Behind the Scenes at the Board of Supervisors
SFAA has been hard at work behind the scenes making sure that property owners’ voices are heard at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and beyond. SFAA worked with supervisors on recently passed legislation that imposes fees on property owners who don’t clean up blighted areas of their properties once cited.
The legislation is extremely broad in its descriptions but covers mostly graffiti and buildings in poor repair, which the supervisors claimed invited crime.
SFAA also had a hand in a noise control ordinance that imposes fines on building owners who are found to have loud noises coming from their buildings. The legislation states that because too much noise can cause stress and, subsequently, health problems, noise should be kept at a minimum. It places limits on times of the day that noise can go on, and decibel levels for construction and garbage collection.
Unfortunately, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has tabled Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier’s measure to pass some of the increased costs of water and sewage onto tenants. Alioto-Pier worked with SFAA, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Department of the Environment to craft this compromise legislation, which would have encouraged the city’s tenants to preserve water by making them more directly financially responsible for their water usage. Stay tuned to this column for further information on the state of this green-minded passthrough.
Outside of legislation at the board, SFAA has also been meeting on the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety, which creates a plan to require retrofitting of residential buildings for earthquake safety. Staff is also working with the Department of Building Inspection to submit changes for legislation on ventilation systems.
Congratulations to Trophy Winners
On November 13, 2008, SFAA held its second annual Trophy Awards. The formal dinner and awards presentation was a big success and many prominent members of the apartment industry were honored with awards. Pictures from the festive event will be published in the January issue and profiles of the winners will be published in the February issue of this magazine. SFAA would like to thank all of the members who made this event happen, especially co-sponsor Sunset Scavenger.
Half of Requested Property Tax Reductions Granted
Half of San Francisco homeowners who requested lower property taxes have been granted a reduction, but the negative impact on the city’s overall budget will be minimal, officials from Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting’s office said recently.
Ting’s office received 1,673 requests for informal re-evaluations—more than six times the number filed last year—as homeowners noticed declining property values in the city and across the state. Of those, 810 homeowners had their taxes lowered, with an average reduction of $1,594, or 11.5%. Reductions were granted in neighborhoods all across the city, from higher-end districts, such as the Financial District, South of Market and Bernal Heights, to more moderately priced neighborhoods, such as Crocker Amazon and Hunters Point.
Those reassessed property taxes will decrease revenue $1.1 million for the 2008-2009 budget. Ting’s office noted that this number was less than one-hundredth of 1% of the property taxes the city collected last year, and thus should not have a large impact on the city’s overall budget.
Happy Holidays
SFAA would like to wish all its members a happy holiday season and a good new year. To celebrate the holidays, the SFAA offices will be closed December 24-26, 2008, and January 1-2, 2009.
Hope for Homeowners?
The Hope for Homeowners program was passed as part of the housing reform bill and authorizes the Federal Housing Administration to help troubled homeowners refinance into 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.
The actual refinancing would be done by lenders, who must write down loans to 90% of a property’s current appraised market value. It’s up to lenders whether they want to participate in the program, but banks are expected to be gung-ho about the chance to dispose of soured mortgages.
The FHA would act as the mortgage guarantor, paying lenders the unpaid balance if a loan goes into foreclosure. It can insure up to $300 billion worth of such loans over the next three years, although the agency said it does not expect to reach that cap. The program could help 400,000 families, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But the office also says 35% of those families are likely to end up defaulting on their mortgages anyway.
Legal Challenges Ahead for New Tenant Harassment Law
San Francisco voters passed Proposition M, the Chris Daly-sponsored measure that amends the City’s Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance to broaden the definition of “tenant harassment” by landlords, and add related enforcement mechanisms for violations, including reduction of rent upon reduction of housing services, misdemeanor prosecution, and civil actions, including injunctions, statutory, actual and punitive damages. Landlord attorneys were prepared for this result and have launched a legal challenge against the measure. Look for an analysis of this new law, and the legal challenges against it, in an upcoming issue of this magazine.
Voters shot down a measure that would have taken property tax dollars and put them toward an Affordable Housing Fund. This measure would have taken funding that was available for any public purpose and shifted it to affordable housing programs. In just the 2008-2009 budget, the amount removed from the general fund and put into the program would have been $36 million.
Correction
In “The 2-4 World” in the September issue, Erika Burke wrote that “Leise Gilliat of Leise Inc. made the three-unit sale of 1864-68 Golden Gate Ave. at Baker, which sold at asking for $2.297 million.” In fact, the building sold for $2.937 million. We apologize for the error.