lenka Wright, Chief Communications Officer, 650-903-6615 or Lenka.Wright@mountainview.gov
