Mayor announces rent measures as supervisors split on street tree rules

San Francisco's mayor told the Board of Supervisors the city is in a rent emergency, pointing to climbing rents, evictions at their highest level in nearly a decade and few vacant units, and he announced a package of tenant protections.

The measures would cap the rent increases landlords can bank for later use and the capital improvement costs they can pass through to tenants. They would require clearer annual notices to tenants, and they would extend eviction protections to tenants who fall less than a month behind on rent.

The mayor said he would add money to tenant right to counsel and to a citywide tenant rights campaign, on top of what the city already budgets for rental assistance and legal defense. He defended his administration's housing record, pointing to recent zoning changes and permitting reforms.

He also announced tentative labor agreements with unions representing most city employees. The agreements include a wage increase and no layoffs of permanent civil service employees for their duration.

The mayor's appearance is a standing item on the board's agenda and was filed with no board questions and no debate.

The board later split 7-4 on an ordinance that changes how street trees are planted and how hazardous ones are removed.

The ordinance lets developers meet street tree planting requirements by paying in-lieu fees or providing alternative landscaping rather than planting trees, and it exempts accessory dwelling units from the requirement. It also ends appeals to the Board of Appeals when a city department or commission removes a hazardous tree, and it creates a separate account within the adopt-a-tree fund to hold the in-lieu fees.

Members disagreed over ending the appeal rights and over the other changes in the ordinance. Four voted no, and the ordinance was finally passed on the 7-4 vote.

The board also amended and approved a contract for the city's permitting software, cutting the maximum the city can pay and shortening the extension of the agreement. The contract with OpenGov Inc. came to the board with a not-to-exceed amount of $38,965,985.92.

Supervisors amended it to lower that ceiling and shorten the term, with funding for the last year flagged for the budget reserve. Criticism centered on a procurement that was not competitively bid, on permit turnaround targets the software has missed and on the lack of a testing environment. Supporters said the shorter term preserves the board's oversight and the city's ability to end the contract. The amended agreement passed 10-1.

The board also advanced the Treasure Island development district. It convened as a committee of the whole for a hearing on adding territory to the San Francisco Infrastructure and Revitalization Financing District No. 1 and adopting an annexation supplement to the district's amended financing plan. The clerk reported no written protests and no one spoke, so the hearing was closed and filed.

The board then adopted 11-0 the resolution adding the Stage 2 parcels, project areas F, G, H and I, to the district, along with a companion resolution calling a special landowner election on the annexation. The annexation extends the district's capture of property tax increment to pay for public infrastructure and affordable housing on Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. Property taxes are not raised.

Staff said the annexation would raise the district's bonding capacity and set an annual appropriations limit, with bonds repaid from tax increment and any future issuance still requiring separate board approval. Supporters described the vote as the first of several expected annexations, covering property transferred from the Navy to the master developer since the district was formed.

Items that would modify the district's bond authorization, declare the landowner election results and adopt the ordinance approving the annexation supplement were continued to the board's Sept. 29 meeting without objection.

Several other items passed without debate. The board approved sales of general obligation bonds for affordable housing, health and recovery and earthquake safety and emergency response, along with appropriations of the proceeds, and it approved certificates of participation for the Open Space Fund and the money they direct to the Recreation and Park Department.

Two lawsuit settlements passed on first reading, including one in a case naming Gabriel Shin, as did an ordinance amending the airport's surveillance technology policy for third-party security cameras.

The board approved the board president's appointment of Malea Chavez to the Planning Commission. Supervisors who spoke described her ties to the Latino community and her work at neighborhood nonprofits, and said she can disagree without conflict on a commission where land-use fights are frequent. The Rules Committee had forwarded the nomination as amended so the motion read as approval rather than rejection, and it passed without objection.

Members used the roll call for introductions to announce new legislation and requests. One called for a hearing on the city's permitting software contract, with oversight to follow in the Budget and Finance Committee. Others introduced a requirement that landlords tell tenants about state rent-cap rights and a cap on banked rent increases and capital improvement pass-throughs. Members introduced an interim zoning moratorium on data centers, e-bike and e-scooter safety measures, dog-safety protocols at city-funded housing sites, a resolution asking Congress to investigate immigration detention at the airport, and a requirement to report behested payments from interested parties. One member moved to suspend a commissioner from a county oversight board and approve misconduct charges.

Public comment ran through the afternoon. Speakers called for more effective spending on homelessness, resources aimed at specific hotspots and stronger enforcement. Others urged a moratorium or ban on data centers and more city action on artificial intelligence. Speakers also raised housing affordability and transgender residents, and one asked for a memorial tribute.