With Prop I Tax Revenue, City Board Recommends Range of New Social Housing Strategies, Emphasizing Urgent Need for Site Acquisitions
SAN FRANCISCO — Scaling up land acquisition, building new affordable housing for essential workers, and repairing existing affordable housing are among the recommendations issued on Monday from the Housing Stability Oversight Board, the city body that gives guidance on how to use tax proceeds from November 2020’s Prop I ballot measure.
“We have generated more than a quarter billion in revenue by taxing the wealthiest real estate investors,” said Supervisor Dean Preston. “It is incumbent upon city leaders to use these funds as the voters intended – to support new strategies to meet our affordable housing goals.”
Supervisor Preston joined Budget Chair Connie Chan today in calling for a hearing on affordable housing in San Francisco, including the recently-issued recommendations. On Monday, the Oversight Board sent a letter conveying the full set of recommendations to Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors, as follows:
$30M: Land acquisition for new construction
$30M: Construction Cost for New Social Housing
$18M: Building upgrades and repairs
$5M: Funding affordability for seniors and people with disabilities
$2M: Support for housing innovations
The recommendations build on the Oversight Board’s guidance from last year, with an important distinction of broadening the new social housing funding beyond educators, to include essential workers. The Oversight Board acknowledged that many of the workers – including nurses, paramedics, janitors and transit workers – cannot afford to live in the city where they provide critical services.
“San Francisco moving away from a place that houses a working class to a place that only houses the wealthy class is not sustainable or moral,” said Oraiu Amoni, Workers Rights Program Director at Jobs with Justice San Francisco. “The Mayor and Board of Supervisors should approve the recommendations set forth by the Housing Stability Fund Oversight Board and ensure that the funds are actually spent quickly and efficiently.”
Earlier this year, the City approved an ambitious new Housing Element, which includes more than 46,000 affordable units.
“The only way we can meet these affordable goals – a 285% increase from the previous 2015- 2023 RHNA cycle – is to listen to experts, use every available local dollar, and make significant investments in a range of strategies,” Preston said. “I hope our hearing can bring to light the recommendations and the pathway forward for affordable housing in San Francisco.”
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