§ 23A.2. FINDINGS.

The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco hereby finds:

(a) Homelessness in San Francisco is a crisis. The Mayor's Offices of Community Development and Housing estimate that there are 3,125 homeless families and 9,375 homeless individuals in San Francisco.

(b) The main causes of homelessness are high cost of living, lack of affordable housing units, welfare reform, de-institutionalization of the mentally ill, substance abuse and San Francisco's unique place as a destination point. These causes are identified by the Mayor's Offices of Community Development and Housing in the 2000 Consolidated Plan.

(c) For homeless individuals and families, there is an unmet need of 3,187 housing slots for individuals and 2,025 slots for families.

(d) Surplus City property could be utilized to provide housing to homeless men, women and children.

(e) Surplus City property that is unsuitable for housing could be sold to generate income for permanent housing for people who are homeless.

(f) San Francisco's housing stock is unaffordable for many residents. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment increased by 110% from 1980 to 1990, while the overall cost of living increased by 64%. At $1,940, the average two-bedroom unit is out of reach to households earning less than $77,600 per year, based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's standards.

(g) San Francisco is experiencing a severe shortage of housing resulting in a negligible vacancy rate for habitable housing for persons earning less than half of the area median income.

(h) Many renters are unable to locate rental housing of any kind. These persons are increasingly seeking shelter in already overcrowded emergency shelters and, when such shelters are full, finding themselves on the City's streets.

(i) Existing rental housing constitutes much of the remaining affordable housing in the City. The number of such units is diminishing as a result of increased pressures for more development both downtown and in many neighborhoods.

(j) Frequently, real estate speculation results in the premature closure of existing habitable buildings and the withdrawal of existing rental units from the market long before such closure would be needed for any physical redevelopment of such sites.

(k) The Board of Supervisors and the Mayor have concurred with the findings of the City's Health Commission that there exists a health and housing emergency, as enumerated in Board Resolution 537-01, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 2001 and approved by the Mayor on July 6, 2001.

(l) Under the City's Charter, a number of City Commissions and Departments, including the Port, the Airport, the Public Utilities Commission, the Municipal Transportation Agency, the Recreation and Parks Commission and the Fine Arts Museums Board of Trustees have jurisdiction and control of their respective Property, and, thus, the provisions of this Chapter regarding declaring Property surplus or conveying Property shall operate only as recommendations of policy to such departments and Commissions.

(m) State law includes a number of statutes that potentially govern the disposition of surplus City Property, including Government Code Section 54220 et seq. (the "State Surplus Property Statute"). Under the State Surplus Property Statute, State agencies and subdivisions of the State, including cities or counties, disposing of surplus real property must first send a written offer to sell surplus property to and negotiate in good faith the conveyance of such surplus property with certain local agencies designated by the State for affordable housing, recreation, open space and school purposes. Any conveyances of Surplus Property under this Chapter would be subject to and would first need to comply with applicable State law, including the State Surplus Property Statute, and the application of the State Surplus Property Statute may preclude or impair disposing of Surplus Property for the purposes and in the manner set forth in this Chapter.

(n) San Francisco is suffering from an urgent crisis of housing affordability and displacement that requires immediate action.

(o) The passage by the voters of Proposition K in November 2014 demonstrated a clear policy imperative to increase production of housing, especially housing affordable to households of low, moderate and middle incomes.

(p) Publicly owned land that is suitable for housing development represents a unique opportunity for San Francisco to meet the affordable housing policy goals set forth in Proposition K.

(q) Affordable housing is of vital importance to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of San Francisco and provision of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every San Franciscan is a priority of the highest order.

(r) There is a shortage of sites available for housing for persons and families of low, moderate and middle incomes, and surplus publicly owned land, prior to disposition, should be strategically deployed to address that shortage.

(s) This Chapter 23A will have no impact on park lands, which are protected from development under the City Charter.

(t) The State of California adopted Assembly Bill 2135 in November 2014, requiring local agencies and school districts to give priority in disposing of the surplus land to affordable housing.

(u) California Government Code Sections 54220-54232, the "State Surplus Property Statute," applies to any local agency, including any city and county, and district, including school districts of any kind or class, and sets out rules for "surplus land" that is determined to be no longer necessary for the agency's use.

(v) The Board of Supervisors approved this Chapter 23A in November 2002 to identify and use surplus City-owned property for the purpose of providing housing, shelter, and other services for people who are homeless, which resulted in the development of two 100% affordable housing developments.

(w) The sale or lease of surplus land at less than fair market value to facilitate the creation of affordable housing is consistent with goals and objectives of San Francisco's Housing Element and Proposition K.

(Added by Ord. 227-02, File No. 011498, App. 11/26/2002; amended by , App. 11/3/2016)