Rules Committee continues motion to explore resident ownership at Midtown Park Apartments after charter dispute

Supervisor Myrna (first name not used in this transcript) Preston (identified in the hearing as Supervisor Preston) introduced a motion Oct. 31 to direct the Clerk of the Board to issue a request‑for‑proposals to create a working group that would explore resident ownership or resident control at Midtown Park Apartments, a 138‑unit, city‑owned affordable housing complex in the Western Addition.

Preston delivered a lengthy history of Midtown, describing it as the city’s only "true municipal housing" and recounting a 2007 Board resolution that laid out five guiding principles: preventing displacement, involving tenants, protecting long‑term affordability, exploring alternative ownership structures, and ensuring safe and decent housing. Preston said prior promises to residents had gone unfulfilled, that the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development had not advanced work in the 15 years since that resolution, and that limited district add‑back funds were allocated to jump‑start resident engagement.

The motion sought to use the Clerk’s Office and a limited RFP to retain an affordable‑housing consultant to facilitate resident‑led planning about ownership models. The City Attorney’s office advised that if the board directly negotiated a contract to perform executive functions the attorney would not approve the contract "as to form," and recommended alternative approaches such as ordinances or directing departments. Clerk Angela Calvillo said Charter section 2.117 authorizes duties the board may prescribe and that the Clerk’s Office could perform an RFP at the board’s will; Anne Pearson, Deputy City Attorney, said the board may create working groups by ordinance but the negotiation and approval of contracts is an executive function the City Attorney had advised against the board performing directly.

Preston asked the committee to continue the item to the call of the chair so the Clerk, City Attorney, BLA and his office can explore alternative paths (for example, whether BLA or another independent body could be used to subcontract the work). The committee voted to continue the item without objection.

Why it matters: Midtown is a long‑standing, predominantly Black public housing property whose residents and supervisors say were promised paths to long‑term resident control; this motion is framed as an attempt to center residents in that process while navigating legal limits on legislative action.

What’s next: staff and counsel will explore procedural options (BLA subcontract, ordinance, or other mechanism) and return with a revised approach.