December 2005

Garbage Rates May Rise 40%
Sunset Scavenger and Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling have requested a raise in their basic residential service rates from $19.08 to $26.79 per month, a 40% increase. If approved by the city in June 2006, a smaller rate increase would begin July 1, with increasing prices every year until 2010, when the full $7.71 increase would go into effect.

The refuse and recycling companies claim that the increase is necessary because they are facing higher costs for healthcare, welfare, retirement and workers' compensation benefits. Other high-cost issues include escalating gas prices and San Francisco's new goal of reusing or recycling three-quarters of the city's waste. A formal rate-hike application will be filed with San Francisco's Department of Public Works in January 2006 and, after a series of public workshops and extensive review, the department will announce its decision on June 6. More information is available at www.sfgarbagerates.com and www.sfgov.org.

SFAA Involved in Two Task Forces
The SFAA is pleased to be involved in two city task forces. One examines the recent uptick in the use of the Ellis Act, which hit a new high this past summer before tapering off recently. “The purpose is to try to curb no-cause evictions in San Francisco while also preserving people's property rights,” says SFAA Executive Director Janan New of the mayor-sponsored task force. “It's about trying to find a balance.”

SFAA is also working with the San Francisco Housing Authority and tenant groups on a task force regarding Section 8 housing subsidies. SFAA would like to see the housing authority create a new market survey that more accurately represents the rents in the city. The current survey used by the housing authority to determine Section 8 subsidy rates takes an unrealistic look at the city's rental market by averaging the rents throughout the Bay Area. A longer-range goal is to convince the federal government that Section 8 vouchers are still worth the investment, since there have been recent moves to abandon the program. Keep an eye on this column for further updates.

Extreme Tree Measure Moves to Ballot
San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly's attempt to create an ordinance that would designate approximately 20,000 trees on private property as protected “landmark” trees has been thwarted—at least for now. Daly has long been pitching the ordinance, which would make it considerably more difficult to remove any large tree on public or private property, but he recently pulled the legislation off the agenda at the Board of Supervisors and placed it on the June 2006 ballot. One reason Daly gave up on getting board approval may be that not even the city's Urban Forest Council supported the wide-reaching ordinance. “It's a mistake to base protection status solely on size,” says Alexis Harte, the UFC's coordinator. “The council wanted to see an expanded palate of criteria.”

Instead, the UFC is backing Supervisor Jake McGoldrick's more moderate, property-rights-friendly ordinance, which the board is due to vote on this month. A McGoldrick aide called Daly's proposal “extreme” and added that the ordinance before the board creates a more specific set of criteria that takes into account not just the size, but also the age, species, cultural merit and ecological benefit of the tree. McGoldrick's ordinance also requires an active nomination process to grant landmark status, whereas Daly's automatically protects any large tree. The end result, according to Harte, is that McGoldrick's proposal would protect the city's “truly remarkable” trees—an estimated 150 to 300 of which are on private property—rather than the tens of thousands that could be covered by the Daly plan.

CAA Announces New Education Program
The CAA plans to phase out its California Certified Residential Manager program in 2006, culminating in the unveiling of a more comprehensive certification program at the end of the year. Coproduced by the California Apartment Association and the National Apartment Association, this new Certified Apartment Manager program will completely replace the CCRM classes. But those who need to finish up their CCRM coursework will still have the chance to complete the program in Spring 2006. Property managers who have completed the CCRM training by the end of the year will just need to take a few additional classes to be grandfathered into the new certification process. Please contact SFAA Education Director Greg Miller at 415-255-2288 for more information.

Proposition B Defeated
With the defeat of Proposition B last month, voters agreed with the SFAA (and numerous other civic and political organizations) that San Francisco should not borrow $208 million to improve public streets and sidewalks. Had the proposition passed, it would have raised property taxes by an average $9.49 per $100,000 assessed property value. Unfortunately, property taxes will still go up (by an average $10.71 per $100,000 assessed property value) thanks to the passage of Proposition A, which managed to get 64% of the votes cast. Prop. A allows the City College Board of Trustees to borrow $246.3 million for construction and other capital improvements to the Community College School District.

Loma Prieta Earthquake Memories
SFAM is looking for members with first-hand accounts of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to tell their tales for an upcoming issue. If you are interested in sharing your earthquake story, please email Assistant Editor Emily Landes at Emily@blackpointpress.com.