§ 41F.2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS.

(a) As one of the country’s premier travel destinations, the City and County of San Francisco (“San Francisco” or “the City”) depends on visitors for its economic health and well-being.

(b) During the past eleven years since 2008, San Francisco’s economy has been bolstered by its convention market. In 2013, San Francisco deepened its investment in the convention market by financing the expansion of the Moscone Center, noting at the time that the City had lost over $2 billion worth of trade show business due to capacity limitations. To remain competitive with other large cities with respect to attracting conventions, which typically book large blocks of rooms in large hotels, the City needs to continue the restrictions on the conversion of rooms in large hotels to condominiums.

(c) Since its passage in 2008, the Tourist Hotel Conversion Ordinance (the “THCO”) has stabilized San Francisco’s hotel sector and preserved thousands of hospitality industry jobs in the City by restricting the conversion of rooms and suites in large hotels to condominiums. Because the THCO has been a proven success over the past decade in fulfilling its purpose, the City wants to continue it and strengthen its provisions.

(d) Absent the THCO, the high price of luxury housing would likely have resulted in the conversion of thousands of tourist hotel units to condominiums, thereby constricting the number of hotel rooms available to convention attendees and risking the loss of convention business to competing markets. Given the continuing high prices of housing in San Francisco, it is vital to the City’s economic interest and well-being to continue the restriction on conversion of hotel rooms to condominiums.

(Added by Ord. , File No. 190683, App. 10/11/2019, Eff. 11/11/2019)

(Former Sec. 41F.2 added by Ord. 41-08, File No. 071528, App. 3/24/2008; Ord. 14-09, File No. 081564, App. 1/16/2009; redesignated as Sec. 41F.3 and amended by Ord. , File No. 190683, App. 10/11/2019, Eff. 11/11/2019)