Planning Commission backs Ellis Act housing preference, adds three‑year review

The San Francisco Planning Commission on Nov. 21 recommended approval of an ordinance that would give priority in some city affordable‑housing lotteries to tenants displaced under the state Ellis Act, voting unanimously to send the measure to the Board of Supervisors with a requirement that the program be reviewed after three years.

Planning staff described the proposal, introduced by Supervisor David Chu, as a targeted response to a sharp increase in Ellis Act withdrawals. Sophie Hayward of the Planning Department said the draft ordinance would give displaced tenants who lived in a unit at least 10 years (or five years for tenants with a life‑threatening illness) a temporary preference: six years of eligibility for new developments and three years for resale or rerental units as originally drafted, and up to 20 percent of units in a new development could be reserved for the preference.

Amy Chan, a legislative aide to Supervisor Chu, told commissioners the office designed the six‑year period for new projects because of long lead times to bring new affordable buildings online and said the intent is to give displaced tenants time to access housing opportunities. "We believe a longer time period is necessary to allow displaced tenants to access these housing opportunities," Chan said, noting the program targets households facing particularly urgent displacement.

Advocates and service providers pressed the commission to approve relief for Ellis‑evicted households. Gen Fujioka of Chinatown Community Development Center and Tyler McMillan of the Eviction Defense Collaborative described seniors and disabled residents among those most affected. "This is a particularly unique crisis to the folks that get Ellis notices," McMillan said, calling the preference an "innovative, targeted, measured solution."

Planning staff recommended three modifications to the draft ordinance: shorten the new‑development eligibility from six years to three years; cap applicability at 20 percent for both new developments and resales/rerentals; and require a committee review by the Board of Supervisors after three years. Staff framed the proposed preference as an emergency response to a volatile housing situation that should be time‑limited and reviewed.

Commissioners debated the tradeoffs at length. Some members supported the longer six‑year time frame to account for long project pipelines; others said three years would be a sufficient, time‑sensitive solution as long as displaced tenants must indicate intent to use the preference sooner. Rent Board Director Darlene Wolfe and staff from the Mayor’s Office of Housing joined the hearing to explain operational details, including when the preference would take effect (upon filing a notice of intent to withdraw under the Ellis Act) and how buyouts would not be covered because those are not routed through the Rent Board’s filing system.

After public comment and deliberation, the commission approved a motion to recommend the ordinance with an added three‑year review by the Board of Supervisors and with the other staff‑proposed safeguards. The motion passed unanimously, 6–0.

Next steps: The recommendation goes to the Board of Supervisors for committee consideration and potential revision. The city will be responsible for setting administration rules, including how displaced applicants are certified and how the preference will be integrated into existing lottery and marketing systems.