| San Francisco County, CA | March 5, 2002 Election |
 |
Homeownership Opportunities for TenantsBy Christopher L. "Chris" BowmanCandidate for Republican Party County Central Committee; County of San Francisco; Assembly District 13 |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
San Francisco's Condo Conversion Law needs to be amended so that a tenant can purchase the apartment he or she lives in. By increasing homeownership opportunities, the City will flourish and its politics will move towards the center.Unlike virtually every other city in the nation, the majority of residents in San Francisco are renters. There are historic reasons for that fact, in part, the 1906 earthquake and fire which destroyed 90% of the City's housing stock, and the limited supply of land on which to build single detached homes. But the fact that only 35% of the housing in San Francisco is owner-occupied places homeowners in the City in a precarious position because they must pay for renter-passed General Obligation Bond measures through higher property taxes, and middle class renters are forced to move to the suburbs to fulfill their dream of homeownership. Increasingly, San Francisco is becoming a City of the have's and the have not's, and a dwindling middle class. Tenant Activists and social engineers passed rent control and various other controls of the housing market in the late 1970's and in subsequent years. As controls have gotten tighter and tighter, it has become harder and harder for San Franciscans to become homeowners. One of those measures limited condominium conversions to 200 a year out of a housing stock of over 325,000. To break this impasse, a group calling for homeownership for tenants was formed, and it plans to circulate a petition later this year so a measure can be placed on the November ballot which would allow up to 3,400 tenants each year to purchase their own units. It would be a win-win for landlords and tenants alike, and although the rental stock would be reduced, so too would the demand for rental housing be reduced. Within ten years, 45% of the housing stock of the City would be owner-occupied, and as a result, exorbitant general obligation bond measures would be defeated at the polls because the City would move towards the center politically. |
Next Page:
Position Paper 2
Candidate Page
|| Feedback to Candidate
|| This Contest
March 2002 Home (Ballot Lookup)
|| About Smart Voter
ca/sf
Created from information supplied by the candidate: February 21, 2002 12:23
Smart Voter 2000 <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © 2000
League of Women Voters of California Education Fund.
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor
opposes candidates for public office or political parties.