SFHA update: 214 vacant doors at Potrero, unit inspections and camera repairs underway

Eugene Berger Management and SFHA staff updated the commission on operations at Sunnydale and Potrero on April 1, reporting large numbers of vacant and boarded doors and steps to improve safety and maintenance.

Teresa Pagler said Sunnydale completed annual unit inspections for 100% of occupied units in March and that the authority is using a checklist to give residents an opportunity to cure issues before Housing Quality Standards inspections. She reported increased coordination with community-based organizations to assist with reexaminations, translations and repayment agreements for households behind on rent.

Pagler said there are approximately 214 vacant doors at Potrero and about 96 at Sunnydale; many of those doors have abandonment or trespassing notices posted so San Francisco Police Department can take enforcement action when needed. She said the boardings and other work related to accessing vacant units have driven a spike in work orders. "Those are the vacant doors that had the elevated work orders to be able to access them," she told commissioners.

Security systems also need attention: Pagler said several cameras are offline or have had conduit removed, and a repair proposal is pending with vendors (Watchtower was named as a monitoring vendor). The authority said it can provide a weekly Monday report on camera status to police partners to aid coordination.

On parking and towing, Pagler said the authority is re-bidding its towing contract after vendors imposed high fees; she described efforts to collect household vehicle data to ease future transitions to redeveloped sites.

Next steps: staff will provide more data in the March report that links inspection and outreach activities to measurable outcomes, and will follow up on camera repair proposals and outreach to SFPD regarding monitoring and enforcement coordination.