Moratorium Proponents Release New Proposals for Affordable Housing in the Mission

Proponents of the November ballot's Proposition I, otherwise known as the Mission Moratorium, have released a brand-new set of proposals for low-income housing in the neighborhood if Prop I succeeds. The cornerstone of the proposal is a call for $500 million public dollars to acquire, preserve, and produce affordable housing. This element would be funded by the funneling of property tax money to the Mission. There is also a call to implement minimum below-market-rate housing requirements of 20 to 35 percent on all new developments, with a goal of 33 to 50 percent of all new housing built in the Mission reserved for low- and middle-income residents.

If Proposition I passes, all market-rate development in the Mission would be halted for 18 months. The city's chief economist previously found that the moratorium would likely not do anything to stop evictions or slow gentrification. The coalition of groups behind Proposition I would like to use the moratorium time to build on their initial proposal and develop a Mission Neighborhood Stabilization Plan aimed at preventing displacement of Mission residents and preserving the Mission as a working-class immigrant neighborhood. Additional suggestions include providing tenants with the first right to purchase rent-controlled buildings with city support, reserving 20 percent of new affordable units for formerly homeless residents, and giving displaced Mission residents priority in housing lotteries.

There are major questions around whether the proposals are legal and realistically fundable. According to the San Francisco Business Times, the new proposals "alarmed" housing staff in the Mayor's office. Teresa Yanga, the director of housing development for the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development told the Business Times, "It would require us to devote every affordable housing resource just to the Mission."

· Previous Coverage of the Mission Moratorium [Curbed SF]
· Mission Moratorium Likely to Increase Rents, Not Likely to Stop Gentrification, Says San Francisco Chief Economist [Curbed SF]
· Mission Advocates Hatch Half-Billion-Dollar Plan if Moratorium Succeeds [SF Business Times]