Supervisor Peskin introduces settlement framework with Academy of Art, promises affordable‑housing payments and reduced campus footprint

Supervisor Aaron Peskin introduced a package of documents Tuesday related to a proposed settlement with the Academy of Art, saying the agreement — negotiated by the City Attorney’s Office — would deliver “significant public benefits” including affordable‑housing payments, administrative penalties and commitments on future student housing while reducing the Academy’s footprint in the city.

Peskin, who has led council scrutiny of the Academy for years, praised City Attorney Dennis Herrera and staff for pursuing the litigation and said the settlement responds to community concerns that the institution had acquired and master‑leased housing stock historically used for low‑barrier stabilization beds.

“For quite a number of years … we have been wrestling with the Academy of Art,” Peskin said on the floor, adding the settlement would include “significant public benefits in the form of affordable housing payments, administrative penalties, and agreements relating to the future provision of student housing as well as reduced footprint of the academy within the city and county of San Francisco.”

Peskin thanked members of the City Attorney’s Office by name and said the matter would be submitted for the board’s consideration; he encouraged colleagues to cosponsor the documents. The package was introduced as new business during the meeting; no final vote or adoption occurred in the session recorded in the transcript.

Peskin’s remarks noted a history of oversight and earlier hearings on homelessness and stabilization beds, and he framed the settlement as an effort to recover community benefits and housing resources. Details of the proposed monetary amounts, specific legal terms and final approvals were not discussed on the record at the meeting.