director's chair
Ringing in the New
by Janan New
Recently, I was speaking to an SFAA board member about the depressing outcome of the November election and how it will affect the management of his rental property in San Francisco. The future looked dark politically, and the financial markets were still in a freefall. Our conversation went from one doom and gloom story to another. “Can you imagine San Francisco without the SFAA?” he said. “What would we do?” Upon further reflection, I had to admit that he was right. Out voice has been dimmed, but not shut out all together. Yet.
SFAA has been an important political voice in San Francisco since the early 1900s. It has always advocated for free markets, moderate controls and quality for-profit housing. It has been involved in candidates’ elections and initiatives in partnership with other likeminded business groups. Its role is to synthesize current legal and political developments and deliver them to the membership in an understandable format. Imagine the cost and complexity if everyone had to hire their own attorneys to work through the many legal aspects affecting the rental housing industry. Hopefully, the information and services we provide continue to be useful to our many members.
SFAA is often blamed for the rent laws and leftist push at city hall. If only we were that powerful, I would welcome some of the blame. The attacks against business and landlords go on in many of the major urban areas in our country where elected officials are focused on the artificial shifting of wealth from “rich” to “poor.” I believe that some of these individuals think of themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods.
As we challenge the recent ramifications of Proposition M (landlord harassment of tenants), our colleagues in New York are facing similar challenges. The environmental and social movement of more people into urban centers will potentially cause the growth of rent control as a planning measure. As city officials fail to reach their new housing quotas, these officials will be pushed to divide up the remaining housing stock and control its rents and occupancy. Social engineering will meet with anti-growth factions to deliver a housing disaster similar to what we have here, as well as in New York, Santa Monica and other rent-controlled jurisdictions. The inevitable inequity of rent control will be advanced and finally exposed.
Our friends in the tenant movement have told us that in the future they will be focused on advancing their interests in Sacramento. They have captured most of the local prizes and they want bigger and better victories, which they believe can be achieved at the state level. They will partner with ACORN and SEIU to come at us with legislation, like vacancy control and rent control for new construction. We must stay diligently focused on the governor’s office and educating the more moderate state assembly and senate members about the shortcomings of rent control.
Eventually, the political pendulum will swing back our way. We thought that the moment would come this past November. It didn’t. If you use the law of gravity as a model, anything that advances left far enough must eventually reverse itself and come back to center. Let’s just hope we are all still in business when this reversal takes place! As long as San Francisco maintains its attractive status to newcomers, I am sure we will be here for many more, successful years. We are also hopeful that city planners will eventually settle on smart growth near transit hubs as a way to stop suburban sprawl and look at rent control as a failed social policy of the 1970s.
Pushing Ahead
Love it or hate it, our city is a magnet for forward thinking pioneers. As with all creative ventures, some ideas are terrific and some are merely pipe dreams. Collectively, we can be proud of the push for a “green” San Francisco. We have been supportive of the mayor and supervisors’ efforts to combat global warming on a local level, working with them in support of water conservation, recycling and composting legislation, energy efficient light bulbs and common area lighting, and solar energy rebates to name a few. There will be many more initiatives to follow in the coming years.
We have captured much of this “green energy” and promoted it through education and mentorship. We have attended public hearings in support of owner rebate programs and featured many of the clean energy providers at our trade show in September and Trophy Awards celebration in November. Both PG&E and Sunset Scavenger and Golden Gate Disposal have attended membership meeting as speakers and sponsors. These are important profit and nonprofit partnerships that help advance our common interests.
SFAA has tried to do its part in using fewer precious resources internally, too. This year we made the transition from our regular monthly postcard mailing to electronic communication to our members. It seems that this move has been accepted gracefully by our entire membership.
Please let us know if you are not receiving our education, meeting or legal/political announcements and we will make sure to put you on our list. We don’t sell any of our lists. The membership list is the property of SFAA and held in confidence, so you should have no worries of SPAM, junk mail or unsolicited sales call from outside vendors.
We are also trying to post more information on our website and reduce the need for paper overall. The search engine to help with your research is constantly being improved. If you can’t find what you need, call us. We still answer the telephone and keep a full library of back issues of SF Apartment Magazine, in order to provide you with what you need.
In fact, the one paper product we can never get rid of is our ever-popular magazine. Every membership survey comes back with the same comments on the magazine: the members love it! In this issue, we are unveiling a new and modern magazine design. We hope that you find the layout pleasing and the content important, relevant and current.
SFAA is always continuing its attempt to improve its services to members. The magazine is one of our most important public relations tools and it is important to utilize its power to the fullest extent. The articles are focused on educating you about the many things that can help make your rental housing business more profitable. We also realize that the visual appeal of the magazine has value, too. The redesign will make the content more appealing to read. Please take the time to let us know you thoughts about the new format.
We appreciate your membership in the San Francisco Apartment Association. We hope that you find value in the money you spend on your dues and services. For the most part, the cost of one year’s membership is less than you would spend on one hour with an attorney. There is more power in our collective membership dollars, both in your legal and advocacy interests. Keep that in mind the next time you write your check in support of your business at the SFAA.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Janan New is the executive director of SFAA and can be reached at 415-255-2288. Copyright © 2009 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.