SF Mayor Ed Lee
Mayor Ed Lee broke out the tiny umbrella he uses during his tight rope act this week as he picked a precarious path over political, shark infested waters urging all involved in the hotly disputed tenancy-in-common (TIC) condo conversion debate to find common ground with each other.
Battle lines have been drawn and everyone involved has come to this debate armed to the teeth with reasons for and against the proposal. During the Jan. 28th meeting, after an acrimonious demonstration, fiery public comments and several supervisors expressed doubts about the viability of the proposal as it was currently written the issue was tabled.
The law change penned by Supervisors Scott Wiener and Mark Farrell bypasses current condo conversion parameters allowing the process to be drastically sped up. TIC owners would be able to fork out 20K to have property converted into condo bypassing the standing limits of 200 units per year currently mandated by the City in a lottery system.
Tenant Rights groups insist the new Wiener/Farrell law just allow landlords to circumvent rent control-condos don't fall under its pervue-which will lead to even greater numbers of evictions in the City where evictions are already happening at an alarming pace under the much despised Ellis Act.
Mayor Lee has expressed sympathy for everyone's position in this matter. He understands the TIC owners who desperately want to convert to condos so property values are increased or they can get relief from spiralling mortgage debt. He sympathizes with renters being squeezed out from Ellis evictions and an ever shrinking rental market whose prices have skyrocketed to the highest in the nation.
Sadly the Mayor also hasn't come forward with any concrete ideas on how to effect this much needed compromise telling the SF Gate, "I can't say I have any magic solution to this issue that will make everybody happy."
The BOS, Land Use Committee, chaired by the newly appointed Mr. Wiener, is set to meet on Feb. 25th to rehash the tabled proposal. Unless the Mayor can come up with more than sympathy and political spin likely the debate will continue down the path it currently is on.
