San Francisco, California, Proposition A, Bond Issue for Affordable Housing (November 2019)

• Text of measure
  • Ballot question
• Path to the ballot
• See also
  • External links
  • Footnotes
• More
  • Local ballot measures
  • State ballot measures
  • Local politics

Proposition A: San Francisco Bond Issue for Affordable Housing
The basics
Election date:
November 5, 2019
Status:
a Approved Majority required: 66.67%
Topic:
Local housing
Related articles
Local housing on the ballot November 5, 2019 ballot measures in California Local Ballot Measures City bonds on the ballot
See also
San Francisco, California

A bond issue for affordable housing was on the ballot for voters in San Francisco, California, on November 5, 2019. It was approved.

A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the city to increase its debt by issuing up to $600 million in bonds to fund affordable housing, with an estimated average property tax rate for repayment of $0.019 per $100 in value and a repayment period of 30 years.

A no vote was a vote against authorizing $600 million in bonds for affordable housing and leaving the city's property tax rates unchanged.

San Francisco last approved a bond issue for affordable housing in 2016 for $260.7 million. Proposition A issued $600 million in bonds to be allocated as follows:

• $150 million for public housing,
• $220 million for low-income housing,
• $60 million for middle-income housing and preservation,
• $150 million for senior housing, and
• $20 million for educator housing.

The city controller estimated that Proposition A would increase the property tax rate in fiscal year 2020-2021, the year of the first bond issuance, to $2.07 per $100,000 of assessed value. In fiscal year 2022-2023, the last year of bond issuance, the property tax rate is estimated to increase to $17.13 per $100,000 of assessed value. The average tax rate is estimated to be $11.72 per $100,000 of assessed value.

A two-thirds supermajority vote was required for it to pass.

Election results

San Francisco Proposition A
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		143,055	71.16%
No		57,974	28.84%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

To finance the construction, development, acquisition, and preservation of housing affordable to extremely-low, low and middle-income households through programs that will prioritize vulnerable populations such as San Francisco's working families, veterans, seniors, and persons with disabilities; to assist in the acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of existing affordable housing to prevent the displacement of residents; to repair and reconstruct distressed and dilapidated public housing developments and their underlying infrastructure; to assist the City's middle-income residents or workers in obtaining affordable rental or home ownership opportunities including down payment assistance and support for new construction of affordable housing for San Francisco Unified School District and City College of San Francisco employees; and to pay related costs; shall the City and County Of San Francisco issue in general obligation bonds with a duration of up to 30 years from the time of issuance, an estimated average tax rate of $0.019/$100 of assessed property value, and projected average annual revenues of $50,000,000, subject to independent citizen oversight and regular audits?

”

Ballot simplification digest

The following summary of the measure was prepared by the office of the Ballot Simplification Committee:

“	The Way It Is Now: The City provides funding to build and rehabilitate housing to meet the needs of City residents, including affordable housing for extremely low- to middle-income households. The City’s funding for affordable housing comes from property taxes, hotel taxes, developer fees and other local sources. The City sells voter-approved general obligation bonds to help provide some of this funding. The City has a policy to keep the property tax rate from City general obligation bonds below the 2006 rate by issuing new bonds as older ones are retired and the tax base grows. The Citizens’ General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee oversees how the general obligation bond revenue is spent. The Proposal: Proposition A is an ordinance that would allow the City to borrow up to $600 million by issuing general obligation bonds. The City would use this money to build, buy and rehabilitate affordable housing in the City as follows: $220 million to acquire, build and rehabilitate rental housing for extremely low- and low-income individuals and families; $150 million to repair and rebuild public housing developments; $150 million to acquire and construct housing for seniors; $60 million to acquire and rehabilitate affordable rental housing to prevent the loss of such housing and to assist middleincome City residents and workers to secure permanent housing; and $20 million to support affordable housing for educators and employees of the San Francisco Unified School District and City College of San Francisco. Proposition A would allow an increase in the property tax to pay for the bonds, if needed. Landlords would be permitted to pass through up to 50% of any resulting property tax increase to tenants, subject to individual hardship waivers. Proposition A also would require the Citizens’ General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee to review how the bond funds are spent. A 'YES' Vote Means: If you vote 'yes,' you want the City to issue $600 million in general obligation bonds to buy, build and rehabilitate affordable housing in the City. A 'NO' Vote Means: If you vote 'no,' you do not want the City to issue these bonds.	”
—Ballot Simplification Committee

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Support

City Supervisors Sandra Lee Fewer, Aaron Peskin, Matt Haney, and Shamann Walton proposed the ballot measure.

Supporters

• Jack Persons, campaign manager of Affordable Housing for San Franciscans Now!
• London Breed, mayor of San Francisco
• San Francisco Democratic Party

Arguments

• London Breed, mayor of San Francisco, said, "We are in a housing crisis that is pushing out our low-and middle-income residents and we desperately need more affordable housing. ... Building more housing requires a wide range of solutions, and this bond is a key part of that effort."
• Sandra Lee Fewer, Aaron Peskin, Matt Haney, and Shamann Walton, members of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors and sponsors of Proposition A, co-wrote, "The private real estate market will not save us from our affordability crisis; The City must prioritize resources for the expedited construction of housing for low- to middle-income workers and families, including educators who are leaving the school district at an alarming rate."

Official arguments

The official argument in support of Proposition A was authored by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee, Supervisor Vallie Brown, Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, Supervisor Matt Haney, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Supervisor Gordon Mar, Supervisor Catherine Stefani, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, and Supervisor Shamann Walton.

“ Housing affordability is the most important issue facing San Francisco. Rents continue to skyrocket and home ownership is out of reach for most. Too many San Franciscans, including our firefighters, teachers, nurses, veterans, families and seniors can no longer afford to live in the city that they serve and love. It is time to take bold action to create, preserve and rehabilitate affordable housing now. We convened a diverse group of community leaders, housing advocates, labor unions, nonprofit housing providers, and neighborhood representatives who came together to craft and champion Proposition A – a critical step we can take right now to address our housing affordability crisis. Proposition A funds the creation, preservation and rehabilitation of affordable housing across San Francisco. Proposition A will: Provide critical affordable housing for vulnerable communities in need, including low-income working families, seniors on a fixed income, and military veterans Support low-income and middle-income San Franciscans by making homeownership possible through down payment assistance loans Repair and rebuild distressed public housing Address our homelessness crisis by providing housing to those in critical need Fund permanent affordable housing for educators and employees of the San Francisco Unified School District and City College Establish tough fiscal controls and strong oversight to ensure that the funds are allocated as promised – toward building more housing for those who need it NOT raise taxes Proposition A will have a greater impact on affordable housing production than any bond measure in San Francisco’s history. Take bold action on November 5th. Vote Yes on Proposition A, for more affordable housing now. ”

Opposition

Opponents

• Libertarian Party of San Francisco
• San Francisco Republican Party

Arguments

• Edward Ring, co-founder of the California Policy Center, said, "When so many people can’t afford housing, and the situation is so dire that supposedly public funding must come to the rescue; ... Why is Prop. A worded in a manner that leaves the administrators of these funds leeway to do pretty much anything they want with the money? Why isn’t it specified, clearly, in each section, what percent of funds will be used for acquiring existing housing (if that’s even necessary), for constructing new housing units, or for repairing existing housing?"

Official arguments

The Libertarian Party of San Francisco authored the arguments against Proposition A.

“ Proposition A is yet another bandaid on the self-inflicted wounds of San Francisco politics. Rather than addressing the root of the problem and getting out of the way, cronies in City Hall want to trick voters into granting them even more power and greater control over our lives. Housing in this city is the most expensive in the nation—because they make it that way! Simply put, “affordable housing” programs are NOT an incentive to build more housing. They are a disincentive for developers to build, period. Such programs force developers to adhere to strict requirements which limit their ability to make money, causing them to avoid projects in San Francisco in the first place. If the Board wants to increase the supply of housing and decrease the cost of living in San Francisco, all they need do is allow developers to build! In fact, this measure will increase the overall cost of living in San Francisco because it is paid for with property tax increases, up to half of which will be passed on to tenants. This is a $600M program which will end up costing taxpayers over a billion once all is said and done, and the money will be poured into making more San Franciscans dependent on local Government to get by. “Affordable housing” programs in reality make housing less affordable! We all want to increase the housing supply, but this measure amounts to a billion dollar drop in the bucket. It’s time to tear off a bandaid and allow the City’s wounds to heal! For San Francisco, that means getting government out of the way so that we, the people, can build the City we want to live in. We urge you to vote NO on Proposition A’s power grab. ”

Media editorial positions

See also: 2019 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

• San Francisco Chronicle: "Proposition A, allowing San Francisco to issue $600 million in bonds for affordable housing, is the most useful measure on an underwhelming ballot. It would yield an estimated 2,800 desperately needed homes for the legions who can’t bear the city’s stratospheric market rates."
• San Francisco Examiner: "This bond will fund affordable housing construction, small site acquisitions and rehabilitation projects. It is desperately needed, and has wide support across the political spectrum. In addition, it has been constructed in such a way as to not increase the overall tax burden on homeowners, and to maintain it at roughly the same level over time. We urge you to vote yes."

Opposition

If you are aware of any media editorial positions in opposition to Proposition A, please email the editorial link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Other recent affordable housing measures in San Francisco

Since 2014, San Francisco voted on nine ballot measures related to affordable housing bond issues or development measures. Five were approved, and four were defeated.

• Proposition C: San Francisco Affordable Housing Bond Issue Approved (November 2016) a
• Proposition M: San Francisco Housing and Development Commission Establishment Amendment (November 2016) d
• Proposition P: San Francisco Minimum Three-Proposal Requirement for Affordable Housing Projects on City Property (November 2016) d
• Proposition U: San Francisco Income Qualifications for Affordable Housing (November 2016) d
• Proposition C: San Francisco Affordable Housing Requirements Charter Amendment (June 2016) a
• Proposition A: City of San Francisco Housing Bond Issue (November 2015) a
• Proposition I: City of San Francisco Mission District Housing Moratorium Initiative (November 2015) d
• Proposition K: City of San Francisco Housing Development on Surplus Public Lands (November 2015) a
• Proposition K: City of San Francisco Additional Affordable Housing Policy (November 2014) a

Rents in California's largest cities

The following table outlines the median rents and rents as a share of income in California's 15 largest cities in 2010 and 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The median rent increased between 2010 and 2016 in all 15 cities, with the largest percentage increases in San Jose (26.1 percent) and San Francisco (22.9 percent).

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses a concept called rental burden as an economic welfare indicator. HUD defines the rate of rental burden as the percentage of households spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent each month. Of the 15 largest cities in California, Santa Ana had the highest rental burden at 64.8 percent and San Francisco had the lowest rental burden at 42.6 percent.

Median rents in California's 15 largest cities, 2010–2016
City	County	Population	2016 median rent	2010 median rent	2010–2016 increase	30%+ of income on rent
Los Angeles	Los Angeles	3,999,759	$1,241	$1,077	15.23%	61.20%
San Diego	San Diego	1,419,516	$1,427	$1,259	13.34%	54.30%
San Jose	Santa Clara	1,035,317	$1,689	$1,339	26.14%	53.30%
San Francisco	San Francisco	884,363	$1,632	$1,328	22.89%	42.60%
Fresno	Fresno	527,438	$901	$832	8.29%	61.50%
Sacramento	Sacramento	501,901	$1,057	$959	10.22%	53.90%
Long Beach	Los Angeles	469,450	$1,150	$1,033	11.33%	55.20%
Oakland	Alameda	425,195	$1,189	$1,000	18.90%	54.10%
Bakersfield	Kern	380,874	$1,005	$906	10.93%	53.10%
Anaheim	Orange	352,497	$1,402	$1,262	11.09%	62.10%
Santa Ana	Orange	334,136	$1,354	$1,231	9.99%	64.80%
Riverside	Riverside	327,728	$1,194	$1,092	9.34%	60.00%
Stockton	San Joaquin	310,496	$967	$917	5.45%	60.60%
Irvine	Orange	277,453	$1,997	$1,788	11.69%	52.80%
Chula Vista	San Diego	270,471	$1,351	$1,201	12.49%	61.40%

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

City Supervisors Sandra Lee Fewer, Aaron Peskin, Matt Haney, and Shamann Walton proposed the ballot measure. This measure was put on the ballot through a 10-0 vote of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, with one member excused. The vote was held on July 30, 2019.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2019
• Local housing on the ballot
• City bonds on the ballot
• San Francisco County measures

California

• November 5, 2019 measures in California
• Local ballot measures, California
• San Francisco, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• San Francisco Elections Office website