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San Francisco committee approves amendment to temporarily bar COVID‑related commercial evictions
Summary
The Land Use and Transportation Committee on Nov. 16 amended and unanimously forwarded an ordinance to temporarily restrict landlords from evicting commercial tenants for nonpayment due to COVID‑19, clarifying that certain small ("tier 1") tenants who terminate leases would not be liable for remaining rent.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Nov. 16 to amend and forward an ordinance that would temporarily limit landlords’ ability to evict commercial tenants for rent unpaid because of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
The measure, read into the record by the clerk as Item 1, was continued from a prior meeting for amendment. Chair Aaron Peskin said the committee would adopt a non‑substantive clarification to the ordinance’s tier definitions and a technical change fixing the date used to determine full‑time‑equivalent employee counts.
Peskin, chair of the committee, described a key part of the legislation addressing lease termination for small tenants. "If you are a tier 1 commercial tenant and elect to terminate your contract, the intent of this legislation is that you would not be liable for remaining rent under your lease agreement," Peskin said, adding that the lease would be "deemed terminated without penalty or future liability." The committee voted 3–0 to adopt the non‑substantive amendment.
During public comment, Calvet Ramadan, who said he and his family own Sunrise Deli, told the committee they closed a downtown location in March and have been unable to reach a compromise with their landlord. "This business is our lifeline," Ramadan said, describing mounting debt and urging supervisors to pass protections for small businesses.
After adopting the amendment, the committee voted 3–0 to send the item as amended with a positive recommendation to the full Board of Supervisors for a hearing scheduled Nov. 17. Clerk Bridal Major earlier outlined remote‑meeting procedures and public‑comment instructions; the clerk also noted items acted on today were expected to appear on the Board agenda of Dec. 1 unless otherwise stated.
The ordinance as described would temporarily restrict eviction for commercial tenants who did not pay rent due to the COVID‑19 pandemic and clarifies the treatment of small (tier 1) businesses and the employee‑counting date (dated to Nov. 1, 2020). The committee’s action was procedural: it adopted a clarifying amendment and forwarded the ordinance for full Board consideration; no final Board action occurred at this meeting.
