The March, 2020 election will soon be upon us.  Early voting begins February 3.  In addition to the Presidential primary, there will be contests for U.S. Representative, State Senate, State Assembly, County Central Committee, one State proposition, and five local propositions.  HANC will discuss the election in our February meeting.

HANC supports San Francisco Proposition E and has written an argument in support of it, which will appear in the Voter Information Guide.  Proposition E  would tie the limit on the  construction of new large office projects in San Francisco to the City’s affordable housing production.  If the City falls short in meeting its Affordable Housing goals, then the limit on large office projects would go down by the same percentage.

Here is the argument HANC submitted:

The Board of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council strongly urges a Yes vote on E.

The unprecedented growth of the commercial office sector has overwhelmed the City's housing stock even though some 77,000 units have been approved in recent years. Investment in commercial real-estate yields more profit than investment in residential real estate, especially after the Trump tax cuts for office developers.  This "market reality" demands local regulation which links commercial office development to the production of truly affordable housing  Preposition E is that needed  linkage.