Supervisors advance charter amendment to set aside funding for affordable housing, continue measure for final wording

The Board of Supervisors voted on Dec. 4 to approve an amendment of a proposed charter amendment that would dedicate 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value for affordable housing and to continue the measure one week for final drafting and scheduling.

Supervisor Daley introduced the charter amendment during the board's committee-of-the-whole hearing and moved an amendment of the whole to set affordability targets; Supervisor Mercarimi seconded the motion. The board adopted the amendment of the whole by voice vote. After an extensive public-comment period, Supervisor Daley made a separate motion, seconded by Supervisor Ammiano, to continue the item one week and return it to the committee of the whole on Dec. 11 for final action; that motion passed without objection.

Why it matters: The proposal would create a baseline annual appropriation by setting aside a dedicated portion of local property tax revenues for affordable housing for the next 15 years. Supporters said the funding stream would permit steady planning, acquisition and construction of housing for very low- and low-income households; opponents and some members urged further review of budgeting priorities and the measure's citywide fiscal effects.

Key points and the amendment passed

- Set-aside amount and duration: The proposed charter text would reserve two and one-half cents ($0.025) per $100 of assessed property value for 15 years for affordable housing purposes. Supervisor Daley said the set-aside would produce roughly $33 million a year under typical revenue assumptions.

- Income targeting: The amendment of the whole adopted on Dec. 4 establishes that of the units produced with new set-aside funds, 40% must be affordable to households at 30% of area median income (AMI) and below, and 60% must be affordable to households at 80% of AMI and below. Supervisor Daley described the 80% AMI band as "real working-class San Franciscans" and noted $64,267 as an illustrative four-person household threshold used in staff examples.

- Planning and public process: The proposal would require a citywide affordable-housing needs assessment and a three-year planning cycle to set priorities and guide allocations. Backers emphasized the public-participation requirements in the text.

Public comment and stakeholder views

The public-comment period was extensive: residents, tenant advocates, labor representatives, affordable-housing developers and service providers urged the board to place the measure on the ballot. Connie Ford, secretary-treasurer of Office and Professional Employees Local 3, said the measure would help working families who "cannot afford to live in the city." Representatives of community groups including Coleman Advocates, the San Francisco Organizing Project, Community Housing Partnership, and Chinatown Community Development Corporation described overcrowding, long waiting lists, and the displacement of longtime residents as reasons to adopt the amendment.

Some speakers asked the board to set clear safeguards so the new funding would not cause cuts to other essential city services; supporters said they planned to seek companion revenue measures and insisted they would protect other programs.

Next steps

Because the board adopted the amendment language on Dec. 4, members voted to continue the item one week for the clerk and city attorney to prepare final findings and the precise charter text for placement on the ballot. The board set a committee-of-the-whole session for Dec. 11 to take the next formal step.

What the text does not yet decide

The board's action so far approves the amendment language and the income targeting in principle and continues the item for final drafting. It does not yet (a) authorize a specific revenue measure to accompany the charter set-aside, (b) adopt implementing ordinances for administration of the new fund, or (c) commit the board to any particular ballot-placement financing vehicle beyond placing the charter question before voters after final drafting.

Speakers quoted in this report are identified by their names and roles as recorded in the meeting transcript.