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Melissa Li
Jaya Dubey
Writing 39C
16 May 2014
Key to San Francisco: Preserving Affordable Housing
San Francisco is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, where housing has
become the most costly in the nation and is creating widespread hardship among the low
income, working and middle classes. The skyrocketing housing prices and evictions has
resulted in gentrification and increasing displacement of elderly citizens, families, and
visionaries. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
housing is considered affordable when families pay no more than 30 percent of their
household income towards housing expenses. A study by the National Low Income
Housing Coalition explained that 41 percent of San Francisco residents spend 30 to 50
percent of their income on housing. In Figure 1, data provided by the Harvard Joint
Center for Housing Studies, a
center that advances
understanding of housing
issues, demonstrates that
renters with severe cost
burdens spend about $500 more
each month on housing than
their counterparts living in
affordable units. These cost burdens put a strain on households and severely affect the
Figure 1. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University,
America's Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Needs Web. 09
Dec 2013.
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quality of life since people are skimping on other basic necessities, which lead to
detriment of their health. Furthermore, spending a disproportionate share of income on
housing stifles economic growth. (Center for Housing Policy) People who are either
evicted or unable to afford housing in San Francisco are moving to neighboring cities
where the environment and social conditions may be lacking and experience direct
impacts on mental and psychological wellbeing. Recently, in response to the affordable
housing crisis, Mayor Edwin Lee announced the ambitious goal of building or
rehabilitating 30,000 new homes by 2020. Housing legislation needs to be reformed at a
quicker rate in order to ensure tenant protection and to reduce the migration of families
and elderlies who are on a fixed income. The rate of government intervention and
progress draws concerns among those who are wrongly displaced.
The affordable housing crisis continues to persist and is one of the major
challenges in San Francisco due to the history of anti-growth development from effective
lobbying by local NIMBY groups and the
radical Left including progressive supervisors.
Enrico Moretti, a professor of economics at UC
Berkeley, explains that, it takes years, harsh
political battles and seemingly endless appeals
to approve a new housing project.
In addition Scott Weiner, a San Francisco supervisor who is an advocate of new housing
describes, San Francisco has been unwilling to prioritize smart housing production of
market-rate and affordable units, even while our laws state that housing is to be
encouraged. The current technology boom, which started in the late 2000s, has
A record number of rent-
stabilized tenants have trouble
paying their rent. And they face
the highest increases in five
years while landlords profit.

-Jaron Benjamin

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exacerbated the housing crisis since an influx of young and wealthy technology workers
who are able to afford the steep housing prices have migrated to San Francisco. The
failure to reform housing laws such as the Ellis Act, passed in 1985, has allowed
speculators who utilize the loophole of the Ellis Act to evict longtime residents who live
in rent controlled apartments into
condominiums. In Figure 2, real
estate data by Trulia, a real estate
website which tracks housing
prices nationally and locally,
indicates that San Francisco had
the highest prices per square
foot and had the lowest number of
new construction permits. As the
population continues to increase,
the local government has not provided sufficient supply to meet the rising demand.
The disparities of housing equity in San Francisco has been drastically rising
throughout recent years and will continue to persist unless a significant change is
introduced and implemented. In order to resolve the complications of the housing
shortage, the revitalization of current housing is essential to prevent further displacement
of disadvantaged long-term residents. The preservation of existing low-cost housing
units, which was proposed in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, will provide various economic and social benefits by reducing negative
effects through tenant protection. Even though displaced residents would benefit, there
Figure 2. Trulia, 5 Truths of Tech-Hub Housing Costs Web. 6
Feb 2014

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would still be opposition primarily from homeowner associations and speculative buyers
who have a financial incentive to restrict affordable housing. Compared to improving
current units, an alternative solution of easing housing regulations to expedite the
production of new affordable housing would not protect existing residents and
construction would be less cost-effective. By sustaining and promoting economic
diversity, the redevelopment will provide opportunities for residents to limit
gentrification. The preservation of housing is the most viable solution since successful
results through organizational and governmental initiatives have occurred previously in
different cities. The collaborative support among different levels and branches of
government and nonprofits play a substantial role in protecting current tenants and
confronting future housing demand.
Preservation of current affordable housing would not only decrease the
displacement of visionaries such as artists, activists, and small businesses who have
shaped the culture and history, but also residential segregation of the low-income,
working, and middle classes. Families migrate to other cities as it has become difficult to
raise children due to financial stress. The displacement of primarily low-income and
minorities causes an economic burden on neighboring cities, which results in income
inequality and residential segregation. The primary example of severe gentrification is in
the Mission neighborhood, Between 1990 and 2011, the number of Latino households in
the Mission decreased by 1,400, while the number of White households increased by
2,900, examined by advocacy group Causta Justa (7). Causa Justa, a grassroots
organization building community leadership to achieve justice for low-income San
Francisco and Oakland residents, advocates for the implementation of a No Net Loss
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policy at the city level to require all affordable units lost through renovation, conversion,
or demolition be replaced within the same neighborhood if possible and within the same
city at a minimum. (67) This is a method of preservation that sustains long-term
neighborhood and city-level affordability by ensuring that the overall supply of
affordable units does not decrease over time. This would also reduce the lack of low-cost
housing options, which undermines quality of life for families, forcing difficult tradeoffs
in both housing quality and spending on other vital needs (Harvard Joint Center for
Housing Studies). Although the preservation of existing affordable units would benefit
current residents, several landlord and realtor groups have challenged two new laws
intended to protect tenants and preserve rental housing. (Kuchar) Homeowners have a
strong economic incentive to restrict supply because it supports price appreciation of their
own homes. (Cutler) By adequately enforcing preservation polices such as the no net
loss policy, it may be the most effective way to guide preservation efforts within a city
as they create a comprehensive and accurate portrait of affordable housing supply. (Causa
Justa)
Improving the existing supply of low-cost rental properties offers the region an
affordable housing strategy that is both cost-effective and high impact. According to the
National Housing Trust, a national nonprofit organization formed to preserve and
revitalize affordable homes explained rehabilitation projects require almost 40% less tax
credit equity per unit than new construction developments. Preserving affordable
housing also saves energy in four primary ways- in reusing an existing building, in using
existing infrastructure, in preserving green space, and in reducing household energy use.
(National Housing Trust) San Francisco developers have prioritized housing for the
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wealthy, as shown in Figure 3. The market is producing almost double the number of
housing units for
people with Above
Moderate incomes,
or 120 percent of the
areas median income,
as the RHNA says it needs to build. In response, another method of preservation includes
establishing inclusionary zoning policies in order to encourage production of affordable
housing units within new market-rate housing developments. In the New York Times
Room for Debate, Edward Glasear, a professor of economics at Harvard University
argued that inclusionary zoning would essentially add an extra tax on development,
making building more costly and reducing housing supply. By utilizing public assets for
affordable housing preservation efforts and advocating for increased and renewed
funding for affordable housing at the state and federal levels, there would be significant
changes.
Successful preservation outcomes in Los Angeles and Cook County have
provided relief and proved to be beneficial. Los Angeles has also implemented the no
net loss policy in the downtown redevelopment plan, which resulted in increased
funding for extremely low-income housing, local hiring obligations, and strengthened
tenant rights requirements. In addition, through organizational and residential action,
there has been effective preservation of 15,000 homes for Los Angeless lowest income
occupants. In addition, organizational efforts have reversed a unanimously passed
redevelopment plan, preventing displacement for almost 9,000 low-income households in
Figure 3. San Francisco Planning Department, Residential Pipeline Entitled
Housing Units 2007 to 2013 Q4 Web.
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the heart of gentrifying downtown. On the other hand, Cook County in northeast Illinois
is the nation's second most populous county. About 40 percent of residents in the county,
which includes the city of Chicago, are renters, and more than half of these renters pay 30
percent or more of their income toward housing costs. The Preservation Compact of
Cook County, Illinois is a grant-based initiative that take a highly collaborative and
multipronged approach to affordable rental housing preservation, with strategies focusing
on analyzing data for at-risk properties, facilitating partnership across levels of
government, and reducing operating costs. (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development) The Preservation Compact has saved troubled buildings, reduced energy
costs, increased collaboration among public agencies, and created innovative solutions
for subsidized housing. (MacArthur Foundation) Collaborative action among residents,
organizations, and the government is necessary to prevent the housing crisis from
persisting.
An alternative solution would be to increase the flexibility of housing ordinances
in order to expedite the process of producing new affordable housing units, proposed by
the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for well-design
and well-located housing, at all levels of affordability. Data from 2,649 municipalities
indicate that San Francisco's housing policies are among the most restrictive in the United
States due to stringent land-use restrictions, incredible delays and lawsuits challenging
proposed developments. (Moretti) Majority of San Francisco housing has building height
limits of 4 stories. Furthermore, San Francisco places density limits on new building
projects has been a continuous issue for residents. By removing density limits based on
area, this would result in larger units. Katy Steinmetz explains, City Supervisor Scott
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Wiener has proposed that the city raise density limits for any project that is made up of at
least 20% affordable housing units and completely eliminate density limits for any
projects that are 100% affordable housing. This would provide incentives for developers
to focus on building affordable housing rather than luxury condominiums catering to new
tech wealth. The study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finds
that new construction costs between $40,000 and $71,000 more than acquiring and
rehabilitating of existing developments. Preserving an existing apartment costs half as
much as building a new one. The Preservation Compact also explains that, Building new
rental housing can cost $300,000 per unit. To afford a loan of this size, an owner will
need to charge up to $3,000 per month in rent much more than the average family can
afford. Creating new housing does not guarantee affordability and does not provide
current protection to those in need.
In cities and towns across America, there is a rising demand for affordable
housing while the stock of low-cost homes evaporates. Everyone has a fundamental
human right to housing, which ensures access to a safe, secure, habitable, and affordable
home with freedom from forced eviction. It is only through the hard work of
collective vision, action, and consistent commitment by community residents in every
aspect of community development, that truly sustainable and healthy communities will be
created.