Budget committee advances home kitchen rules, continues Gough Street housing loan

The Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee advanced a proposal to let home cooks prepare and sell food from their primary residences, after adding restrictions on deliveries, landlord notice and permit limits. The committee also continued an affordable housing loan for 101 Gough Street, sent two homeless service contracts and an immigration legal services appropriation to the full Board, and forwarded three airport concession leases.

The home kitchen ordinance would create permits and annual license fees for Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations under the Health Code and Business and Tax Regulations Code. It would require inspections, training, meal caps and revenue limits. Supporters told the committee the model offers a low-cost path to entrepreneurship and brings food sellers into a regulated system with food-safety rules. Most public commenters supported it. A rental property group asked for landlord permission rather than mere notification and raised concerns about food carts in multifamily buildings. The committee kept notification rather than requiring permission, and it adopted amendments on landlord and homeowners association notice, delivery restrictions, event and shared commercial kitchen limits, permit caps and meal and sales limits. Budget analysts estimated startup outreach costs and said ongoing costs would depend on permit volume. They noted that other jurisdictions reported low complaint levels. The health department said it would need added inspection capacity. The committee then recommended the amended ordinance to the full Board.

The committee voted 3-0 to continue a loan agreement for San Francisco SafeHouse Holdings, LLC at 101 Gough Street to its November 18 meeting. The loan would be for no more than $15,850,000 and would finance acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable rental units for extremely low-income and very low-income households, including people experiencing homelessness or trauma. The budget analyst raised several concerns. Members continued the item to allow more talks with the housing office and took no public comment. The continuation leaves the loan pending; the committee is scheduled to take it up again on November 18.

The committee forwarded two homeless service contract amendments with positive recommendations, though the budget analyst raised documentation and audit issues in both.

For Larkin Street Youth Services, the amendment covers the Lark Inn Shelter and raises the not-to-exceed amount to $14,926,904. The grant supports a transitional shelter for young adults. The budget analyst found largely good performance but flagged unresolved invoice documentation and called approval a policy matter. The department said the provider had fixed the issue and committed to report back. The committee adopted a technical amendment correcting a procurement recital. The provider said the remaining issue was client-level, not fiscal invoicing.

For the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation for Community Improvement, the amendment covers the Bayview Navigation Center and raises the not-to-exceed amount to $25,737,447. The contract supports an adult shelter. The budget analyst said performance was largely good but that the nonprofit had not tracked several outcome measures and was several years behind on required financial audits. The analyst said the provider had implemented most corrective actions. The provider said completing the audits was its top priority. Both items went to the full Board on 3-0 votes.

The committee also forwarded an ordinance appropriating $1,765,000 from the General Reserve to the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development for immigration legal services in FY2026-2027. Immigration legal service providers, rapid response network organizers and civil liberties advocates spoke in support. They described increased federal immigration enforcement, detention, habeas filings and demand for legal defense and know-your-rights outreach. No one spoke in opposition, and the committee sent the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

The committee also forwarded three SFO concession leases with positive recommendations, covering coffee shops and a grab-and-go market in Terminal 3 West and the Dianne Feinstein International Terminal. Each lease moved on a 3-0 vote. The committee's recommendations are expected to go before the full Board on November 10.