Land Use Committee forwards Prop. 10 resolution to full board after amendments

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee on Sept. 24 advanced a resolution endorsing state Proposition 10, the Affordable Housing Act, to the full board as amended and without a committee recommendation.

Supervisor Matt Peskin, the resolution’s author, framed the measure around statewide displacement and cited a recent UC Berkeley Haas Institute summary that ‘‘California is at a tipping point’’ with ‘‘skyrocketing rents’’ and ‘‘intensifying threats of eviction,’’ arguing local governments need authority to protect tenants. Supervisor London Breed and Supervisor Jane Kim and other members exchanged questions about how local rent‑control rules would apply to single‑family homes and new construction.

The committee adopted two amendments before forwarding the resolution. The first amendment, adopted on a roll‑call vote (Safaie aye; Kim no; Tang aye), affirms that single‑family homes should be exempt from local rent control. The second amendment, adopted unanimously, requires that any application of rent control to new construction be adopted only after an economic analysis from the Controller’s office. After the split on the first amendment, the item was sent to the full board ‘‘as amended without recommendation,’’ as moved by Supervisor Kim following a suggestion from Supervisor Peskin.

Public testimony was strongly in favor of the resolution. Dozens of speakers representing tenants’ groups, community organizations and labor urged the committee to support repeal of the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act so cities could consider stricter local protections. Tess Welborn told the committee San Francisco ‘‘is a pro‑rent control city’’ and urged the supervisors to forward the resolution. Lorraine Petty of Senior and Disability Action argued Costa Hawkins has ‘‘taken away our rights to correct’’ runaway rent increases. Several speakers described personal displacement and homelessness tied to rising rents.

Supervisors and staff repeatedly emphasized the resolution is a policy statement and does not itself change local rent control law; it would permit local debate and potential local ordinances only if voters approve Prop. 10. Supervisors also discussed possibilities such as a rolling effective date for any rules applying to newly constructed housing.

The full Board of Supervisors will take up the amended resolution at a future meeting. The committee record shows the split on the single‑family amendment and the requirement for Controller review will be matters for further deliberation at the board level.