San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting – September 18, 2023

The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on Monday, September 18, 2023, at 18:15 UTC (11:15 a.m. PDT) to consider three items: a mayoral appointment to the Historic Preservation Commission, a payroll deduction addition for the Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation, and amendments to the tenant organizing ordinance (Union at Home 2.0). All three items received unanimous approval and were forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors as committee reports.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Item 3 (Historic Preservation Commission appointment): David Pilpel, a member of the public, noted typos in the motion (misspelling of nominee's name and incorrect reference to the previous seat holder). No other public comments were received.
• Item 1 (Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation): Matt Wood, Vice President of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation and representative of Firefighters Union Local 798, spoke in support. He stated that the foundation is the largest single recipient of payroll deductions through the Combined Charities program, receiving nearly $60,000 annually, and that the loss of that program necessitated this addition. He thanked the committee for its support.
• Item 2 (Tenant organizing amendments): Multiple speakers testified in support:
  • Brad Hearn (Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco) highlighted that tenants had used the original ordinance in every supervisor district.
  • Lena Maibaum (Housing Rights Committee and Veritas Tenant Association member) described her experience with tenant organizing and urged passage.
  • Molly Goldberg (San Francisco Anti-Displacement Coalition) and another caller supported the amendments for clarifying good-faith negotiations.
  • Dave Masson (Chair of 700 Church Tenants Association) detailed how the current language allowed a landlord to avoid meaningful conferring, and that the amendments would strengthen the requirement for responsible personnel to negotiate.
  • Evan Arabic, a tenant, emphasized the ordinance’s role in fighting displacement and urged support.

Discussion Items

• Item 3 – Mayoral Appointment, Historic Preservation Commission – Hans Baldauf:

  • The committee took this item out of order. Nominee Hans Baldauf, a licensed architect, appeared remotely from Italy. He described his background (work on the Ferry Building, Palace of Fine Arts restoration) and his interest in the Legacy Business Program. He answered questions from Supervisor Safai about attending commission meetings and his approach to historic preservation (seeking a “win-win” between preservation and building vitality). Supervisor Safai suggested the commission work with the Planning Department to better map historic designations.
  • The committee identified typos in the motion (name spelling and previous seat holder). The city attorney confirmed corrections could be made without amending the motion. The committee voted unanimously to send the appointment to the full board as a committee report with a positive recommendation.

• Item 1 – Administrative Code – Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation:

  • Sponsor President Aaron Peskin introduced the ordinance, explaining that the elimination of the Combined Charities program in the budget had removed the payroll deduction mechanism for the foundation. The ordinance adds the foundation to the list of eligible organizations for voluntary payroll deductions. The Controller’s office is aware and accepting.
  • Supervisor Walton, Dorsey, and Safai added themselves as co-sponsors. The committee voted unanimously to forward the item to the full board as a committee report.

• Item 2 – Administrative Code – Tenant Organizing (Union at Home 2.0):

  • Sponsor Supervisor Connie Chan presented the amendments, which clarify the obligation of landlords to confer in good faith, require translation services to be provided with adequate notice, and make other clarifying changes. She noted that lessons learned from implementation of the original ordinance (passed in 2022) necessitated these improvements. She cited the sale of 75 buildings (over 2,000 units) by Veritas to Ballast Investments as an example of the scale of corporate landlord impact.
  • Supervisor Dorsey expressed support, noting his experience with tenant issues in his district. Supervisor Walton, who moved to accept the proposed amendments, stressed the importance of representation for seniors and non-English speakers. The committee voted unanimously to adopt the amendments and then to forward the amended ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation.

Key Outcomes

• Item 3 (Historic Preservation Commission): Approved unanimously (3-0) to forward to the full board as a committee report. The motion will be corrected for typos.
• Item 1 (Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation): Approved unanimously (3-0) to forward to the full board as a committee report.
• Item 2 (Tenant organizing amendments): The proposed amendments were adopted unanimously (3-0), and the amended ordinance was forwarded to the full board with a positive recommendation (3-0). All three items are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda of September 26, 2023.