Housing — Manny for Supervisor

HOUSING POLICY

10,000 New Homes in D8

Everyone has their own housing story.

I wanted to share mine before launching into my policy, because it informs it.

When I came out as gay to my father at the end of my senior year of college, he disowned me on the spot. He got up and walked away from me and has never come back.

That moment was a turning point for me. Things could have spiraled downward, but I remembered that there was a city with a reputation for taking people in who needed a fresh start, who needed to find new family and new community.

That city was San Francisco.

I arrived with one bag, one friend, and a stack of Dunkin' Donuts gift cards I still had from the Obama campaign. I had a $600 a month budget. My first room was what I called my Harry Potter room—a lofted bed six inches from the ceiling, tucked into the third floor of a Victorian on 20th and Florida, shared with six people, one child, one dog, and (you guessed it) one bathroom. I was in San Francisco!

San Francisco gave me a place to start over. It gave me a family, a community, and a home. It gave me the chance to build something—a small business, a life, roots in a neighborhood I love. And for the past 14 years, every time I needed to take the next step, I’ve found a way to stay. I got lucky.

But that is the problem. I had to get lucky. And the question I keep asking myself is: could someone like me find that room today?

The answer, almost certainly, is no.

Decades of underbuilding has made San Francisco one of the most expensive cities on earth. The competition for housing, even low quality housing, is fierce. The people losing that competition are not the wealthy or the well-connected. They are teachers, firefighters, working families, artists, drag queens, and baristas. And they are the gay kids from conservative families who, like me, need somewhere to go.

If we do nothing, San Francisco stops being San Francisco. We lose our soul. We become a city only for the rich or the lucky who arrived decades ago, and we forfeit our identity as a place that takes people in.

I am running for Supervisor because I believe we can build our way back to that promise.

To do that we need a lot more housing. Of all kinds. In all places. For all people.

We need a bold and outcomes-focused plan measured by what it actually delivers.

For us, that's 10,000 new homes in District 8 in 8 years.

This is how we get there.

GOAL #1

Market Street "Housing Priority District"
6,000 Homes

The stretch of Market Street from the Castro to Octavia is transit-rich, culturally significant, and underbuilt. Much of it is only two-story buildings. As the heart of San Francisco's queer community, it should be a place of welcome and belonging, and that starts with building many more homes here.

Create a housing priority district on Market Street from Castro to Octavia
Temporarily remove all barriers to building housing for eight years within this district, including impact fees, taxes, height limits, unit mix and inclusionary zoning requirements, and other onerous mandates that hold back development.
Remove and streamline building and planning code requirements that add unnecessary complexity and expense to projects
Assign a dedicated strike team made up of personnel in the building, planning, fire, public works, public utilities, MTA, and the mayor’s offices to facilitate speedy permitting within the housing priority district
Create a six-month building permitting “shot clock” for all proposed developments within the district.
Remove barriers to demolitions and lot mergers within the district while protecting the city’s rent-controlled housing stock and ensuring that no tenant is involuntarily displaced.
Dedicate half of the property tax revenue generated by new construction in the district towards building affordable housing within District 8.
For affordable housing projects built in the district, implement an eight-year “emergency hold” on certain public construction contracting requirements that increase construction costs and administrative burden, and lead to fewer affordable homes built.

GOAL #2

High Opportunity Housing Sites
3,000 Homes

Across District 8, there are select sites (underused lots, city-owned land, etc) that can absorb significant new housing while reinvigorating neighborhoods. By proactively developing these locations, we can build thousands of homes and preserve what makes San Francisco a city of distinct, walkable villages.

Identify a set of special potential development sites within the district, such as Diamond Heights Safeway, Glen Park BART Station, the Salvation Army on Valencia, Cesar Chavez, and the Police Academy building near Christopher Playground
Survey City-owned properties for development potential
Use development agreements for each site that follow the same rubric as the housing priority district with an eye towards maximizing housing construction.
Similar to the housing priority district, have a six-month shot clock set for each site to get the permits they need to begin construction.
Proactively engage developers, the local community, and necessary City departments to start construction on these sites as opposed to passively hoping they get built.
Dedicate half of the new property tax revenue generated by construction of these sites toward building affordable housing within District 8.

GOAL #3

Incentivize Turning Backyards and Garages Into Homes
1,000 Homes

Garages and backyards represent some of the more underused housing potential in the district. Converting them into homes can support multigenerational families by creating a place for your children or parents to live, give retirees a source of income, and add new homes without changing the character of our neighborhoods.

Identify barriers to garage conversions and backyard homes (ADUs) and work with the building, planning, and fire departments to conform to California state standards for eight years
Trial a new grant program for homeowners to fund garage conversions and backyard homes and explore tax relief of credits for anyone who takes advantage of the program
Garage units should not trigger any code issues for the rest of the home
Stop increasing property taxes on homeowners for adding more units of housing
Create and publicize a guide to help homeowners who need support building these homes