Rules committee advances property fraud notice program and firearm purchasing rules

San Francisco property owners would get an automatic notice whenever a deed or mortgage is recorded against their property under legislation a Board of Supervisors committee advanced Monday, a program meant to help owners catch title fraud before a fraudulent transfer takes hold.

The ordinance amends the Administrative Code to set up a recorder notification program that state law requires the city to have. The county recorder would mail the notice at no charge to the owner of record after a covered deed or mortgage is recorded. Title fraud usually means a forged deed or a loan taken out against a home in someone else's name, and owners often learn of it only when a sale or a foreclosure is already moving. A notice that arrives soon after the filing gives the owner a chance to challenge the record while the transaction is still recent.

Nobody from the public spoke on the item. The committee sent the ordinance to the full board as a committee report without objection. Staff said work on the program is on schedule and that the recorder's office is still reviewing the wording of the notice and checking it for accessibility.

The committee also recommended an ordinance revising how the city buys firearms and ammunition. The Administrative Code sets qualification standards for suppliers who sell guns and ammunition to the city, and provides a waiver when no supplier meets them.

Staff told the committee that solicitations have often ended in waivers because no supplier could satisfy the city's minimum qualifications. The revision would bar suppliers that have received recent federal warning letters or state fines. It keeps the waiver route open but rewrites its language so it matches the purchasing rules the city uses elsewhere. Public comment supported the ordinance. The committee recommended it to the full board without objection.

The rest of the agenda was appointments. The committee screens mayoral appointments to city boards and commissions and sends recommendations to the full board, which votes on them. Two appointments won recommendations, one of them after the committee changed the file from a rejection to an approval.

Ryan Jang, the mayor's appointee to the Building Inspection Commission, described years of architectural practice in the city. He told the committee that the department's life-safety mission is strong, and that coordination with other departments on permits, and alignment of the building code, could be better. The commission oversees the Department of Building Inspection, which issues permits and enforces the building code. Speakers who described themselves as architects and contractors backed the appointment. The committee amended the item from a rejection to an approval recommendation and sent it to the full board without objection.

Nabihah Azim, a mayoral reappointee to the Treasure Island Development Authority board, cited years of work in real estate development and affordable housing, including a project completed on the island. She told the committee the board's work should advance housing and infrastructure there. Another member of the authority's board spoke in support. The committee amended that item to a recommendation of approval as well and forwarded it without objection.

The committee filled a vacancy on the Veterans Affairs Council, which advises the city on services for veterans, and left the remaining seats open. Applicants described their military and public service records. Members of the public who spoke pressed the committee to back particular candidates and said attendance and follow-through matter as much as a resume. The committee appointed an applicant and continued the other seats to the call of the chair, with no stated opposition.

A mayoral appointment to the Entertainment Commission, which handles permits and policy for nightlife venues, was continued because the nominee, Clayton Shelvin III, was not present. No one from the public spoke. Staff noted that an appointment the committee does not act on is eventually deemed approved. The item went to the call of the chair without objection.

Items the committee acted on are expected to reach the Board of Supervisors on October 27. The continued appointments can come back at the chair's call; no date was set for them.