Will Supes Divert Money from Homeless?Paul Hogarthbyline‚ Jan. 23‚ 2007In direct conflict with City policy, the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee will consider tomorrow whether to sell a plot of land to a private developer for $850,000 – and use the money to renovate an old historic structure and add more palm trees along Alemany Boulevard. The vacant lot at the corner of Alemany and Ocean is part of the City’s designated “surplus property” sites – which under City policy must either be developed to provide housing for homeless people, or else sold and have the proceeds used to finance affordable housing projects. Sponsored by Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval (whose district includes the vacant lot), the proposed legislation would explicitly exempt this land sale from the Surplus Property Ordinance and divorce it from any obligation to create affordable housing. This poses a dangerous precedent for housing development in San Francisco, and seriously calls into question the City’s commitment to solving homelessness. |