Committee adopts amendments to Family Housing Opportunity special‑use district and forwards ordinance to full Board

The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted to forward to the full Board an ordinance creating a Family Housing Opportunity special‑use district that would adjust density rules and add targeted tenant protections and notice requirements. The committee adopted a consolidated package of non‑substantive amendments offered by Chair Mirna Melgar and President Aaron Peskin before forwarding the file.

The measure would allow greater unit counts on certain lots in designated high‑resource areas while expressly protecting rent‑controlled units from streamlined demolition. Peskin and Melgar said the amendments clarify eligibility, add a “look‑back” penalty‑of‑perjury declaration for project sponsors about prior occupancy and buyouts, and preserve additional public notice when proposals would demolish rent‑controlled units. Peskin described the changes as preserving tenant protections while enabling added gentle density in parts of the city.

Speakers in the public record included tenant advocates urging more time and stronger safeguards against displacement, neighborhood groups concerned about notice and neighborhood character, and supporters who said careful amendments addressed many earlier concerns. Ken Fujioka of the San Francisco Tenant Union told the committee the package “protects existing tenants from displacement” by requiring public approval for demolitions of rent‑controlled housing.

The committee voted 3‑0 to adopt the amendments and to forward the ordinance with a positive committee recommendation. Supervisors said the file will continue to be shaped by planning commission review and follow‑up technical work; the committee duplicated the file to allow further drafting before final Board action.