Board Removes Pet-Surcharge Advocates
Three commissioners on the San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commission have lost their positions because they suggested that landlords should be able to charge a higher rent as an incentive to let tenants keep pets. This March, the commission recommended legislation that would allow landlords to raise rents 5% per pet; it felt that this change could create a more pet-friendly attitude among the city’s rental housing providers. But the San Francisco Board of Supervisors took umbrage at what they perceived to be an attack on the city’s rent control laws. The board decided not to reappoint Commission Chair Richard Schulke or two other commissioners who had voted in favor of the pet surcharge.

Landlord Rekeying at Board
San Francisco Supervisor Jake McGoldrick introduced legislation mandating that landlords rekey or replace locks on all outside doors after tenants move out. McGoldrick claims that the legislation is designed to increase safety and security in a city where tenants are often moving in and out of their apartments. But SFAA believes it is precisely this revolving door of tenants that makes this legislation onerous on apartment building owners, who would have to foot the bill for expensive locksmith services every time a tenant vacates and before a new tenant moves in. SFAA hopes that its concerns will be heard before this legislation progresses any further.

Water Rates Undecided
Despite working with city agencies for more than two months, SFAA still does not know the outcome of its work to create a passthrough for the higher water rates approved by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in May. In fact, at press time, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was considering rescinding the increase. The issue came up for a board vote in June and was continued; the fate of the passthrough (SFAA is lobbying for a 100% passthrough of the increase) is equally ambiguous. “It’s not over ‘till it’s over,” says SFAA Executive Director Janan New.

Despite widespread opposition and outrage, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission approved a huge increase in water and sewage fees at its May 8, 2007, meeting. The SFPUC claims that it needs to raise rates (which, for households with average water and wastewater use, will increase by $4.36 on July 1, 2007, and $5.81 after July 1, 2008) in order to pay for seismic improvements and other upgrades to its infrastructure. SFAA opposed this increase, and many of its members attended the May 8 meeting at San Francisco City Hall to let their voices be heard.

Trophy Sponsorship Opportunities
SFAA has just opened the doors for sponsorship opportunities at its first-ever awards event: the SFAA Trophy Awards. The formal dinner event will be held at the Palace Hotel on November 29, 2007. “Lombard”-level sponsorships are available for $500 and include a listing in the program directory, recognition in this magazine, event signage and two complementary tickets to the award ceremony. “Coit Tower” sponsorship is $1,500 and includes four tickets, a half-page ad in the directory and the same event signage and recognition in the magazine as the Lombard sponsorship. For $5,000—“Golden Gate” sponsorship—members are entitled to a full-page ad in the directory, a table at the event, major signage and recognition in the magazine and at www.sfaa.org.

Two New Additions to SFAA
SFAA is happy to announce that two of its staff members, Crystal Wang and Lara Kisich, had their long-awaited babies this spring. Wang gave birth to Kiana KaiQi Hsieh on February 25, 2007. Kiana, Wang’s second child, weighed six pounds, 14 ounces. Wang came back to work as SFAA’s accountant in June. Lara Kisich, SFAA’s membership director, had her first child, a boy, in May. Kisich is still on maternity leave, but should be back at SFAA later this summer. SFAA wishes both moms all the best.

Inclusionary Housing Measures
The Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California recently released a survey of inclusionary housing ordinances that shows such ordinances are growing in popularity throughout the state. NPHA Co-Director of Research and Policy Paul Peninger gave a rapt audience at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association an overview of this report, which is the most comprehensive survey of inclusionary housing ordinances in the state. Peninger reported that when the survey was last updated, in 2003, there were 130 inclusionary housing programs in the state; in the most recent report, 170 jurisdictions reported having such a program, or 30% of all jurisdictions in the state. NPHA also discovered that, since 1999, 30,000 new affordable units have been built statewide—approximately two-thirds of these were built onsite and about one-third were built in partnership with a nonprofit. Very few units were built offsite by the same developer who built the market-rate housing.

The biggest problem that Peninger sited was a lack of data surrounding the units built with in-lieu fees. He said that NPHA supports these fees as a way to offer more flexibility to developers, but said there is a lack of oversight as to how these fees are spent. In fact, Peninger noted that flexibility was a key component to creating what he called “inclusionary housing superstar jurisdictions.” These areas, which include Emeryville, Petaluma, Pleasanton, Dublin and San Bruno, have had the greatest success in using their inclusionary programs to create new affordable units. All the “superstars” allowed a lot of flexibility and incentive programs to entice developers to build there. Notably absent from that list was San Francisco, which doesn’t offer any of the incentives (like fast-track processing) that have been so successful in other areas. Peninger said that the city’s strong real-estate market means it doesn’t have to try as hard as other areas to pique developers’ interest. “Stronger jurisdictions don’t have the same pressure to offer these incentives,” he said.

Title Insurance Rate Cap Delayed
California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has decided to push back a plan to cap title insurance rates and escrow fees to 2011. Poizner said he hopes that those in the title insurance industry regulate themselves before the rate cap goes into effect, saying that he would amend the cap regulations if he sees evidence that the industry is reducing rates on its own.

Poizner’s call for rollbacks and price caps comes amidst charges that companies involved in title insurance and escrow have been colluding to raise rates, creating a noncompetitive climate. But trade groups supporting these industries say that competition is very strong and that consumers have more choice than ever.

Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,

Your article, “How to Choose a Maintenance and Repair Professional” in the May 2007 issue contains a material error. It incorrectly states that a “handyman can only do $500 worth of work per job, per day.” In reality, the limit is $500 per job, and there is no day limit. In fact, jobs exceeding $500 but broken into smaller contracts are specifically excluded from the license exemption.

I know it is hard to find good help these days. Using unlicensed people can seem cheaper, but has significant risks, like workers’ compensation claims. Any job over $500 requires a license to contract. There are good legal people out there; use them, not scofflaws.

Thank you,
Kevin Wallace, SFAA member, rental property owner and general contractor.