Issue Position: Improving Housing Affordability For All Residents

Issue Position

Reforming our approach to housing creation and housing affordability is a key priority for me. It's no secret that San Francisco, and the Bay Area as a whole, is a wonderful place to live. Our region has grown and will continue to grow, and we need local and regional solutions to address our housing shortage and escalating housing costs. For years in San Francisco, our housing production has failed to keep pace with population growth, we've put unnecessary restrictions on the kinds of housing that can be built, and we've made it way too hard and time-consuming to build affordable housing. These choices have driven rents and home prices to astronomical levels. We need to think differently about housing, and I work hard to do just that. We also need to do more to stabilize people in their housing during these challenging times, and this goal is a priority for me. Addressing our housing crisis requires a clear-eyed commitment to three approaches -- encouraging smart approaches to housing creation, building more affordable housing more quickly, and ensuring housing stability for existing residents.

Expediting the Construction of Affordable Housing

We need to do everything we can to build more affordable housing in San Francisco. It takes way too long to approve affordable housing projects, which are critical to the future of our city. To speed up this construction, I introduced legislation to exempt all 100% affordable housing projects from conditional use authorizations, which can add months on to the entitlement process and increase project costs, even if there is no opposition to the project. This legislation did not prevent neighbors from receiving notice of projects in their neighborhood and did not prevent anyone from seeking discretionary review of projects. Given our housing crisis and our need for affordable housing, this legislation was a common sense measure that will make it easier to build below-market rate housing.

Affordable Housing Density Bonus: Encouraging More Affordable Housing

I authored this legislation to relax density unit limits when at least 20% of a project's units are affordable. Many areas in San Francisco limit the number of units that can be built as part of a project based on the lot size. This limit discourages a developer from building a larger number of affordable units than required (12%), because for each affordable unit added, a market-rate unit must be eliminated. My legislation eliminates that disincentive by providing that if at least 20% of the units are affordable, the affordable units don't count against unit density limits. Thus, the developer can add more affordable units without eliminating market-rate units. The legislation does not change height or bulk limits.

Allowing New In-Law Units

In-law units are the most affordable type of non-subsidized housing, according to various studies. Because they tend to be modest in nature -- typically a converted garage, storage space, or basement -- they rent for less. Given the city's housing crisis, we need to look for new ways of creating affordable housing. Yet, San Francisco has historically been hostile to allowing in-law units. I authored multiple pieces of legislation relaxing density controls in order to allow for new in-law units, including in several neighborhoods I currently represent (Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, and Diamond Heights) and to allow for in-law units in any building undergoing seismic retrofit, in order to incentivize seismic retrofits while also incentivizing new housing. In each piece of in-law legislation, the units have to be within the existing envelope of the building, and if the building is rent-controlled the in-law units must be rent-controlled.

Short Term Rentals Enforcement Oversight Hearings

Vigorous enforcement of our short-term rental market is essential to effective regulation and ensuring public confidence that the city is enforcing the law against bad actors. I've initiated a series of quarterly oversight hearings on short-term rental enforcement to provide continuing, transparent public oversight for city enforcement efforts. This will ensure that the recently enacted short-term rental law is being robustly enforced and that illegal and abusive rentals are being shut down promptly.

Creating More Housing Along Transit Corridors

I authored several pieces of legislation to allow for more housing along transit corridors. New housing should be focused along transit-corridors in order to pair up housing and public transportation and make it easier for people to use transit.

Good Samaritan Rental Ordinance: Helping Displaced Tenants

This legislation I authored fixed a quirk in the rent control ordinance that made it impossible for landlords to enter into temporary leases with tenants who have been displaced by fires, earthquakes, or other disasters and who are looking for temporary units while their units are being fixed. Supported by both tenant and landlord groups, it allows landlords to enter into temporary one-year leases (with a one-year possible renewal) with tenants who have been displaced by disasters as long as the rent charged is no more than 10% above what the tenant had been paying previously. The goal is for tenants then to return to their original units once the units are fixed. Many landlords had been hesitant to provide temporary housing because full, long-term rent control automatically attached. This legislation removes that hesitance and encourages landlords to help tenants in need.

Student Housing Legislation: Creating Housing for Students

We have numerous educational institutions in San Francisco and tens of thousands of students who require housing. Yet, for a long time, we didn't have a student housing policy. As a result, students are often left to fend for themselves in San Francisco's expensive housing market, increasing demand and raising rents. In addition, some educational institutions purchase or lease apartment buildings and convert them to exclusive student housing, which reduces the supply of apartments for San Francisco's general population. I authored legislation to provide incentives to educational institutions to build their own student housing and to ban most conversion of apartments to exclusive student housing.

Small Studios Legislation: Allowing Both Large Housing Units and Small Units

One way to address our housing crisis is to allow greater flexibility in the kinds of housing we build. I authored legislation allowing for smaller studios amending our building code to conform San Francisco's minimum size for an efficiency unit to the state minimum: 220 square feet, comprised of 150 square feet of living space and 70 square feet total when kitchen, bathroom, and closet are included. This state standard was already in place in San Jose and other California cities, as well as Seattle. Although small efficiencies aren't for everyone, they can be an option for people who don't need much space or who can't afford much. They can be particularly helpful for communal housing, such as senior housing, student housing, transition-age youth housing, and so forth.

LGBT Access to Affordable Housing

The city has a robust affordable housing program, but many people don't know about it or think much about getting onto wait lists for housing. The LGBT community has significant affordable housing needs, and there isn't sufficient awareness in the community. I obtained funding for a program to expand awareness in the community. That program is now in place.

Ensuring Tenants Have Notice of Unit Demolitions

Tens of thousands of San Francisco residents live in housing units that are technically illegal. Many have lived in these units, and paid rent, for a very long time. Current city law allows landlords to obtain demolition permits for these illegal units without providing any notice to tenants residing in those units. As a result, a tenant may not learn of the demolition permit until it is too late to challenge it. I authored legislation to require notice to tenants in all units, not just legal units, before any demolition permit is issued.

Increasing the Supply of Moderate Income Housing

I've focused on how we can create more income affordable to those in the middle class, and a number of pieces of legislation I authored move us in this direction. I also conducted a hearing focused on the City's failure to produce this kind of housing. Our middle class has shrunk, and housing affordability is a significant contributor to this trend. Lack of housing affordable to middle class people is one of the largest inhibitors of job creation in San Francisco.

Embracing Historic Preservation and Taking Smart Approaches

San Francisco treasures its historic resources. We're also a city that is constantly evolving. I've been a leader on historic preservation issues - embracing the best of our city's historic architecture while embracing new types of architecture and the need for change:

I authored legislation creating a new historic district -- immediately north of Duboce Park -- which was the first new historic district in San Francisco in a decade. This beautiful district is one of the most intact set of Victorians in San Francisco.
I authored legislation landmarking the Twin Peaks Tavern which was the first gay bar in the country to have windows visible from the street. It is thus a symbol of the LGBT community's coming out.
I authored legislation updating San Francisco's historic preservation codes for the first time in more than 40 years. This update, among other things, takes new approaches to historic preservation, such as conducting a ballot among residents to determine whether they want to establish a historic district in their neighborhood.
I authored long overdue legislation to make it easier for small home owners to access state historic tax credits to help restore and maintain the historic integrity of their homes. Under state law -- the Mills Act -- owners of historic homes are able to enter into contracts with local governments, in which they agree to strict maintenance responsibilities for their homes in exchange for tax benefits. For many years, San Francisco did a poor job implementing this process, and we had almost no Mills Act contracts because our process was expensive, lengthy, unpredictable, and cumbersome. My legislation streamlined the process and made it less expensive, faster, and more predictable to enter into a Mills Act contract with the City.

Ensuring Disabled Access in Housing

I authored legislation to allow for exceptions to the Planning Code to ensure that people with disabilities are able to make changes to their homes necessary to have access to their housing.

Improving Code Reform

Making our buildings safe and habitable is good for our residents and our neighborhoods. The Board of Supervisors approved my legislation to improve building safety by reforming San Francisco's code enforcement process.

My code reform legislation strengthens the City's ability to locate serial violators, while helping those who want to correct violations but cannot afford to do so. The law grants the City Attorney the power to take action against serious code violators without waiting for departments to refer cases, and creates a unified code enforcement process across all our city departments to improve coordination and accountability. The law also creates a Code Enforcement Revolving Loan Fund, which provides low interest loans to qualifying small property owners to bring buildings up to code, and establishes a unified code enforcement process among those departments responsible for building safety. Additionally, the law reduces accountability gaps by establishing a monthly reporting requirement for all departments.

Corona Heights Monster Home Legislation

I authored legislation requiring additional scrutiny and approvals for dramatic home expansions in the Corona Heights neighborhood.

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