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Supervisors press MOHCD to simplify BMR applications and fix language-access problems
Summary
Supervisor Jane Kim’s follow-up hearing on below-market-rate housing found progress on a single Dahlia application and translation efforts but persistent on-site language-access failures and inconsistent developer practices; MOHCD promised translated materials, training and monitoring and the committee continued the item for further work.
Supervisor Jane Kim opened a hearing on below-market-rate (BMR) policies and procedures, pressing the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) to simplify applications, provide translations into Chinese, Tagalog and Spanish, and standardize tenant-selection and marketing procedures after earlier problems were reported.
Maria Benjamin of MOHCD said the department oversees roughly 3,300–3,400 affordable units in its portfolio and has worked on a single short BMR application (four pages) and the Dahlia online tool for listings, applications and lotteries. Benjamin said the listing page is live, the application and lottery pages are coming soon, and MOHCD is working with contractors and stakeholders to standardize marketing and tenant-selection guidance. She described new hotlines in multiple languages and secret-shopping and developer-training plans to improve on-site behavior.
Community groups and service providers gave sustained testimony that translated applications and multilingual assistance were often unavailable at developer leasing offices; many reported applicants told to "go to the back of the line" when they could not communicate in English. Speakers from advocacy groups, housing counselors and neighborhood organizations urged stronger enforcement, clearer signage, on-site bilingual staffing, and a monitoring committee.
MOHCD told the committee it has already instituted several changes — a short unified application, language translation work, outreach lists for developers, and monitoring of applicant denials — and said it would update the procedures manual and release more explicit requirements in the next manual cycle. Supervisor Kim and advocates asked that community groups be included in that update process and recommended a monitoring committee and stronger enforcement language for developers that fail to provide language access.
The committee continued the item to a future meeting so staff can complete manual updates and engage community stakeholders on enforcement and monitoring mechanisms.
Next steps: MOHCD to finalize Dahlia application/lottery pages, complete translations, implement training and hotline procedures, and work with community groups on a procedures manual and monitoring plan ahead of the continued hearing.
