Committee approves amendment to direct inclusionary-housing fee to Geary Masonic area and expand local radius

The committee voted unanimously to recommend an ordinance that would direct roughly $4.5 million in inclusionary-housing fees toward a future 100% affordable housing project near the Geary Masonic Special Use District and to amend the draft to expand the targeted radius and lengthen the local-use period.

Supervisor (transcript: "Catherine Stephanie"), who presented the item, said the Geary Masonic SUD was originally created to facilitate mixed-use redevelopment, and that the developer chose to pay an inclusionary fee rather than include on-site below-market units. She proposed amending the radius where those in-lieu fees could be spent from 0.5 miles to 1.5 miles, and lengthening the period before the funds could be used citywide from two years to five years. "I am doing everything I can to make sure that my district… does its fair share to increase density and provide homes for families and working people," she said.

Supervisor Dean Preston and other colleagues discussed technical edits and voiced support for the targeted approach while cautioning that a larger radius should not become a default in other contexts. The committee adopted the sponsor’s amendments on a unanimous roll call and recommended the ordinance, as amended, out of committee.

The measure will proceed to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration.