Tom Ammiano Position Paper: Housing

November 21, 1999

San Francisco is in the midst of an enormous housing crisis. Evictions are up 300%. Rents have tripled in the last four years. Longtime San Franciscans, young families, working parents, people of color and seniors are being driven out. We all know how distant the dream of owning a home has become for even middle-income renters. And we wonder why homelessness has skyrocketed.

We need an administration that brings back balanced economic and community development and harnesses growth to benefit the entire community. This cannot become a City where large real estate speculators and corporate interests are in the driver's seat. How we respond to the housing crisis will determine whether we preserve the economic and cultural diversity of the City.

As Mayor, I will:

1. Protect the Rights of Tenants in Rent Controlled Units
During this period of real estate speculation, we must preserve rent control. Rent-controlled units on the private market represent the vast majority of affordable units in the City. While small landlords are understandably frustrated by bureaucracy and regulation, the Rent Stabilization Ordinance allows pricing of empty units at market rates, permitting more than adequate cost-recovery.

As Mayor, I will:

Pursue equitable reform of capital improvement rent increase pass-throughs
I will seek concessions from both small landlords and tenants to end the current debate over tenant pass-throughs of capital improvements. There have been recent abuses of the capital improvement provisions in the Rent Ordinance, resulting in monthly increases that have forced out tenants on fixed incomes. I will seek to end the political infighting over this issue which has held recent bonds like Laguna Honda hostage.

Appoint both tenants and small landlords to City boards and commissions

Focus attention on improving living conditions for families living in privately owned housing
With high rents and low vacancy rates, many families and elderly San Franciscans are afraid to complain about poor living conditions and code violations for fear of retaliatory eviction. I will expand code enforcement outreach, citation and (if necessary) prosecution of non-compliant landlords. We must protect the health and safety of children, parents, and seniors.

Reduce the loss of affordable housing stock through hotelization
I will work with the Board of Supervisors to stop the conversion of permanent rental housing to short-term corporate rental suites for visiting employees to use as hotel rooms.

2. Make the Production and Preservation of Affordable Housing the Top Priority
Increasing housing opportunities that are affordable for San Franciscans of low and moderate incomes is a civic obligation to local residents who make up the foundation of our culture and economy. San Francisco currently has the worst of both worlds: market forces that give no consideration to the broader needs of the community and out-of-date regulation that interferes with development of housing of every type.

As Mayor, I will:

Direct the Relevant Agencies to Immediately Develop and Implement Affordable Housing Expansion Strategies
The Planning Department, Mayor's Office of Housing, the Redevelopment Agency and other relevant government agencies will be given heightened direction to increase housing opportunities for the City's current residents. Under the Ammiano administration, they will be given the charge of coming up with 1 and 5 year plans, within six months, for increasing the City's housing stock. Push forward alternative affordable housing development strategies such as land banking and limited equity co-ops.

Evaluate the Current Housing Inventory and Project Future Needs.
To inform the strategic planning process, I will direct the Planning Department to assess all current housing availability, including rental units and owned units; market rate, affordable, and legal and illegal in-law units; residential hotels; public housing; federally-subsidized housing; and homeless shelters.

I will also direct the Department to analyze properties with potential for housing including vacant and underdeveloped lots, burnt-out residential hotels and underused public land owned by City, State and Federal entities. The Department will work with regional agencies to develop an accurate projection of housing needs within the broader context of the regional economy and population growth.

Review and Reform Current Planning Guidelines that Stifle Increased Housing.
I will direct the Planning Department to report on Planning Code changes that will increase new housing in ways that are not detrimental to neighborhood character. I will promote a neighborhood-driven planning process to consider increasing density along established transit corridors in the eastern half of the City and implement the State statute that gives a "density bonus" to developments that set aside 25% of units for low income residents.

Establish Comprehensive Neighborhood-Based Planning
Under the current administration, City planning priorities have been shifted almost entirely toward permit approval, depriving San Francisco of a strategy for appropriate growth and integration of housing with public transportation.
The Ammiano administration will revive the City's long-range planning function, producing neighborhood master plans with extensive participation by local residents and merchants. These plans will speed housing creation by reducing the uncertainty and expense for developers who wish to build housing. Fees for use of the area-wide environmental impact report will fund future planning activities.

Streamline the Permitting Process
The Ammiano administration will coordinate the permit processing and record-keeping of the Department of Building Inspection and the Planning Department, improving the approval and environmental review process for both the neighborhoods and developers, particularly non-profit developers. Neighborhood concerns will be accommodated before individual permit applications through Neighborhood Master Environmental Impact Reports. Public input will still be encouraged at scheduled hearings of relevant commissions.

Integrate Development, Planning and Financial Functions
I will integrate the development, investment and planning functions of the Redevelopment Agency, the Mayor's Office of Housing and the Planning Department to maximize efficient use of capital and facilitate integrated urban design. I will continue leveraging local money from Prop A and other sources to attract state and federal and private sector funds.

Tom's Track Record

Working with the local HUD office, the Housing Authority, the Rent Board and housing experts, Tom passed first-of-its kind legislation nationwide that extends eviction protections and rent control to federally-subsidized buildings whose for-profit owners attempt to opt out of their very-low income housing contracts. This legislation is the major local protection standing in the way of loss of potentially thousands of low-income housing units.

Tom worked with many of the same parties to shine the spotlight on Washington D.C. mandated rent caps for federally-subsidized housing vouchers (for use in the private market) that were well below prevailing market rates for housing. Due to Tom's advocacy and the work of the regional HUD office, these rent caps have recently been increased, allowing low-income residents and AIDS patients to actually find apartments in the City.

Tom is leading the fight at the Board of Supervisors to impose affordable housing requirements and full school impact development fees on the handful of live/work projects that are still awaiting Planning approval.

3. Protect the Rights of Tenants in Subsidized Housing
Thirty thousand San Franciscans live in publicly subsidized housing. Attempts to convert HUD subsidized housing to market rate could decimate the City's low income housing stock. Furthermore, while renovation of public housing is welcome, the HUD Hope VI program has led to large numbers of people being displaced from San Francisco.

Two major public housing developments that have been demolished are at least three years behind schedule to be rebuilt. With several more demolitions planned for the coming years, this program, unless fixed, will continue to escalate the housing crisis in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area.

As Mayor, I will:

Ensure resident participation in the drafting of one and five year plans required by the federal Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998

Call for an independent audit of the Hope VI program
Public housing residents deserve a full accounting to ascertain how HUD funds have been expended and how they can be used more efficiently. To increase resident confidence in the HOPE VI process, I will ensure that residents have input to and can access information about grants, construction timelines, relocation housing plans and community supportive services planned for their developments.

Pass a Tenant Protection Act for public housing residents to ensure one for one replacement of very-low income units and viable resident relocation housing plans, in addition to site specific contracts signed by residents

Appoint independent resident advocates from public housing tenant associations and other housing experts to the Housing Authority Commission

Appoint a neutral monitoring committee to monitor progress of the Hope VI programs

Direct the Housing Authority to establish viable and independent Resident Management Corporations

Require full implementation of HUD's Section 3 policy for resident hiring and entrepreneurial opportunities

Focus Community Reinvestment Act funds on public housing developments in order to bridge funding gaps and provide expanded supportive services such as childcare and job training

In lieu of the "One-Strike" policy, establish enumerated just causes for evictions from public housing and ensure due process for residents through a neutral hearing body consisting of residents and Housing Authority staff.

What's Wrong

Last year, 700 people lost their rooms to hotel fires, adding further pressure to the critical housing problem.

AIMCO, the nation's largest owner of federally-subsidized housing, recently announced their intention to pre-pay their HUD mortgages on four buildings containing hundreds of units -- two of which have failed their HUD inspections. This is the first step toward opting out of their contracts to provide subsidized housing and shifting units to market rate. Several of these buildings have serious mold and mildew problems, dry rot and/or collapsing balconies.

While the Planning Commission has approved over 1350 expensive live/work units since January 1998, we have no meaningful incentives in the Planning Code to encourage market rate development of housing for working families and affordable efficiency units for singles.

4. Protect the Rights of Property Owners
Small landlords should be treated as part of the solution. For those owners (particularly owner-occupants) who have removed units from the market as a result of fear of regulation, we must pursue incentives to return these units to the market and simplify regulatory compliance.

Establish an ongoing dialogue between tenant and small landlord representatives to reach agreement on reducing red tape

Provide on-line assistance in calculating allowable rent increases and provide on-line forms for passthrough petitions

Coordinate a Department of Building Inspection and Rent Board "eyes closed" inspection program to assist small landlords in identifying needed repairs

5. Preserve and stabilize low-income residential hotel units
SRO hotels are the largest housing stock for extremely low-income San Franciscans, but many are dangerously unsafe and unsanitary. Historically, these units have been the last refuge for single individuals, many of whom are coping with disabilities, unemployment, and other poverty-related conditions.

Families and their children are increasingly using these dilapidated and crowded single rooms as a last resort before homelessness. Too many families with children are being forced to live in tiny 10 by 12-foot rooms. Increased competition for these units is making them unaffordable for San Franciscans on fixed incomes, compounding homelessness.

As Mayor, I will:

Threaten eminent domain action against SRO hotel owners who fail to renovate and return hotel rooms to the market in a timely manner
The City has the right to use eminent domain proceedings against SRO hotel owners who appear to be speculating in the real estate market. With the threat of such action, the City may be able to speed up renovation and/or collect fire insurance claims to offset acquisition costs.

Aggressively enforce existing codes to improve SRO living conditions

Stop the practice of "musical rooms" in SROs
I will work with the District Attorney and City Attorney to prosecute hotel owners who illegally rent units on a daily basis and illegally evict tenants before they receive protection under the Rent Ordinance (after 28 days).

Provide low interest loans to residential hotel owners to provide sprinklers and other improvements
Eliminate guest fees charged to single-room occupancy hotel residents for visitors
People on fixed incomes cannot afford to pay an additional $10 a night to have family or friends visit them. These guest fees are another example of how profits are made off the most vulnerable in San Francisco.



			Position Paper: Housing

		November 21, 1999 San Francisco is in the midst of an enormous housing crisis. Evictions are up 300%. Rents have tripled in the last four years. Longtime San Franciscans, young families, working parents, people of color and seniors are being driven out. We all know how distant the dream of owning a home has become for even middle-income renters. And we wonder why homelessness has skyrocketed. We need an administration that brings back balanced economic and community development and harnesses growth to benefit the entire community. This cannot become a City where large real estate speculators and corporate interests are in the driver's seat. How we respond to the housing crisis will determine whether we preserve the economic and cultural diversity of the City. As Mayor, I will: 1. Protect the Rights of Tenants in Rent Controlled Units During this period of real estate speculation, we must preserve rent control. Rent-controlled units on the private market represent the vast majority of affordable units in the City. While small landlords are understandably frustrated by bureaucracy and regulation, the Rent Stabilization Ordinance allows pricing of empty units at market rates, permitting more than adequate cost-recovery. As Mayor, I will: Pursue equitable reform of capital improvement rent increase pass-throughs I will seek concessions from both small landlords and tenants to end the current debate over tenant pass-throughs of capital improvements. There have been recent abuses of the capital improvement provisions in the Rent Ordinance, resulting in monthly increases that have forced out tenants on fixed incomes. I will seek to end the political infighting over this issue which has held recent bonds like Laguna Honda hostage. Appoint both tenants and small landlords to City boards and commissions Focus attention on improving living conditions for families living in privately owned housing With high rents and low vacancy rates, many families and elderly San Franciscans are afraid to complain about poor living conditions and code violations for fear of retaliatory eviction. I will expand code enforcement outreach, citation and (if necessary) prosecution of non-compliant landlords. We must protect the health and safety of children, parents, and seniors. Reduce the loss of affordable housing stock through hotelization I will work with the Board of Supervisors to stop the conversion of permanent rental housing to short-term corporate rental suites for visiting employees to use as hotel rooms. 2. Make the Production and Preservation of Affordable Housing the Top Priority Increasing housing opportunities that are affordable for San Franciscans of low and moderate incomes is a civic obligation to local residents who make up the foundation of our culture and economy. San Francisco currently has the worst of both worlds: market forces that give no consideration to the broader needs of the community and out-of-date regulation that interferes with development of housing of every type. As Mayor, I will: Direct the Relevant Agencies to Immediately Develop and Implement Affordable Housing Expansion Strategies The Planning Department, Mayor's Office of Housing, the Redevelopment Agency and other relevant government agencies will be given heightened direction to increase housing opportunities for the City's current residents. Under the Ammiano administration, they will be given the charge of coming up with 1 and 5 year plans, within six months, for increasing the City's housing stock. Push forward alternative affordable housing development strategies such as land banking and limited equity co-ops. Evaluate the Current Housing Inventory and Project Future Needs. To inform the strategic planning process, I will direct the Planning Department to assess all current housing availability, including rental units and owned units; market rate, affordable, and legal and illegal in-law units; residential hotels; public housing; federally-subsidized housing; and homeless shelters. I will also direct the Department to analyze properties with potential for housing including vacant and underdeveloped lots, burnt-out residential hotels and underused public land owned by City, State and Federal entities. The Department will work with regional agencies to develop an accurate projection of housing needs within the broader context of the regional economy and population growth. Review and Reform Current Planning Guidelines that Stifle Increased Housing. I will direct the Planning Department to report on Planning Code changes that will increase new housing in ways that are not detrimental to neighborhood character. I will promote a neighborhood-driven planning process to consider increasing density along established transit corridors in the eastern half of the City and implement the State statute that gives a "density bonus" to developments that set aside 25% of units for low income residents. Establish Comprehensive Neighborhood-Based Planning Under the current administration, City planning priorities have been shifted almost entirely toward permit approval, depriving San Francisco of a strategy for appropriate growth and integration of housing with public transportation. The Ammiano administration will revive the City's long-range planning function, producing neighborhood master plans with extensive participation by local residents and merchants. These plans will speed housing creation by reducing the uncertainty and expense for developers who wish to build housing. Fees for use of the area-wide environmental impact report will fund future planning activities. Streamline the Permitting Process The Ammiano administration will coordinate the permit processing and record-keeping of the Department of Building Inspection and the Planning Department, improving the approval and environmental review process for both the neighborhoods and developers, particularly non-profit developers. Neighborhood concerns will be accommodated before individual permit applications through Neighborhood Master Environmental Impact Reports. Public input will still be encouraged at scheduled hearings of relevant commissions. Integrate Development, Planning and Financial Functions I will integrate the development, investment and planning functions of the Redevelopment Agency, the Mayor's Office of Housing and the Planning Department to maximize efficient use of capital and facilitate integrated urban design. I will continue leveraging local money from Prop A and other sources to attract state and federal and private sector funds. Tom's Track Record Working with the local HUD office, the Housing Authority, the Rent Board and housing experts, Tom passed first-of-its kind legislation nationwide that extends eviction protections and rent control to federally-subsidized buildings whose for-profit owners attempt to opt out of their very-low income housing contracts. This legislation is the major local protection standing in the way of loss of potentially thousands of low-income housing units. Tom worked with many of the same parties to shine the spotlight on Washington D.C. mandated rent caps for federally-subsidized housing vouchers (for use in the private market) that were well below prevailing market rates for housing. Due to Tom's advocacy and the work of the regional HUD office, these rent caps have recently been increased, allowing low-income residents and AIDS patients to actually find apartments in the City. Tom is leading the fight at the Board of Supervisors to impose affordable housing requirements and full school impact development fees on the handful of live/work projects that are still awaiting Planning approval. 3. Protect the Rights of Tenants in Subsidized Housing Thirty thousand San Franciscans live in publicly subsidized housing. Attempts to convert HUD subsidized housing to market rate could decimate the City's low income housing stock. Furthermore, while renovation of public housing is welcome, the HUD Hope VI program has led to large numbers of people being displaced from San Francisco. Two major public housing developments that have been demolished are at least three years behind schedule to be rebuilt. With several more demolitions planned for the coming years, this program, unless fixed, will continue to escalate the housing crisis in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area. As Mayor, I will: Ensure resident participation in the drafting of one and five year plans required by the federal Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 Call for an independent audit of the Hope VI program Public housing residents deserve a full accounting to ascertain how HUD funds have been expended and how they can be used more efficiently. To increase resident confidence in the HOPE VI process, I will ensure that residents have input to and can access information about grants, construction timelines, relocation housing plans and community supportive services planned for their developments. Pass a Tenant Protection Act for public housing residents to ensure one for one replacement of very-low income units and viable resident relocation housing plans, in addition to site specific contracts signed by residents Appoint independent resident advocates from public housing tenant associations and other housing experts to the Housing Authority Commission Appoint a neutral monitoring committee to monitor progress of the Hope VI programs Direct the Housing Authority to establish viable and independent Resident Management Corporations Require full implementation of HUD's Section 3 policy for resident hiring and entrepreneurial opportunities Focus Community Reinvestment Act funds on public housing developments in order to bridge funding gaps and provide expanded supportive services such as childcare and job training In lieu of the "One-Strike" policy, establish enumerated just causes for evictions from public housing and ensure due process for residents through a neutral hearing body consisting of residents and Housing Authority staff. What's Wrong Last year, 700 people lost their rooms to hotel fires, adding further pressure to the critical housing problem. AIMCO, the nation's largest owner of federally-subsidized housing, recently announced their intention to pre-pay their HUD mortgages on four buildings containing hundreds of units -- two of which have failed their HUD inspections. This is the first step toward opting out of their contracts to provide subsidized housing and shifting units to market rate. Several of these buildings have serious mold and mildew problems, dry rot and/or collapsing balconies. While the Planning Commission has approved over 1350 expensive live/work units since January 1998, we have no meaningful incentives in the Planning Code to encourage market rate development of housing for working families and affordable efficiency units for singles. 4. Protect the Rights of Property Owners Small landlords should be treated as part of the solution. For those owners (particularly owner-occupants) who have removed units from the market as a result of fear of regulation, we must pursue incentives to return these units to the market and simplify regulatory compliance. Establish an ongoing dialogue between tenant and small landlord representatives to reach agreement on reducing red tape Provide on-line assistance in calculating allowable rent increases and provide on-line forms for passthrough petitions Coordinate a Department of Building Inspection and Rent Board "eyes closed" inspection program to assist small landlords in identifying needed repairs 5. Preserve and stabilize low-income residential hotel units SRO hotels are the largest housing stock for extremely low-income San Franciscans, but many are dangerously unsafe and unsanitary. Historically, these units have been the last refuge for single individuals, many of whom are coping with disabilities, unemployment, and other poverty-related conditions. Families and their children are increasingly using these dilapidated and crowded single rooms as a last resort before homelessness. Too many families with children are being forced to live in tiny 10 by 12-foot rooms. Increased competition for these units is making them unaffordable for San Franciscans on fixed incomes, compounding homelessness. As Mayor, I will: Threaten eminent domain action against SRO hotel owners who fail to renovate and return hotel rooms to the market in a timely manner The City has the right to use eminent domain proceedings against SRO hotel owners who appear to be speculating in the real estate market. With the threat of such action, the City may be able to speed up renovation and/or collect fire insurance claims to offset acquisition costs. Aggressively enforce existing codes to improve SRO living conditions Stop the practice of "musical rooms" in SROs I will work with the District Attorney and City Attorney to prosecute hotel owners who illegally rent units on a daily basis and illegally evict tenants before they receive protection under the Rent Ordinance (after 28 days). Provide low interest loans to residential hotel owners to provide sprinklers and other improvements Eliminate guest fees charged to single-room occupancy hotel residents for visitors People on fixed incomes cannot afford to pay an additional $10 a night to have family or friends visit them. These guest fees are another example of how profits are made off the most vulnerable in San Francisco. 3583 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 503-1529 Fax (415) 503-1642 paid for by Tom Ammiano for Mayor FPPC ID# 990924