Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tenant Protections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission backs ordinance closing tenant‑notice loophole for unit removals
Summary
The Commission recommended approval with staff modifications of an ordinance to require notice to all tenants — including occupants of units not on official records — when a property owner seeks to remove or demolish a dwelling unit. The measure passed unanimously.
The Planning Commission on Sept. 10 voted to recommend approval, with staff‑recommended modifications, of an ordinance sponsored by Supervisor Scott Wiener that would require property owners and project sponsors to notify all tenants when an owner proposes demolition or other work that would remove a dwelling unit, closing a loophole that currently lets some occupied unauthorized units go unnotified.
Andres Power, representing Supervisor Wiener, said the change responds to Board of Permit Appeals concerns and local cases in which tenants in unauthorized units received no notice and thus had little opportunity to respond or seek remedies. "These units and the people living in them don't receive notice ... Without notice, these tenants have basically very little recourse to push back," the Supervisor's representative said.
Planning Department staff supported the intent but asked for implementation clarifications: align the content and posting size with existing Section 3.11/3.12 posted notices, synchronize posted and mailed notice dates, and have the Planning Department manage the timing and cause the notices. Staff recommended technical edits that would make the new requirement consistent with existing notification practice.
The Commission voted, with a motion to adopt the staff modifications, to recommend approval. Commissioners urged attention to multilingual outreach and adequate enforcement of posting affidavits so that posted notices are verifiable.
What’s next: The Commission will forward its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for final legislative action. If adopted, the change would extend formal notice protections to tenants in unauthorized units who currently might not learn of demolition activity until late in the process.
