Landlords Seek Favor That Will Kill SF General RebuildRandy Shawbyline‚ Sep. 30‚ 2008Starting in the early 1990’s, it became a familiar story: big landlord groups threatening to oppose a critically needed construction bond unless the Board of Supervisors let them charge even more money to tenants. The Board long resisted these threats, and voters passed bond after bond. In contrast, when the Willie Brown administration granted landlords special rent passthroughs for a bond measure to construct a new De Young Museum, tenants fought the bond —which went down to an unexpected defeat. To avoid further conflicts, Supervisor Tom Ammiano sponsored a measure that appeared to finally resolve the bond passthrough issue. But now with the SF General Bond heading to victory, the landlords see a new opportunity to extract concessions. In this case, it is legislation sponsored by Supervisor Alioto-Pier that makes tenants pay increased water costs, which comes before the Board’s Land Use Committee on October 1. History shows that if the Board wants to ensure the hospital bond’s defeat, it should cave in to the landlord demands. |