It was just two weeks ago that Mayor Ed Lee called for a possible charter amendment in the November 2016 ballot to require more below-market-rate housing in newly built developments. Now, Supervisor Jane Kim has gotten out ahead of the Mayor's initiative by introducing a charter amendment for the June 2016 ballot that would raise below-market-rate requirements from 12 to 25 percent in private developments.
Poll results released by the SoMa nonprofit Tenants and Owners Development Corp. showed that 71 percent of voters said they would support an initiative like Kim's if it was on the ballot in June. On the same day that Kim made her proposal, the Mayor's new working group on housing kicked off its work. The proposals come barely more than a month after an election that was meant to be a referendum on the city's housing crisis, with numerous measures on the ballot. It looks as if the next election may be more of the same.
· Supervisors Seek to Expand Rent Control, Raise Inclusionary Housing Requirements [SF Examiner]
· Mayor Lee Calls for Increase in Affordable Housing [Curbed SF]