By David Woo, HANC Board
The application results for affordable housing at 730 Stanyan show the actual nature of the affordability crisis in San Francisco. This past July, 8,599 households applied for 95 available units at 730 Stanyan (translating to 90 applications per unit!) through the city’s affordable housing program (“DAHLIA”) administered by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD). There are certain “preferences” when applying with MOHCD that put you higher on the list for a unit (units are decided by a lottery). Of the 8,599 households that applied, 1,103 qualified for the Neighborhood Resident Housing Preference, and 7,270 qualified for the Live or Work in San Francisco Preference. (Find application results here: https://housing.sfgov.org/listings/for-rent#lottery-results).
As 730 Stanyan shows, there is a clear need for 100% affordable housing for people who live and work in San Francisco. The private housing market will never provide affordability, as it is based on investment returns, profit, and speculation - affordability does not factor into that equation. Here’s the real world difference between market-rate housing and 100% affordable housing: the median rent of a market-rate 1 bedroom unit in SF is $3,500 (Zumper); compare that to a 1-bedroom unit at 730 Stanyan for $780/month for a household AMI up to 30% or $1,300/month for AMI up to 50%. The way to create affordability is through regulating housing. Unfortunately, the Mayor, his YIMBY allies, and the majority of the members of the Board of Supervisors ignore this basic fact and are instead barreling down a path of housing deregulation through a citywide upzoning plan that aims to demolish existing neighborhoods in order to create luxury apartments and multi-million dollar condos.
The Coalition for a Complete Community at 730 Stanyan (CCC) helped to promote and do outreach to seniors, families, residents, and workers in the Haight Ashbury during the open application period for 730 Stanyan. The CCC additionally worked with the affordable housing developers to ensure that there were application assistance workshops held in the Haight to assist neighborhood residents and workers in applying. There were three workshops held in the Haight, one application readiness workshop and two application assistance workshops, all of which were well attended and critically helped local community members apply. As seen in the 730 Stanyan application results, 1,103 households qualified for the Neighborhood Resident Housing Preference (meaning you either live in District 5 or live within ½ mile of the project), a significant amount given that this is the 3rd highest preference.
(A note on total unit count: there are 160 total units at 730 Stanyan, 95 were available to the public through MOHCD and what is being discussed here, 32 are administered by the SF Housing Authority based on Project Based Vouchers, 32 are administered by the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for formerly homeless youth and families, and 1 is for an onsite manager).