Committee narrows interim-housing ordinance to specific hotels, forwards amended and duplicate files

The Land Use and Transportation Committee on March 17, 2025, approved amendments to an ordinance allowing hotels and motels to be used for interim housing and forwarded an amended version to the full Board of Supervisors as a committee report. The committee also prepared a duplicated file with additional amendments and continued that duplicated file to the call of the chair.

Emily Cohen of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing told the committee that, following prior hearings and community feedback, staff and the city attorney reworked language to make the ordinance’s scope explicit. Cohen read clarifying amendments into the record that narrow interim-housing authorization to a single listed site and three former shelter-in-place hotels. As read into the record, subsection C will authorize interim housing only at Block 3519, Lot 006 (the Civic Center Motor Inn). A separate amendment sets an eligibility date: a hotel or motel identified in subsection C and existing after April 1, 2025, may apply to establish interim housing pursuant to the code provision without losing its hotel or motel use. Cohen also read language allowing reestablishment of hotel or motel use for three specified parcels that had discontinued tourist-hotel use due to participation in the city’s shelter-in-place hotel program.

Committee members and community stakeholders, including Cynthia Gomez of Unite Here Local 2, said they worked with staff to ensure the language would not create unintended consequences for hotel workers or other hotels. The committee voted to adopt the set of clarifying amendments as read by Cohen, to send the original file (as amended) to the board with a positive recommendation as a committee report, and to apply a second set of amendments to the duplicated file that would authorize reestablishment of hotel use at certain former shelter-in-place hotels. The duplicated file, as amended, was continued to the call of the chair for further processing.

All recorded committee motions on this item passed by recorded voice votes of three ayes (Vice Chair Chen — I; Member Mokwa — I; Chair Melgar — I). Committee documents show the April 1, 2025, date is intended as an eligibility reference point and staff noted a targeted early-April service start at the Civic Center Motor Inn.

The committee’s actions forward both the amended original file for board consideration and a duplicated amended file for further planning review and return to committee.