SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Affordable housing advocates launched a campaign initiative in San Francisco on Saturday.
The "Affordable Homes Now" measure is an amendment to the city charter. If approved, it would streamline affordable housing projects by reducing approval time, from what can often be several years, to just six to nine months.
Within hours of launching the "Affordable Homes Now" campaign at The Panhandle in San Francisco, a coalition of housing, labor and environmental organizations had already collected 700 signatures in support.
"We need to get about 52,000 signatures gathered in order to get this initiative on the ballot," said Affordable Homes Now president Rachael Tanner.
The deadline to collect those signatures is mid-July. The election is in November.
The measure is actually an amendment to the city's charter, which has already been rejected by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Tanner says it would reduce the city's housing approval window from an average of four years to nine months.
"Now, they'll meet all of our codes and our standards that are already laws on the books," Tanner said. "And, so it really is saying we've passed these laws, this is how we want our housing to look, lets get it built."
"It has been a long road to get here," said Mayor London Breed.
Breed and California Senator Scott Wiener support the measure.
"I think at some point, the voters need to take matters into their own hands and make clear that we want more housing and we want it faster," Wiener said.
Proponents say the measure would keep educators and union workers in the city and create more jobs.
"Folks have been priced out, which is creating these super commutes for our folks, and I believe all construction workers," said Executive Officer of Nor Cal Carpenters Union Jay Bradshaw.
And should this initiative make the ballot in November. It would only require a simple majority to pass.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/JyT8qHj
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