Board submits affordable-housing charter amendment to voters after unanimous committee backing

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 on Jan. 8 to submit a charter amendment creating an Affordable Housing Fund with a baseline appropriation and a dedicated set-aside to the November 2008 ballot.

Supervisor Daly, who introduced the measure, said it would combine local revenue with state and federal funding to build more affordable housing. "This is and remains the most pressing issue facing San Franciscans," Daly said during floor remarks, urging colleagues to support the item.

Supporters described the amendment as the largest local dedicated funding effort for affordable housing in U.S. municipal history. Supervisor Daly and other backers said the measure grew from months of work with community stakeholders, labor groups and the city's Sacramento delegation. "It is a good public policy and a best practice, to marry local revenue streams with state revenue streams, with federal revenue streams to build the affordable housing that we all know San Franciscans need," Daly said.

Several public speakers and organizations told the board they support placing the question before voters. Calvin Welch of the Housing Justice Coalition thanked the board for placing a "historic measure" on the ballot and noted San Francisco voters have repeatedly approved bonds, set-asides and taxes to fund civic priorities. Connie Ford, vice president of the San Francisco Labor Council, told supervisors that organized labor supports increasing affordable housing but asked that any measure not undermine the San Francisco General Hospital bond or result in layoffs.

Not all public commenters were supportive without reservation. Owners of below-market-rate units and tenants raised concerns about longstanding administrative problems at the Mayor's Office of Housing, including deed restriction enforcement, resale valuation rules and tracking of units. Laura Carroll, identifying herself as a below-market-rate unit owner, asked the board to require a committee to review and resolve the mayoral office's existing program administration before channeling new funds into the office.

On the floor, supervisors across ideological lines expressed support but emphasized the need to identify reliable revenue sources and address existing program administration issues. Supervisor Maxwell and others said there is time between now and the November ballot for further refinements and outreach to broaden support.

The board recorded an 8-3 roll call in favor of submitting the charter amendment to the ballot. The clerk announced "8 ayes and 3 noes" after the vote, and the item was transmitted for placement on the ballot.

The measure will now proceed through the elections process for the November 2008 ballot and will be accompanied by continued public outreach and technical work on revenue mechanisms and program administration.

Ending: The board's action sends the charter amendment to voters but does not itself allocate funds; further legislative or administrative steps will be required to implement a final funding structure if voters approve the measure.