Category: Update

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SF’s Proposition E, new limits on office development, has sizable lead

By Roland Li  : sfchronicle – excerpt

A San Francisco ballot measure to put new limits on office development was holding a hefty lead Tuesday night.

Proposition E, which would tie allowable office construction to the amount of affordable housing built in the city, was ahead 55% to 45% with 100% of precincts reporting. The measure needs a simple majority to pass, but an unknown number of mail-in ballots were still outstanding.

A San Francisco ballot measure to put new limits on office development was holding a hefty lead Tuesday night.

Proposition E, which would tie allowable office construction to the amount of affordable housing built in the city, was ahead 55% to 45% with 100% of precincts reporting. The measure needs a simple majority to pass, but an unknown number of mail-in ballots were still outstanding.

Nonprofit sponsor Todco sought to reduce office growth if the city failed to meet state affordable housing goals, where it has consistently fallen short…

“The commercial sector is growing so fast because of the boom,” John Elberling, executive director of Todco, previously said. “We’re not keeping up with the housing needs of all the new workers that are flooding into the Bay Area.”

Under 1986’s Proposition M, the city can approve only 875,000 square feet in large office projects each year, with unused space rolling over to the next year. Prop. E would reduce the amount of office space that can be approved by a percentage equal to the city’s shortfall in issuing building permits for affordable housing… (more)

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Gov. Newsom Says He May Be Wrong on Housing

For some time the state authorities have been using an inflated number. Finally the Governor is admitting the number is wrong. This information needs to reach a wider audience. Please let your people know the real housing shortage number is 1.2 million, not 3.5 million.

Thank YOU for helping Livable California fight Scott Wiener’s false narrative in his failed bill, SB 50 — the phony claim that California needs 3.5M million units of trickle-down housing and we must destroy communities to build it.

Wiener’s divisive view, conjured up by the huge consulting firm McKinsey, has influenced legislators, the L.A. Times, NYT and the governor.

Please join us by donating today, to pay our costs to face down Scott Wiener, starting NEXT WEEK when he unveils his misguided version of “SB 50, Try Again.”

We applaud Gov. Gavin Newsom, for last week openly questioning the wildly inflated 3.5 million number that set off panic bills in Sacramento. Gov. Newsom told a reporter that his own team is going to produce “realistic” housing goals, and that his team did not produce the 3.5 million figure.

We can help with that! The real need is 1.2 million, as shown by extensive data from the state’s housing department, HCD (read about it here).

Cities are WELL ALONG in approving projects to hit the 1.2 M need, and not slowing down (read about it here.)!

We at Livable California, and you, our members, play a key role in changing the debate. Please donate, and we’ll stop Wiener and finally get some decent housing laws in 2020.

Livable California is a non-profit statewide group of community leaders, activists and local elected officials. We believe in local answers to the housing affordability crisis. Our robust fight requires trips to Sacramento & a lobbyist going toe-to-toe with power. Please donate generously to LivableCalifornia.org here.

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Proposed California law aims to close car break-in ‘loophole’

By Karma Dickerson : fox40 – excerpt (includes video)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — Across California, more and more people are coming to their cars to find someone has forced their way in and taken their belongings. Almost everyone has a car break-in story to tell.

Many people FOX40 spoke with were surprised to learn that finding the thieves isn’t the only challenge for authorities — holding them accountable in court isn’t is as straight forward as many might think.

When it comes to stealing from cars, California law defines burglary as entering a vehicle “when the doors are locked.”…

“We have to prove the vehicle is locked to make it a felony,” Ronald Lawrence, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, told FOX40…

Assembly Bill 1921 would create a new law that simply makes forcibly entering a vehicle to steal a crime…(more)

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Bloomberg Endorses Measure to Revise Prop. 13, Raise Commercial Property Taxes

By Scott Shafer : kqed – excerpt

Stepping up his presence in California ahead of the March 3 presidential primary, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg  threw his weight behind a proposed ballot measure to remove tax protections on commercial property currently enjoyed under voter-approved Proposition 13, the landmark anti-tax.

Under Prop. 13, county assessors treat all property — commercial and residential — the same when it comes to taxation. That would change under the proposed initiative, dubbed “Schools & Communities First” by its supporters.

Homeowners and some small businesses would not be affected by the measure, which includes a tax of 1% based on the purchase price and annual increases of up to 2%.

Supporters of the ballot measure, including powerful public employee unions such as the Service Employees International Union and the California Teachers Association, say they are in the final stages of collecting the signatures needed to place the measure before voters in November

The media mogul, who is self-funding his entire presidential campaign and spending lavishly in Super Tuesday states, including California, is the fifth Democratic presidential candidate to back the measure, joining Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg. Other candidates, including Kamala Harris and Julian Castro also endorsed it before they dropped out of the race.…(more)

I wonder if anyone has explained to the presidential candidates the divide and conquer plan to turn single family homes into commercial properties? If not, someone should. The split roll will be meaningless when they remove single family zoning. Rents will go up to cover the expenses.
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SF Board of Supervisors wants to protect City Hall with a Budget Boost

1/28 & 1/31) Stop the cuts at CCSF!

The San Francisco Labor Council just passed a resolution supporting Supervisor Walton’s legislation allocating a $2.7 million dollar budget supplemental for City College to restore the classes cut from the Spring and Summer 2020 schedules last November. With 7 out of 11 Supervisors pledging support for the measure, we expect it to pass when the Board votes tomorrow. (January 28, 2029)

Help us keep CCSF the kind of college all of our San Francisco communities deserve! Join two upcoming hearings at City Hall in room 250 on the devastating class cuts at City College. PLEASE RSVP

Please wear red for education. If you have to prioritize one event please plan to participate on Friday 1/31 from 9:30-11:30am.

TUESDAY, 1/28, 1-4PM

  • 1-2pm, 2nd floor Supervisors’ hall: Stop by Supervisors’ offices to thank or ask for their support.
  • 2-4pm, room 250: Board of Supervisors will vote on Supervisor Walton’s $2.7M Emergency Bridge Funds ordinance. There will be no dedicated public comment on this measure but, if you can, please be present in chambers to show support during the vote. Wear your “Red for Ed” AFT shirt or other red clothing. Meeting begins at 2pm, but our item is #29 on the agenda, so it will likely come to the Board on the later side — perhaps closer to 4:00pm. PLEASE RSVP

FRIDAY, 1/31, 9:30-11:30AM

  • 9:30am, Polks St. steps: Rally, wear your “Red for Ed” AFT shirt or other red clothing.
  • 10-11:30am, room 250: Public comment to the Joint Education Committee. We’ve seen the decimation of African American Studies, Philippine Studies, Tagalog, older adult classes, and much more. Supervisor Walton has called a special Joint Education Committee hearing with an emphasis on the effects that class cuts have on our low income and students of color. Please come and be heard. Please invite your students. Let’s push back on the narrative that narrowing class offerings helps our students succeed. PLEASE RSVP
More info: Athena Waid, awaid@aft2121.org.