After two FBI raids and a handful of other scandals this year, San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection is trying to improve its public image. The department is planning its first-ever public summit for October 25 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Topics will include landlord-tenant responsibilities and the condo-conversion process.
Acting Director Amy Lee announced the summit during a talk at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, where she also addressed the controversies the department has faced. Calling the FBI raids “demoralizing” to the staff, Lee said the investigations largely had to do with “past behaviors,” while also admitting the department still has some work to do. “We’re trying to make it less political and more policy based,” she contended. “We still have a lot of problems, but I defy anyone to find me a perfect department.” Upcoming goals include improving consistency in code interpretation, increasing staff training without decreasing staff availability and improving the public’s perception of DBI.
As part of her attempt to help achieve that last goal, Lee also took the opportunity to crow about the department’s accomplishments in the last year, including hiring 41 new employees, reducing the residential plan check backlog by 37% and successfully correcting 89% of severe housing code violations in the city’s residential hotels. But Lee complained that her staff has been hindered by a lack of adequate funds and technology. “It’s inexcusable for us to have computers this old,” she said. If Lee is concerned about aging technology, she is downright alarmed by her aging staff. Many have been at DBI for their entire careers, and in 10 to 15 years Lee envisions a great exodus of retirees; but she said the city ignores her calls for more funding to hire new staff members to take their place. “The city does not encourage planning for the future,” she reported.
The comment was part of a larger frustration that Lee expressed with what she considers the department’s low priority for San Franciscans, going so far as to call the department “paralyzed” by tenant-friendly, antidevelopment forces in the city. A widespread disinterest with DBI is also to blame. “If you aren’t doing a renovation on your home or part of the developer community, it kind of skips you,” she admitted. Actions like hiring a communications manager and arranging the new public summit are all part of the department’s attempt to increase goodwill and create positive publicity. Lee believes these are key steps in the march toward the department’s ultimate goals of improved employee morale and an influx of much-needed funds.
Free SFAA Classes and Trade Show
There is exciting news for SFAA members. The date has been announced for our well-regarded boutique trade show: Apartments Ahoy will be held on November 13 at Fort Mason’s Conference Center. Similar past events have been a major success and you will not want to miss this one.
Free property management classes will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Fort Mason. Attendees are then encouraged to enjoy the trade show in Fort Mason’s conference center from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Professionals who provide San Francisco’s rental housing industry with top products and services will be on hand to answer all your questions.
SFAA would like to thank co-sponsor Wasserman-Stern. Other sponsorship opportunities are still available. Advance registration is required. Please contact Education and Events Director Vanessa Khaleel at vanessa@sfaa.org to get involved or for further information. Stay tuned to this column for more news on this exciting networking event.
Passthrough Loophole Could Close
If legislation sponsored by Supervisor Tom Ammiano goes through, a years-long loophole that prevented property owners from passing on 50% of the costs of voter-enacted bonds to their tenants will finally be closed. Four years ago, Ammiano brokered an agreement between tenant and property owner groups; it stated that all voter-enacted bonds would be split evenly between landlords and their tenants. However, the agreement also included language that required passthroughs to be “disclosed and approved by the voters.” Thus, by leaving passthrough language off of ballot measures, the authors could negate the terms of the agreement. Ammiano’s new legislation would make the split of all bonds automatic.
At press time, the Board of Supervisors was due to vote on the proposal. If it does not pass, SFAA will continue to actively fight against bond measures that do not include this passthrough language, including this year’s $450 million school bond.
Planning Department to Be Under One Roof
The San Francisco Planning Department has finally signed a lease that would enable the entire staff to be housed in one building. Currently the department is split between spaces at 1660 Mission St. and 30 South Van Ness Ave. The deal for 132,000 square feet at 1650 Mission is the biggest lease thus far in 2006 and gives the city the option to buy the entire 181,000-square-foot building for $40.5 million, about $223 a square foot. The lease allows the city to rent the space for $27 a square foot. The Planning Department will take 50,000 square feet; the building will also house the Human Services Agency. The move is scheduled for this month.
City Attorney Sues Largest S.F. Landlord
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is suing Skyline Realty and its subsidiary CitiApartments—one of the largest owners of rental properties in San Francisco—for a litany of alleged abuses. Herrera has charged that the company threatened and illegally evicted tenants, renovated apartments without the proper permitting and failed to pay city fees when turning residential apartments into corporate suites. The company is also being sued separately by tenants and is expected to launch a vigorous defense against both lawsuits.
New Workforce Housing
It has long been noted that many of those who work in the Bay Area cannot afford to live here. But the CityView development company, led by former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, is hoping to change that by creating workforce housing in eight Bay Area cities. CityView recently received a $500 million investment form the California Public Employees Retirement System and plans to become increasingly active in the Bay Area, according to Cisneros. The first local project is a 288-unit development in South San Francisco and the company is actively working on building additional housing complexes in downtown San Francisco, Oakland, Daly City, Richmond, Antioch, Alameda, San Jose and Hollister.
CityView both finances and develops new housing projects, offering home builders services ranging from capital to insurance to community outreach. These services attract national builders who might not otherwise be interested in creating workforce housing—homes for those who make between 80% and 120% of an area’s median income. The company has worked largely in Southern California until now and in addition to branching out into the Bay Area, it is also looking at other cities outside California, like Detroit, Denver and Colorado. Overall, Cityview has 3,500 units in the pipeline, worth about $1 billion.
Possible Insurance Break for California Homeowners
California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi approved an average 22% homeowners-insurance rate cut for clients of the state’s fifth-largest homeowners insurer, United Services Automobile Association. The rate cuts would be about $244 to $381 annually, for a total of $55 million in savings throughout the state. The decreases will probably take effect at the beginning of this month. Garamendi applauded the voluntary rate slashing and said he wants other insurers to follow USAA’s lead. The state released a report in May showing California homeowners-insurance providers may be making “excess profits,” with most companies paying out only 25 to 30 cents per dollar of premium they collect.