Dear XXX

As you will remember, last year our industry faced a huge crisis. Supervisor Jane Kim,
backed by major elements in the affordable housing industry, proposed Proposition K. In
its original manifestation, Prop. K required the Planning Commission to establish that any
new proposed housing project meet certain affordable housing balance requirements and
be required to secure conditional use authorization (C.U.) even for principally permitted
projects. As originally designed, Prop. K polled at over 73% approval. If it had been
enacted as proposed, Prop. K would have effectively ended the provision of market-rate
housing in the City. Collectively, some of us in the industry wrote Jane to express our
extreme concerns about the proposed measure. That letter is attached to this email. The
Mayor, Jeff Buckley, Tomiquia Moss, Eric Tao and I then worked extremely hard to
modify the legislation. Eric and I indeed had many marathon meetings with Jane, her
aide, April Veneracion, as well as Fernando Marti and Peter Cohen of ChooChoo
(CCHO). Eventually, with 15 minutes to spare, a compromise was negotiated, and Prop.
K was modified. As part of the agreement, our side agreed to raise cash to make sure that
a major affordable housing bond was enacted by the City, and Jane's side agreed to
eliminate the "metering" and C.U. requirements which they did.
Since that date, our industry has boomed. Construction and development have reached
all-time highs. Now, it is time to meet our side of the obligation. If we don't, it is
absolutely guaranteed that a new, more powerful version of Prop. K will appear on the
2017 ballot, and it will pass. The mood in the City is rapidly approaching an antidevelopment hysteria. If we don't meet our obligations, the son of Prop. K will come
back with a vengeance. Whether it will come back anyway cannot be guaranteed, but I
did talk with Peter Cohen of ChooChoo and Malcolm Yeung of CCDC, the two primary
authors of Prop. K, and they have assured me that they will not work on this metering
idea again if we keep our side of the bargain. We committed to raise at least $1,000,000
to support the proposed bond, and we have to deliver.
The $310 million Housing Bond if properly levered could provide thousands and
thousands of affordable housing units for the City. As an example of possible uses, the
bond, combined with new, inter-related proposed laws relating to the provision of off-site
housing, could stimulate the construction of new affordable housing to a remarkable
degree. If $20 million of bond proceeds were combined with a similar amount from
market-rate developers meeting their offsite requirements as well as with dollars from the
sale of tax-credits, an affordable housing provider could build 200 units of affordable
housing. Now, THAT is leverage!!!!
This bond helps San Francisco. It provides shelter for our most vulnerable. It houses the
workers who clean our streets and wash our windows as well those who teach our
children and grandchildren and protect us. Everyone living in San Francisco should
support this bond, but those of us in the industry get a double benefit. Not only do we
provide housing for people like the construction workers who create our projects, we also
build and get paid to build the very projects that will house these San Franciscans.

At our recent breakfast with Mayor Lee, he told us that this bond was the central and
most important element of his re-election campaign. The Mayor has been extremely
supportive of the provision of housing, and we in the industry simply cannot leave him
"twisting in the wind". This bond HAS to win, and it would be wonderful if our industry
served as the economic catalyst to getting this passed. That achievement would be
something in which to take much pride. We wouldn't be seen as opposing moratoriums
and evicting small tenants to build massive projects. Instead, we would be (and truly are)
in every way on the right side of this important issue.
XXX, you are intimately involved in the development industry in San Francisco and will
be increasingly an important personage. Will you commit to contributing $50,000 to this
effort? I am sorry to somehow always being in position of begging for funds but these
funds: 1) meet our Prop K obligation, 2) provide future work for our industry and 3) most
importantly, protect those San Francisco residents who keep our city functioning as a
wonderful place to live and work. Proposition A is very important for the future of our
City and is worthy of our support.
My very best to you,
Oz