Housing

Supes, mayor agree on new tenant protections

Saul Sugarman, SF Public Press — Mar 9 2010 - 11:45pm

Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to support a proposal passed by the Board of Supervisors that protects tenants from arbitrary eviction in non-rent controlled residences facing foreclosure.

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Environmentalists, preservationists face off in Parkmerced

Alison Hawkes, KALW Public Radio — Feb 18 2010 - 5:08pm

KALW Public Radio reporter Alison Hawkes took a closer look at Parkmerced, where owners are pitching a 30-year plan to transform the site into a low-carbon community. For developers, it’s a test to see if “green” can stand for both environmental sustainability and the color of money. Hawkes found the drive for a clean new future is clashing with the past.

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In crackdown, SF abandoned building fee hiked ninefold

Angela Hart, SF Public Press — Feb 12 2010 - 4:38pm

In a shift that suggests a new zero-tolerance stance on blight, San Francisco officials said Friday they would raise the annual fee to “register” more than 200 abandoned buildings to $6,885 each, the maximum allowable under a recent city ordinance. “We’re going for the full amount,” said William Strawn, a spokesman for the Department of Building Inspection. “We have to make people aware that this is a new law and we’re going to enforce it.”

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Census methods could provide lift to hidden homeless

T.J. Johnston, SF Public Press — Feb 1 2010 - 3:43pm

The 2010 Census may address an old problem in dealing with San Francisco’s homeless population by getting an accurate head count. The city’s homeless figures have ranged between about 6,500 and 8,600 people in the last decade, but the real number is anybody’s guess. The sketchy knowledge of who is living on the street has been a big impediment to perennial attempts to solve the crisis.

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New transit center to displace SoMa neighbors

Angela Hart, SF Public Press — Dec 11 2009 - 12:15pm

South of Market business owners and residents are conflicted over plans for an ambitious new transit-center redevelopment. They say that while the project may be good for the city and the Bay Area, it's bad for their livelihoods. Among those being pressured to relocate are 26 businesses, at least 24 live-work lofts and eight parking lots operators.

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VA launches initiative to assist homeless vets

T.J. Johnston, The Public Press — Nov 26 2009 - 3:15pm

A collaboration between the Veterans Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development seeks to end — and prevent — homelessness among veterans.

Newsom vetoes pro-tenant ordinances

Samantha McGirr, The Public Press — Jul 15 2009 - 12:18am

Mayor Gavin Newsom has vetoed three pro-tenant laws designed primarily to aid low-income tenants during the recession.

The laws would have capped rent increases at 8 percent annually, and landlords would have been unable to raise rents if an additional person moved in as long as occupancy remained within the housing code limit.

Prop. M: The Latest Battle in San Francisco's Rent Wars

Tim Kingston, www.newsdesk.org / The Public Press — Oct 31 2008 - 11:29am

View our annotated Flickr collection to see how pro- Proposition M activists are spinning the issue in campaign fliers.

Rancorous is always a good way to describe tenant-landlord relations in San Francisco, and the debate over Proposition M -- an anti-harassment initiative put on the ballot by tenants' rights activists -- is no exception.

The inelegantly dubbed Changing the Residential Rent Ordinance to Prohibit Specific Acts of Harassment of Tenants by Landlords attempts to do just that -- at great length, and has spurred an exchange of pro and con arguments around free speech and the role of lawyers.

Proposition B: 'Chump Change' or 'Massive Budget Hole'?

Tim Kingston, The Public Press and Newsdesk.org — Oct 24 2008 - 11:18pm

The battle over public power and the hospital bond have vacuumed up much of San Francisco's attention and political capital this season. But there's an equally significant, if under-the-radar, item up for grabs: Proposition B. The "Establishing [an] Affordable Housing Fund" measure mandates that 2.5 cents out of every $100 in property taxes go to create what is essentially a dedicated San Francisco affordable housing account. Proponents and opponents alike agree that it would raise roughly $2.7 billion over its 15-year lifespan -- in fact, that's about all they agree on.

Brass Tax: Propositions N and Q Levy Businesses, Property

Tim Kingston, www.newsdesk.org / The Public Press — Oct 23 2008 - 10:57am

Propositions N and Q, which would increase and modify San Francisco's property transfer and payroll expense taxes, were the product of intense negotiations between different business groups. Not surprisingly, the winners and losers in those negotiations define the pro and con election advertisements. The laws are simple enough: N would increase the property transfer tax from 0.75 to 1.5 percent on properties worth over $5 million, while Q ensures that partners in law firms have to pay payroll taxes. It also raises the ceiling for payroll tax exemption to $250,000. The city controller states in the voter handbook that the propositions would raise almost $40 million for the city's general fund, but how it does that, and who stands to gain or lose, is not so clearcut.