>> good afternoon. welcome to the san francisco board of supervisors meeting of tuesday, july 24, 2012. supervisor avalos. supervisor campos. president chiu. supervisor chu. supervisor cohen.

supervisor elsbernd. supervisor kim. supervisor mar. supervisor olague. supervisor wiener. mr. president, you have a quorum. president chiu: could we have a motion to excuse supervisor farrell? without objection, he is excused. ladies and gentlemen, could you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? [inaudible] we have a board meeting minutes from june 18 and june 19.

those meeting minutes are approved. are there any communications? >> i have the communications. we are in the receipt of the referendum petition. against ordinance number 10412. the department of elections must notify the board by august 30. if it is not entirely repealed, the board shall submit the ordinance to the voters at the next statewide special municipal election. president chiu: could you read the consent agenda? >> items 129 comprise the consent agenda. if a member would like to discuss a matter, it shall be removed and considered separately. president chiu: would anyone

like to sever any of these items? aye. supervisor kim: aye. supervisor mar: aye. supervisor wiener: aye. supervisor avalos: aye. supervisor campos: aye. president chiu: aye. supervisor chu: aye. president chiu: those ordinances are passed and resolutions are adopted. could you call item 10 and 11. >> item 10 is the proposed budget an annual appropriation ordinance. item 11 is the annual salary ordinance in the trading positions in the annual budget.

-- enumerated positions in the animannual budget. president chiu: these ordinances are passed. >> item 12 is an ordinance amending the building code to reduce the square footage requirement for efficiency dwelling units in new structures or buildings. supervisor wiener: i move to continue one week to july 31. president chiu: if we could do that without objection, that should be the case. item 13? >> item 13, a charter amendment to create the san francisco housing trust fund and housing production incentives act. supervisor wiener: thank you, mr. president. i am proud to be a co-sponsor of

the housing trust fund. i have been involved in a very broad based collaborative process led by the mayor's office. i know you know that we have a housing crisis in san francisco. housing affordability crisis. this charter amendment will move us in the direction of addressing that crisis we are at risk of losing a primary source of affordable housing funding. the housing trust fund will recapture that funding and make sure we are dedicating it to affordable housing. this trust fund does more than establish a sustainable stream of funding for several decades. it also recognizes in addition to a government investment, we also have to make sure that we

are providing the private sector with the proper incentives to create enough housing to meet our population's demand. public investment and private investment are two pieces of the puzzle. this recognizes the balance. this resulted from a terrific collaborative process. i strongly support it and i encourage you to do so as well. i want to thank the mayor's office who played a key role in moving this forward. president chiu: supervisor kenneth. -- kim. supervisor kim: it will hopefully be moving forward to the november ballot this fall. many of us campaigned on pushing

and supporting a ballot measure that would support a permanent string for -- stream for affordable housing in san francisco. we have not been able to pass one sense than. we attempted in 2002 and 2006 to create more funding for affordable housing in san francisco. because of that, the city has been put in a position to try to figure out a measure that would gain a wider already of support in san francisco. i am really appreciative that the mayor, since the day he walked into office, made a commitment to finding a pathway to us putting a ballot measure to the voters that we create permit date funding stream for affordable housing -- permanent funding stream for affordable housing.

a lot of work have been the last six months. among star developers, affordable housing advocates, the mayor's office of housing, the mayor's office, in order to make this happen. i really want to appreciate the discussion and dialogue that happened. there are things in a measure that make many -- all sides feel uncomfortable. overall, but we are putting out to the voters today will accomplish many of the things that we all agree on. one, of course, is more funding and a stable source of funding for affordable housing. second is also a source of funding for home ownership loans for those who make 120% of ami and below. first responders will also be

included in that category. it is important as we talk about how we want to have our fire fighters and our police officers live here in the city and be able to have the means to do so. i am proud to support this today and colleagues, i ask for your support as well. president chiu: thank you, colleagues. i also want to at though the thanks to all the stakeholders that have worked on this. city staff, the affordable housing community, the developer community. this is an incredibly important topic and the solutions that a been provided are worthy for us to support to move forward to the ballot. one question i had was about the time that this charter amendment will go into effect. we are locking and benefits and commitments for the next 30 years. for some of us who have concerns

about whether circumstances might change in the affordable housing world, i want to thank the mayor's office, the affordable housing advocates, and the developers for discussions with my office to move forward in short order separate from the charter amendment, all legislation that would require every five years, there to be a comprehensive report on the implementation of this charter amendment, assuming that it is successful. evaluation and recommendations of -- if any changes need to happen. i do hope and believe that we have thought through every detail that needs to be dealt with. just in case, i think it is appropriate every five years for the next 30 years, for there to be a look back and analysis, and if necessary, for their seats -- for their policy action. i want to thank the various

parties for their support. out of great respect for the work that has been done, the spirit of collaboration and compromised and the incredible importance of figuring out how to plug this hole that has been created by the elimination of redevelopment, i am happy to support this. i am happy to add my name as a co-sponsor. the city attorney's office and others have spent an awful lot of time and figuring this out. we look forward to working together to make sure voters understand the importance. supervisor avalos: i would like to thank all of the parties that were involved in crafting this charter amendment. i think it is a great move forward for the city and county of san francisco. i want to thank the mayor's office of housing.

developers from the private side and the non-profit side. this charter amendment is decades in the making. we had many attempts to put more of our public dollars into building housing at affordable housing in san francisco. in 1999 and 2004, we attempted to pass housing bonds in the city. they needed a two-thirds threshold and it did not pass. in 2008, we had -- i worked on proposition b, which was not the best direction to go, looking at our budget difficulties, but that did not pass either. that was a big part of our effort to address housing needs

in san francisco. i lived in a district that probably has not been as supportive of these housing bonds as other districts have then. i think that part of that is we have a certain housing stock in district 11 bad is not -- that is not similar to where places in neighborhoods in the northern part of san francisco. a high level of homeownership, a high level of renters would then a single-family households. i do not see the same kind of needs around affordable housing as we have another parts of san francisco. if i'd been out in my neighborhood meeting with residents, spent some time door knocking recently, have seen house after house that are apartments that are forcing the families. multiple families doubled up in these units.

that is something we have to figure out how to alleviate. we do have a high level of homeownership. we have to make sure that our policies are relevant for all homeowners. we need to make sure our housing policies will address the needs of distressed homeowners. i am excited that we have language in this charter amendment that addresses the needs in the southern part of san francisco and the southeast part of san francisco. we have a housing stabilization program that is in the charter amendment. it will bring $15 million of funding that will support households who are in need of revitalization for seismic safety or for energy efficiency, supporting households to do not easily are able to access loans to renovate their homes. we also have support for distressed household against foreclosures that could be

provided by this charter amendment. that is going to be important to families and households living in district 11. i am happy to be a co-sponsor of this legislation. for that reason, that is what i will focus on today. i want to thank the city for coming together. i look forward to its passage in november. supervisor cohen: i wanted to go on record saying that i am also in support of this piece of legislation. i want to acknowledge first responders also been able to participate in home ownership. teachers, too, will be able to participate. president chiu: supervisor olague. supervisor olague: there is not a lot to ask other than i am also happy to be cosponsoring

this legislation. affordable housing in this city takes on a different by mention because middle-class housing is a lot different from what it means in the central valley. we're talking about half a million dollars for most single- family homes in this city. i am allowed we're able to reach some agreement and provide housing trust fund that would address the needs of middle class families, first responders, and very low in, folks who have a great need. i think this covers those in need in san francisco and i'm happy to be sponsoring it. i hope it sees passage in

november. supervisor campos: thank you very much, mr. president. i do not want to repeat some of the points that have been made, but i wanted to this opportunity to thank the mayor's staff as well as members of the affordable housing community you have been working on this for quite some time. give issue of affordable housing is very complicated and there is no easy solution. i've always been supportive of the concept behind this proposal. the questions i have had have to do more with details in the execution. i wholeheartedly agree would supervisor wiener that we do have a housing crisis, a crisis of affordability of housing in san francisco. i will be supporting this proposal today, i do not know that the proposal before us

necessarily is aggressive enough in terms of dealing with a crisis. i think this is a modest proposal that gets us -- that points us in the right direction, but i do not know if it is a proposal designed to address the crisis before us. the reality is if you look at this proposal in the year wore on, you were talking about $12 million going to affordable housing. $3 million going to a downpayment assistance loan program. perhaps $3 million going to a home ownership stabilization program. those are positive things, but in terms of addressing the need that is out there, i do not think this goes far enough. i also believe that we have to put this in context. there was an article today in the san francisco examiner that pointed out that we are facing

some good times here in san francisco, but with good times, some problems become even bigger. the average monthly rent in san francisco and out is $2,734. that is close to 13% higher than it was last year. the average home in san francisco is $725,000. i have for people in my district who are having a tough time staying in neighborhoods like the mission, and it is not something that only a few people are facing. it is many people facing that challenge. the biggest fear i had with this approach is that i really believe that when you have an opportunity to bring everyone together, and i think the achievement on that front is exemplary, you really try to do as much as you can because, in

many respects, you do not have an opportunity to address them to many times. we will have an opportunity to do this once for quite awhile. i do have a concern that this does not go far enough. that said, i am not going to lead the perfect be the enemy of the good. this proposal is good. on that basis, i will be supporting it. i do want to a knowledge the collaborative work that went into this. i have had a number of questions about the aspects of this proposal, including the grandfathering end of certain projects that have already been titled. i am not convinced those products -- projects have not gone forward because of the fee is the city charges. i think there are larger macroeconomic forces at play. i will respect the totality of the process and the

negotiations. i do not have to agree with every piece to recognize that this is a good thing. i do think it is important for us to recognize that as good as this is, we are facing a crisis. a crisis requires a level of response that i do not think we are providing at this point, though it is moving in the right direction. supervisor mar: i also wish this went further and create more funding for critical affordable housing, but i will say that i am very strongly supportive of this. i applaud the mayor's office and housing organizations for putting some much work into this. we were in the beginning process of this. in the land use committee, we heard a number of committees highlighting -- we heard a number of hearings highlighting the need