Supervisor Preston announces Affordable Housing Accountability Act to make housing element goals enforceable

Supervisor Dean Preston on Tuesday announced the Affordable Housing Accountability Act, an ordinance intended to make San Francisco’s recently adopted 2022 Housing Element goals enforceable. The ordinance would provide a private right of action for nonprofit organizations to sue the city if it refuses or fails to take the steps needed to meet the housing element’s affordable-housing targets.

Preston said the housing element sets an aspirational but concrete production target — roughly 46,500 units of housing across income levels — and warned the city lacks a credible plan and urgency to meet the affordable portion of those goals. He described repeated delays by the mayor’s office in releasing Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) and in spending funds the board has appropriated for affordable housing. The proposed ordinance is designed as a tool of last resort, he said, and its intent is not to financially punish the city but to make compliance judicially enforceable if the executive branch refuses to act.

Why it matters: The housing element is a state-required plan that sets local housing production goals tied to state housing law. Supervisor Preston argues there are no meaningful consequences for failing to meet affordable-housing goals under the existing framework; his proposed ordinance would create a legal enforcement mechanism to hold the city accountable.

Key points from the presentation - The Housing Element 2022 update sets an ambitious affordable housing target (the number cited at the hearing was 46,500 units across categories). Preston said the city previously met roughly half of its targets in the last RHNA cycle and he worries a similar shortfall will occur without enforceable mechanisms. - The proposed ordinance would permit qualified nonprofits focused on affordable housing to file suit to compel city action when the executive branch fails to meet the housing element’s affordable production commitments. - Preston said the goal is not punitive: the ordinance aims to compel the city to take concrete steps (such as issuing NOFAs, land-banking and funding commitments) rather than to create a drain on city coffers. - Preston thanked City Attorney staff (Anne Pearson, Austin Yang and Audrey Pearson) who have assisted in drafting and legal analysis.

What’s next: Supervisor Preston said he will refine the ordinance language with the City Attorney and bring it forward for committee consideration. The board did not take a vote on the ordinance at the meeting; it was introduced and described to colleagues.

Quote - "Taking compliance out of the political realm and into the legal realm should that become necessary," Supervisor Dean Preston on the purpose of the proposed ordinance.

Ending: The announcement signals a potential shift toward legal enforcement of local housing commitments if the city’s executive branch does not accelerate funding and development actions needed to meet the housing element’s affordable-housing goals.