Committee expands displaced‑tenant preference to include some unlawful units tied to San Bruno project

The Land Use and Transportation Committee on May 1 advanced an amendment to San Francisco's displaced‑tenant preference program to cover tenants living in unlawful dwelling units when the Planning Commission approves demolition, conversion or merger of units or denies legalization.

Anna Herrera, legislative aide to Supervisor Ronen, said the measure grew out of a complex case at the San Bruno Avenue properties (referenced in committee materials as the San Bruno project) where owners illegally built additional units and the Planning Commission concluded many units could not be legalized. Herrera said the tenants are "working class families of color, majority monolingual Spanish or Cantonese speaking, including seniors and young children," and that legalization of a subset of original units would likely displace others. She described an amendment requiring documentation such as a notice to vacate or tenant statement of intent to relinquish leasehold interest.

Housing advocates urged action. Alicia Sandoval of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, who has worked with tenants at 2867/2899 San Bruno, called the situation "a bad situation" and said about 16 occupied units are at risk if only 10 can be legalized. Sandoval urged the committee to support the legislation and stressed the need for relocation planning and legal connections for affected tenants.

Chair Supervisor Myrna Melgar described the case as "terrible" and said the legislation is an imperfect but necessary step to help tenants who face displacement. The committee voted to adopt the Herrera amendment and forward the ordinance as amended to the full Board with a positive recommendation; Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Dean Preston and Myrna Melgar each voted aye.

The ordinance would allow displaced tenants from units the Planning Commission requires removed or declines to legalize to qualify for MOHCD's displaced‑tenant housing preference program. The committee record notes the San Bruno example and the amendment's documentation requirements; the full ordinance text and future committee material will specify program implementation and verification procedures.

The committee's action sends the matter to the full Board of Supervisors on the May 9 agenda for final consideration.