Committee continues proposed nonprofit leasing policy for city-owned facilities

The Government Operations Committee on Sept. 16 continued consideration of a proposed nonprofit leasing policy that would formalize how the city leases property to nonprofits, require community-benefit documentation and require nonprofits to pay for inspections on whole-building leases. The proposal matters because the city currently has more than 140 nonprofit leases, many of them expired or in holdover status, and the policy would standardize terms, reporting and lease lengths while adding new requirements for prospective lessees. Albert Griego of the City Attorney—s office and Lisa Schechter of the General Services Department presented the proposal. Griego said the policy would require nonprofits to submit an annual report of services provided, fund inspection services when leasing an entire building, and set a standard lease term of five years, with terms up to 15 years when significant capital improvements are made. Griego said there are over 140 nonprofit leases, of which 41 are expired or in holdover status and 43 were "on progress" at the time of presentation. The policy would apply only to new or renewed leases. Council members raised implementation questions. Council member Jurado asked how many nonprofits participated in outreach; Griego said a December mailing and a May question-and-answer session drew more than 50 nonprofit attendees. Jurado pressed whether the community-benefits analysis (CBA) could be simplified for small nonprofits; Griego and CAO representative Delilah Pucci said the CAO conducts the CBA and walks nonprofits through the process, noting the office aims to capture both direct and indirect costs of service delivery and that exemptions may be considered case by case. Members also questioned staffing and proactive inventory management. Griego and Lisa Schechter said GSD reviews nonprofit leases but that prioritization historically focuses on payable commercial leases and department space requests; nonprofits are reviewed as resources permit. Schechter said some holdover leases persist because of staffing limits and that the policy includes an amendment allowing GSD and the municipal facilities committee to consider exemptions case by case. A committee member said the approach felt reactive and encouraged GSD and the CAO to proactively review underused city properties to identify potential nonprofit space before leasing requests arrive. After debate, the committee voted to continue item 3 for additional work and follow-up with staff. The continuation means staff will return with clarified outreach results, options for reducing administrative burden on small nonprofits, and proposed staffing or procedural changes to accelerate review of holdover leases.