SFHA adopts HUD annual plan updates after stakeholder comments; adds formerly incarcerated preference

The Housing Authority voted July 6 to approve its five-year plan update, annual plan and capital grant schedule for submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and adopted numerous administrative-policy updates after public comment and edits.

Linda Mason, general counsel, presented the plan timeline and policy highlights, saying the authority had conducted multiple stakeholder meetings and incorporated comments from city partners and advocates. "We will not cover all the policy changes that are included in your packet," Mason said, and focused the presentation on high-interest policy areas where the language had been revised since May.

Key changes and clarifications included:

- Resident notification and RAD references: Plaza East appears in the plan as a candidate for RAD or RADBLEND repositioning; staff will issue resident information notices and host resident meetings as part of that process.

- Reasonable accommodations: The policy was clarified to emphasize that reasonable accommodations are available and will be handled case by case; the Authority removed some prescriptive language but retained chapter 2 procedures for accommodations.

- Live-in aids: Authority language was adjusted to require written requests and landlord approval before processing; staff indicated they are open to wording changes suggested in public comment to refer to live-in aides as "occupants" rather than "household members" to avoid lease/landlord conflicts.

- Wait-list organization and preferences: The Authority proposed merging site-based wait lists into a single list to improve efficiencies and added the ability to pull from other lists (PBV, RAD, public housing) if a list is exhausted.

- Formerly incarcerated preference: The administrative plan proposes up to 50 vouchers for households with a member who has been incarcerated for one or more years, who has maintained employment for at least six months and who is referred by a City agency; staff said the preference would become effective Oct. 1 and that the referral partner within the city would be determined before then.

- Grievance hearings and hearing-officer capacity: Staff recommended retaining the Authority’s capacity to provide formal hearing officers for certain RAD-related appeals; staff said vendor-supplied hearing-officer lists are being used while internal capacity is rebuilt.

Public commenters raised targeted concerns. Jennifer Wood (John Stewart Company) urged terminology changes for live-in aids; Jessica Wanger (Bay Area Legal Aid) asked that the Authority broaden protections for returning family members and consider succession rights; Katie Lamont (TNDC) offered to partner on SRO vacancy/referral work. Mason acknowledged those comments and said staff would continue to refine language and coordinate with HUD and city partners. "We will seek input from the resident council and development advisory committee on our communication materials," she said.

The commission moved and approved the plan for submission to HUD; President Joaquin Torres, Commissioner Leroy Lindo, Commissioner Luana Kim and Commissioner Mary Anne Bikes recorded "Aye" votes. Staff will finalize technical language items (for example, whether to use the term "occupant" versus "household member" for live-in aides) and submit the final package to HUD by the authority's July 15 deadline. HUD has until Oct. 1 to approve or return the plan with comments.

Next steps: staff to finalize outstanding language edits, continue city partner coordination on referrals for SROs and formerly incarcerated preferences, and submit the annual plan and attachments to HUD.