Lily�s Diary

Crowding in Bathtubs and Transit Corridors

by Lily

July 1
Robert told me that Joe Grubb is going to bow out of the Rent Board’s top job at the end of the year. Too bad. Somehow he’s managed to maintain objectivity and a sense of humor in an institutionally no-win position. In fact, he’s attained a level of general regard that places him up there with San Francisco’s holy trinity of Mike Hennessey, Harvey Rose and Ed Harrington. I can think of a couple of capable Rent Board staff members who might take the job and even a couple of commissioners, but who knows what the next mayor will have in mind for that position? One thing is certain, if the tenant advocates have their way, and the Rent Board Commissioners are elected at the polls, he or she will need resolution, courage and the skin of a rhino.

July 2
I suspect that Roberta and Chris, the couple in Apt. 6, are doing more in their bathtub than scrub-a-dub-dubbing. For starters, water is seeping through my bathroom ceiling. Second, I’m hearing sounds suggestive of the adult channel they had on a few hours before. Then there’s the look on Roberta’s face when I went up to investigate the bathroom and saw the candle wax, colored lights and certain, well, fun objects. “Whatever turns you on” has always been my philosophy, just so long as it doesn’t mean paying for new flooring. I think she got my point.

July 3
Remind me: who were all those people who raised their hands at the April SFAA meeting indicating they’d go to Sacramento to lobby the legislators? Although there were a lot of people at the statewide CAA event, only a handful of us were from San Francisco. Too bad. You missed a fascinating day. In the morning, we had a briefing by CAA’s Executive Chief Officer, Tom Bannon, on the realities of Sacramento. “There are more Democrats in this legislature than in any other state in the nation and they are preoccupied with budget cuts,” said Mr. Bannon. There was a rundown on the most venomous anti-property-owner legislation now in the works, along with some no-nonsense advice on meeting legislators: “Don’t identify your party, stick to the issues, don’t mindlessly nod your head in agreement when they launch into their bureaucratic gobbledygook and, for god’s sake, don’t tell them that you sent them any money.” We wore badges announcing that, “We’re part of the solution,” and marched with banners around the capitol. During the afternoon, the San Franciscans met with Assemblymen Leland Yee and Mark Leno.

I got the distinct feeling that we, the rank and file property owners, should be going up there much more often. Our industry representatives in Sacramento are enormously capable but they’re spread thin. Without our help they simply aren’t able to convey the personal burden experienced by San Francisco property owners under rent control.

July 12
My friend Shirley has a cottage in back of her house, a former garage converted to housing by her dad during World War II. Martha, an elderly woman, has lived there for over twenty years and recently suffered a stroke. She’s been at St. Francis Hospital for nearly six weeks and has no relatives. Shirley doesn’t know what to do. The staff at Adult Protective Services tells her they can’t appoint a conservator until requested by a hospital social worker. The social worker is reluctant to make the move until she is convinced Martha won’t recover enough to make her own decisions.

The cottage is chock full of furniture and the kind of clutter sold at auctions in lots. Shirley doesn’t care about missing a couple of months rent from an old tenant in ill health. However, since Martha will probably never return, Shirley is left in limbo just now. This reminded me that, as rental property owners, we provide young people with their first apartments and elderly tenants with their last. Ours may not be considered a “helping profession,” but we all know we are given many opportunities to make a positive difference in the lives of our tenants. I do recognize the wisdom in the expression, oft-heard around SFAA, that “no good deed will go unpunished,” but I also know that there are hundreds of landlords in this town who have been quietly committing acts of kindness for years. You just never hear about it.

July 20
The so-called Housing Element looks as though it is moving forward. Last month, Maggie and I went to the second public hearing on this long-range planning document (part of the General Plan) that each city is required to present to the State of California. If the final draft is approved, it will increase density on “transit corridors” such as Geary, Haight and Mission streets, and additionally allow expansion of residential buildings 1250 feet on each side of these arteries without requiring any additional parking. Some of my transit-first pals think this is a good idea. I’m not convinced that just because you live near a bus line you will abandon your car.

The hearing at the Planning Commission was a farce. A bunch of us went together after arranging to get off work, and we found that although public comment was on the agenda for 3:30 p.m., no one had a chance to speak until after 6:00. Soon after, when they announced they would interrupt the proceedings to take up an unrelated issue, we left disgusted. Sure, I realize that as housing providers we’re supposed to support more housing, but let’s take a closer look at this treatise (if indeed it is not too late by the time you read this). Greater density without parking will greatly impact the neighborhoods we live in. Within the draft plan there is also a recommendation to maintain rent control, stop mergers of units, continue to restrict condo and TIC conversions and an aggressive social agenda for subsidized housing. Copies of this publication are available at the Planning Department.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. A longtime rental property owner who reserves the right to remain anonymous on the grounds that her tenants might gang up on her writes "Lily's Diary." Copyright © 2003 San Francisco Apartment Magazine