Committee advances affordable housing bond process after hours of testimony; items continued for amendments

The Budget & Finance Committee on June 6 heard an extended public record and staff presentations on a proposed affordable housing general obligation bond that the Mayor's Office and BLA described as up to $500 million (with discussion of an additional $100 million made available for a possible $600 million total).

Dan Goncher, Budget and Legislative Analyst, summarized Files 19‑0501/19‑0495 and laid out the proposed uses and repayment estimates: $150 million for public housing rehabilitation, $210 million for low‑income housing (up to 80% AMI), $30 million for preservation (for households at 30–120% AMI), $20 million for middle‑income housing opportunities, and $90 million for senior housing. The BLA estimated 20‑year repayment of approximately $897 million (including $397 million in interest) and an estimated additional property tax for a residence assessed at $500,000 of about $777.43 per year.

Kate Hartley, director of the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, described intended uses—predevelopment, land acquisition, preservation, down‑payment assistance for teachers and middle‑income households, and new construction—and said stakeholder working groups set categories and that the administration had identified an additional $100 million under discussion that would raise the available amount to $600 million.

Public comment spanned dozens of speakers and organizational endorsements. Testimony consistently urged the supervisors to prioritize deeply affordable and supportive housing, senior housing targeted at extremely low income seniors (many speakers cited seniors on SSI/SSDI), preservation of SROs and rent‑controlled units, acquisition of larger buildings to remove them from speculative markets, a recurring five‑year bond cadence, and specific set‑asides for teacher/educator housing and public housing transformation (Sunnydale and Potrero). Community organizations and service providers (including Senior and Disability Action, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, Community Housing Partnership, Mission Housing Development Corporation, Hamilton Families, Chinatown Community Development Center and others) offered operational perspectives and expressed willingness to help run a campaign to pass the measure.

Supervisors and staff acknowledged the volume of public input and the need for further technical adjustments. President Norman Yee moved to continue Items 4 and 5 to the next Budget Committee meeting (June 13) to allow for amendments and additional work with the Mayor's office; the motion was seconded and taken without objection.

Next steps: Committee continuance to June 13 to adopt agreed amendments and finalize allocations and any labor or programmatic agreements before forwarding to the Board and, subsequently, to the voters.