Rules Committee hears mayoral initiative to change Proposition M office-allocation rules; opponents call it a 'poison pill'

Supervisor Hillary Ronan’s Rules Committee on Nov. 4, 2019 heard a mayoral initiative that would change how Proposition M governs annual office allocations in order to open opportunities for affordable housing and small-business priorities.

Ken Rich, deputy from the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, told the committee the proposal responds to an unusual pipeline imbalance: "There are currently over 7,000,000 square feet of office development that are asking for approval in the pipeline, and only about 5,000,000 square feet projected over the next 5 years allocation available in that same period." He said the measure would (1) raise the small-cap threshold to 100,000 square feet, (2) permit office space legally converted or demolished since 1986 to be recaptured into a new priority reserve (estimates of lost space range from 1.4 million to 1.8 million square feet), and (3) create an affordable housing and small-business priority reserve from which projects that include specified community benefits could request allocations.

Why it matters: Rich argued the changes would accelerate…