San Francisco housing shortage

Developers Won't Solve the SF Housing Crisis | [people. power. media]

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Starting in the 1990s, the city of San Francisco, and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area have experienced serious housing shortages, so in October 2015, San Francisco had the highest lease of any major city in the US. The adjacent San Jose town, has the fourth highest rental price, and adjacent Oakland, ranked sixth highest. During the period April 2012 to December 2017, average home prices in most areas of the Bay Area were nearly doubled. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee called the shortfall a "housing crisis", and news reports said that overcoming shortages was the "top priority" of the mayor.

Video San Francisco housing shortage

Cause

Since the 1960s, San Francisco and the surrounding Gulf Area have enacted strict zoning regulations. Among other restrictions, San Francisco does not allow buildings more than 40 feet high in most cities, and has passed legislation making it easier for neighbors to block developments. Partly as a result of these codes, from 2007 to 2014, the Bay Area issued building permits for only half the number of homes needed, based on population growth of the area. At the same time, there has been rapid economic growth from high-tech industries in San Francisco and nearby Silicon Valley, which has created hundreds of thousands of new jobs. High demand for housing, combined with a lack of supply, (caused by severe restrictions on the construction of new housing units) has led to dramatic increases in rental rates and very high housing prices. For example, from 2012 to 2016, the San Francisco metropolitan area added 373,000 new jobs, but only allowed 58,000 new home units.

Maps San Francisco housing shortage

Effects

The city of San Francisco has strict rental control laws. However, a California state law called the Ellis Act allows landowners to evict rented tenants by "out of business", and entirely out of the rental market. In recent years, hundreds of tenants have been evicted through the Ellis Act process.

The high rent has made San Francisco and the surrounding cities unreachable for many residents, especially workers in their 20s. Even workers with full-time jobs are forced to live in their cars, due to housing shortages.

While larger residents of San Francisco and California appear to be proud of being friendly to immigrants (See asylum city), the effect of their housing policy is to greatly minimize "immigration" to California, particularly San Francisco and other coastal areas, as the California Legislative Analyst's Report Office 2015 "California High Housing Costs - Causes and Consequences" details: [From 1980-2010]

"If California adds 210,000 units of new homes annually over the last three decades (compared to 120,000), [enough to keep California housing prices at no more than 80% higher than the median for the US as a whole - price differentials in 1980] population will be much bigger than now.
We estimate that an additional 7 million people will live in California.
In some areas, especially in the Bay Area, population increases will be dramatic. As an example, The San Francisco population will be twice as big (1.7 million people compared to about 800,000). "

Fixing California's housing crisis: What candidates for governor ...

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Responses

Housing has become a major political issue in the Bay Area election. In November 2015, San Francisco voters rejected two sound proposals that both claimed by their supporters to reduce the crisis. The first, Proposition F, will impose a number of restrictions on Airbnb's rent within the city. The second, Proposition I or "Mission Moratorium", will block all housing developments in the San Francisco Mission District for 18 months, except for developments where each apartment is subsidized at a rate below the market.

To overcome evictions, San Francisco City Superintendent David Campos (D9) passes two new city regulations, each requiring a landlord to pay tens of thousands of dollars to each tenant evicted under Ellis's Law. The first Ordinance was beaten as unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, while the second was rejected as contrary to the laws of the state of California.

Mayor Ed Lee has responded to the shortfall by calling for the construction of 30,000 new home units by 2020, and proposing $ 310 million of municipal bonds to fund housing units below market prices. The goal of the new 30,000 units has been approved by San Francisco voters on Proposition K 2014, and affordable housing bonds are authorized in 2015 as Proposition A.

City Supervisor Scott Wiener (D8) has criticized supporters of anti-development legislation, writing an article titled "Yes, Supply & Demand Applicable to Housing, Even in San Francisco" in response to Proposition I. Wiener called for greatly increased supply of all housing, including subsidized housing and housing at market prices.

src: www.housinghumanright.org

Country Suite 2017

On September 29, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill for housing bills, boosted by Democrats and Republican Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, aimed at addressing the California housing crisis. The housing package, 15 total bills, seeks to finance the construction of low-income housing projects, speeds up development, and prevents districts and cities from blocking new developments.

Highlights

Senate Bill 2, by Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), will charge a flat fee of $ 74 to $ 225 dollars for the construction of a particular real-estate transition to be included in an affordable housing trust fund program and homeless assistance. Revenue received in 2018 will be shared between local government projects and the other half against homeless programs.

Senate Bill 3, by Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Diego), will introduce $ 4 of housing bonds in the November 2018 vote. SB 3 will also provide $ 3 billion dollars for affordable housing and rebuilding programs. Once approved, $ 1 billion dollars will be set aside for the CalVet House Loan Program in assisting military veterans to buy their first home.