Rules Committee forwards 15‑year affordable‑housing charter amendment to full board amid administration concerns

The San Francisco Rules Committee on Friday heard several hours of testimony on a proposed charter amendment that would establish a baseline appropriation for housing and create a 15‑year set‑aside equal to 2.5 cents on each $100 of assessed property value to fund new affordable housing programs.

Sponsor Supervisor Daly told the committee the measure is intended to preserve an existing baseline (cited at roughly $88 million) and generate an estimated $33–$34 million in the first full year from the proposed set‑aside. Under the amendment’s programming language, 40% of new units funded by the set‑aside would be targeted to households at or below 30% of San Francisco’s median income (the sponsor noted roughly $24,100 for a family of four at that level), another 40% at up to 60% of median income (about $48,200 for a family of four), and up to 20% for homeownership, community land trusts, public‑housing repair and related activities.

Representatives of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and the Mayor’s budget office described the administration’s concerns. A senior housing official (referred to in the record as Mr. Franklin, Mayor’s Office of Housing) said the administration supports affordable housing but warned that the baseline concept reduces budget flexibility, could lock line items and raise questions about operating subsidies needed for very‑low‑income units. Sue Wong of the Mayor’s budget office said discretionary general‑fund capacity is limited (the office cited about $1.1 billion of truly discretionary spending in a roughly $6 billion budget) and estimated that adopting the charter amendment would increase voter‑approved baselines from roughly 26% to about 28% of general‑fund revenues — about a $122.1 million increase in set‑aside obligations — which could constrain other services unless revenue offsets are identified.

Multiple community organizations, tenant advocates and resident speakers urged supervisors to move the measure forward, saying the city needs a stable revenue stream to build family‑sized units and preserve economic and racial diversity. Speakers representing neighborhood groups, disability advocates and housing justice organizations emphasized the amendment’s income targeting, two‑bedroom requirement for many units, and a community planning/priority‑setting process tied to the set‑aside.

Committee deliberations included a debate over timing (whether to place the measure on the June or November ballot), the need for broad coalition building to maximize a ballot outcome, and technical questions about whether the baseline freezes line‑item spending or only the aggregate level of housing appropriations; Supervisor Daly and other supporters said the baseline protects existing commitments while still allowing programmatic flexibility through the annual affordable housing plan process.

After discussion and extended public comment, the committee voted to forward the charter amendment to the full Board of Supervisors as a committee report without recommendation, enabling further amendments at the full board and additional review by the budget analyst and city attorney. Committee members asked administration staff to supply outstanding technical details and analyses for the full‑board consideration.

Next steps: the item will be placed on the full board agenda as a committee report; staff follow‑up will include additional budget and implementation analysis and confirmation of ballot timing and any needed companion revenue measures.