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Commission backs proposal to limit large hotel‑to‑condo conversions, staff suggests tighter definitions
Summary
Planning staff and advocacy groups urged limiting condominium or fractional ownership of large tourist hotel rooms to protect the city’s pool of committable rooms for conventions; staff recommended clarifying definitions, unit‑merger loopholes and an adopted hotel room inventory; the commission endorsed staff changes and will forward recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.
Staff presented an ordinance proposed by Supervisor Aaron Peskin to restrict conversions of large tourist hotels to condominiums or timeshares to preserve a stock of committable hotel rooms needed to attract large conventions.
The draft ordinance would limit conversions by requiring commission review and capping the initial two‑year conversions at 500 rooms citywide or require proof that converted units do not function as de facto long‑term housing (for example, confirmed occupancy less than 30 consecutive days per year). Staff advised closing potential loopholes (unit‑mergers to drop below the regulated threshold), establishing an agreed hotel inventory at adoption, and using a conditional‑use process with monitoring and an annual limit system similar to condominium lotteries.
Unite Here Local 2 warned that conventions drive a large portion of visitor spending and that committed room inventory — the ability to block book thousands of rooms — depends on large hotels with 100+ rooms. The union and staff cited recent experiences in which convention bookings (Oracle OpenWorld) required city intervention.
Commissioners questioned definitions and enforcement mechanisms (ownership vs. use), and asked staff to prepare definitions for timeshare/fractional ownership and unit merger rules. The commission voted to forward the ordinance language with staff’s five recommended modifications for Board consideration and further refinement.
