Supes to Vote on Affordable Housing Package Today

by Paul Hogarth, Beyond Chron (reposted)

Tue, Apr 24, 2007 10:39AM

With the City facing $130 million in surplus revenues, Supervisor Chris Daly has proposed a $28 million budget supplemental to acquire, construct and rehabilitate housing – with half the units targeted at those making less than $27,000 a year. Over the weekend, Mayor Gavin Newsom said that he opposed the housing supplemental – while at the same time urging the City to “do more” to get more affordable housing units. With a Mayoral-Board showdown looming on the horizon, over 100 housing activists and three Supervisors held a pep rally on the steps of City Hall yesterday to support the $28 million package. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on it today.

“We’re here to call on legislators to think about families living in poor situations in San Francisco,” said Silvia Alazar of the Coalition on Homelessness through a Spanish interpreter. “It’s about making more families eligible to get the affordable housing. We’re tired of politicians talk about how much they care about families, but not doing enough to prevent these families from leaving San Francisco.”

The Budget Supplemental is historic because half the units targeted would go towards families, senior and the disabled who make less than 30% of the area median income (AMI) – or about $27,000 a year. While San Francisco has built a lot of “affordable” housing over the years through its inclusionary housing ordinance, the vast majority are for those making 60% of AMI ($54,000-a-year), which is not enough for most working-class San Franciscans.

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