November 2003
SF Apartment Magazine Celebrates Ten YearsTen years ago, while serving as deputy director of the San Francisco Apartment Association, I was given the opportunity to retool the San Francisco Apartment Magazine as its editor-in-chief. The previous incarnation of this magazine lacked a real focus pertaining to the serious issues facing San Francisco landlords. Distracted by the political battles of the day, the energy of the association was usually sapped by a myriad of efforts to defend property rights, with little time left to publish content that was both helpful and pertinent to San Francisco. The task proved daunting. However, with the help of dedicated writers, gutsy advertisers and a supportive board of directors, the magazine has evolved into a “must read” for rental property owners. Today, readers have come to rely on its informative articles, witty columnists, industry reports, and up-to-date legislative and legal news. Throughout my years spent editing this magazine, I have always tried to remain faithful to the unique nature of San Francisco’s rental housing industry by capturing all its trials and tribulations as well as its remarkable successes.
The early days were definitely difficult ones. With few advertisers, the magazine scraped by financially. The key to attracting new advertisers centered on improving the content and creating a local focus. Several important writers stepped forward with columns that quickly satisfied our readers’ appetites. Jim Forbes, a local real-estate broker, landlord, and prolific writer, led the way. Jim enjoyed opining on real-estate and housing trends of the city, veering occasionally into political commentary. Clifford Fried, a partner with Wiegel & Fried, LLP, began a series of legal articles focused on San Francisco’s landlord/tenant laws. Joe Grubb, Director of the San Francisco Rent Board, launched a quarterly column that began to bridge the divide between pessimistic landlords and the agency created to oversee the Rent Ordinance. In addition to these dedicated writers, there were many other writers—too many to enumerate here—who also made valuable contributions to the magazine’s success during its infancy. To each and all of you, thanks.
With a slate of writers adding sensible content to the magazine’s pages, advertisers began to gravitate to the publication and an important symbiotic relationship developed between advertisers and the association. During this early stage of the publication, many apartment-related businesses took out space in the magazine to promote their businesses to our readers. They include: Dannla, Inc., Golden Gate Disposal Co., Attorney Michael Hall, Hill & Co., Lawson Roofing, MetroRent, Web Service Co., and Wiegel & Fried, LLP. Along the way there have been many others, and today there are roughly 50 advertisers who appear in the magazine every month. As a result of our expanded advertising, the SFAA now provides this monthly periodical at absolutely no cost to the membership. Our advertisers have certainly earned our special thanks for their support; so do remember to patronize their businesses.
SFAA Executive Director Janan New deserves a big “thank you.” She also celebrates her ten-year anniversary at the helm of the association where she has served as a dedicated supporter of the magazine. Janan continuously provides me with the opportunity to expand the magazine, while encouraging innovative thinking in terms of content recruitment and marketing strategies. Former board members Tom Garber and Jim Forbes must also be thanked. Through their dogged efforts initially, the magazine has grown into a fiscally sound publication. For several years during the mid-1990s, former association member Joe Castrovinci volunteered to copy-edit the magazine, a task that is both difficult and time-consuming. I remain deeply grateful for his dedication and assistance in improving the magazine.
Today, the pages are filled with writers who care about San Francisco’s rental housing industry and are dedicated to delivering news and information that our readers require. Many thanks to the current batch of columnists appearing in the magazine: Jim Forbes (Tenderloin Heights), Jay Greenberg (Market Report), Lily (whose identity, despite many requests to divulge it, will remain a secret), Christopher VerPlanck (Architectural series), Marc Wilson (The Property Management Shop) and all the attorneys who help with the Legal Q & A. Innumerable thanks to each of you for the investment you have made in creating relevant articles for our readership.
As editor, I have truly valued the fine contributions
everyone has made to the continuing success of the magazine.
The steady support of the SFAA Executive Director and
members of the board, the diligent efforts of all our
volunteer writers, and the commitment of our advertisers
have clearly proven to be essential ingredients for
a quality magazine—thank you all.
– Matthew C. Sheridan
The San Francisco Rent Board recently announced a reduction in the city’s Rent Board Fee from $27 to $26. The fee helps defray the operating expenses of the Rent Board. This current reduction is due to a decrease in the workload of the Rent Board. Apartment owners are now responsible for $4.50 per unit of the $26 fee. Landlords can passthrough the remaining $21.50 to their tenants. Owners, however, must deduct the fee from any interest due their tenants on deposits held, unless the landlord has already paid the interest payment. For more information about this Rent Board fee, please search our archived section of articles on the magazine’s Web site.
In what may be a sign of the times, a plan to install a public toilet in a mixed-use neighborhood has been approved by the Board of Appeals. The plan to construct a JC Decaux-maintained toilet in front of an apartment building has sparked an intense neighborhood debate in the Haight-Ashbury. Located on Masonic Avenue, near Haight Street, the toilet was approved by a 4-to-1 vote by the board. According to one of the commissioners, the plan is “good public policy” and we should encourage the city to place “more toilets in mix-used commercial-residential neighborhoods.” Special Thanks to Kathleen Harrington for her lone vote against the toilet. Stay tuned for further updates.
Sup. Gonzalez Pulls a Fast One
The President of the Board of Supervisors, Matt Gonzalez, is promoting a radical change to the Rent Ordinance that would prohibit evictions and rent increases for the addition of occupants. He introduced the legislation recently at the Board of Supervisors, despite his promise to housing-industry leaders not to launch it until he meet with them again. The proposal would permit the addition of occupants to rental units—up to a maximum of two occupants “per habitable sleeping room” except in situations where the total number of occupants would exceed the Planning, Housing and Building Codes. These codes are extremely loose and would allow up to nine people for every 500 square feet. The legislation may be approved as soon as the end of this year.
This amendment completely vitiates lease provisions that specify the number of people who can live in the unit and further erodes the owner’s ability to restrict or prohibit subletting. Essentially, regardless of the provisions in their lease agreements, rent-controlled owners would have to allow their tenants to fill up all rooms in their units with a maximum of two occupants per room. My interpretation of this proposed law is that tenants could convert the living and dining rooms into sleeping rooms. One-bedroom apartments and studios would suddenly be used to legally house up to six adult tenants. There would be nothing the landlord could do to prohibit this infusion of new dwellers except petition the Rent Board for a slight increase in rent for the higher cost of utilities. No longer would your existing and future leases govern the number of adult occupants who could reside in your units. No longer could you evict when the tenants sublet without permission or move in their friends and exceed the number of allowed occupants. The tenants could unilaterally move anyone into your units as long as no more than two adults sleep in a “habitable sleeping room,” which is every room except the kitchen, bathroom, and closet! Not only would there be rampant subletting and Section 6.14 nightmares, but the extreme (and uncompensated) wear and tear on the building’s common areas and the units could be enormous. In sum, you as owners will be running a fraternity house at rent-controlled prices.
Supervisor Gonzalez claims that this legislation is
designed to allow immigrant families the opportunity
to live together. This rationale is nonsense. The good
news is that the legislation is so unconstitutional
that our lawyers will undoubtedly stop its enforcement.
The bad news is that this is an election year, so the
proposal will probably pass. Therefore, this is now
a crucial time for all members to contribute to the
SFAA’s Legal Fund. Otherwise, by next year, your
units may be converted into crowded dormitories.
– David Wasserman
Copyright © 2003 San Francisco Apartment Magazine