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Committee backs expansion of childcare developer fee and option for family‑childcare units; amendments adopted
Summary
The committee unanimously accepted several amendments and forwarded a planning-code ordinance to increase and extend childcare impact fees to commercial and residential development, and to allow developers the option to dedicate on-site housing units for licensed family childcare, with projected additional revenue of roughly $5 million over 7–10 years.
The committee voted to forward to the full Board a planning-code amendment to expand and increase the childcare in‑lieu fee, extend the fee to office and hotel projects over specified square-foot thresholds, and to create an option allowing developers to dedicate on-site housing units for licensed family childcare in lieu of paying the fee.
Sponsor Supervisor Norman Yee said San Francisco has long underinvested in childcare facilities and that the proposed changes are intended to increase capacity. He cited a waiting list of about 3,500 children, licensed capacity covering roughly 42 percent of children of working parents, and an estimate that the fee changes could yield up to $5 million for the childcare facilities fund over seven to ten years.
Multiple childcare providers and nonprofit administrators spoke in support. Graham Dobson of the Office of Early Care & Education (OECE) described the childcare facilities fund and said the OECE endorses the ordinance; Candace Wong of the Low Income Investment Fund emphasized pipeline demand (roughly $10 million in projects in the near term and $36 million over three years). Providers recounted evictions, rent increases and operational difficulty for family childcare homes; speakers urged the committee to expand funding and allow on-site family childcare options to encourage smaller, lower-cost facilities.
Supervisor Yee explained amendments to address concerns about inclusionary housing set‑asides and minimum unit sizes for dedicated childcare units (a proposed 1,000‑square‑foot minimum for on‑site small family childcare units). Those amendments were accepted and the item was forwarded with a positive recommendation.
The measure now goes to the full Board. The committee asked departments to continue working on implementation details including licensing lead times and affordability qualifications for dedicated units.
