SFBG.com
An Excerpt: ...Lennar already has spent $3.26 million to promote Prop. G and oppose Prop. F, only to find polls showing Prop. F well ahead despite a campaign that has raised less than $10,000. The weak poll numbers clearly convinced Lennar and its backers in the political power structure that voters would be more likely to support Prop. G if Lennar came up with something that seemed legally binding.But by supporting a deal that appears to pin down Lennar on levels of housing affordability and community investment, Newsom ironically seems to be validating the concern of Daly and Prop. F's other backers that Prop. G lacks guarantees on these fronts (see "Promises and reality," 04/23/08).
Not even Newsom could deny that Prop. F's presence on the political landscape pushed Lennar to seek a community benefits agreement with the Labor Council and ACORN, a group that had been a solid part of Daly's affordable-housing constituency.
"It probably has," Newsom told the Guardian. "That said, I don't think Prop. F should suggest the deal is better because of them. Perhaps it's worse."
...Joseph Smooke, executive director of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, said he believes the jobs agreements labor negotiated are good. "It's the housing stuff where they gave away the store," Smooke said. "Why didn't they stick to the jobs piece and support Prop. F?"Pointing to the Board of Supervisors' passage of policy saying that 64 percent of housing in eastern neighborhoods should be targeted at 80 percent of AMI and below, Smooke added, "There are ways to make 50 percent affordable work. This is free land. It's not rocket science. But is it city policy to protect a developer's stated desire for 18 to 22 percent profit?"
Meanwhile, Alicia Schwartz of POWER hopes SFOP and ACORN are being accountable to their base of low-income workers. "Lennar would like to tell you that if Prop. G doesn't pass, nothing happens. But in reality, the community's plan stays, plus now there is a 50 percent affordable-housing requirement," Schwartz said. "That's a win-win."
"For Newsom and Lennar to say that Prop. F is a poison pill — the irony is not lost on the Bayview," Schwartz added, recalling the city's failure to hold Lennar accountable for its promises and misdeeds. "We're looking to change the way business is done in San Francisco." Read the full story.
SFBG.com
EDITORIAL Excerpt: In the late 1980s, Mayor Art Agnos put forward a plan for development at Mission Bay, which at that point was an underused plot of land that used to be a Southern Pacific railroad yard. He negotiated with the developer, Catellus Corp., and cut what he insisted was the best deal the city could possibly get. He insisted that any more demands — for, say, increased affordable housing — would have so damaged the project's finances that nothing would ever be built.NY Times and Wall Street Journal:Development opponents took the issue to the voters — and the mayor's plan lost. Catellus promptly came back with a much sweeter deal.
It's worth remembering that lesson, because next week voters will be faced with a stark choice for a massive Hunters Point–Bayview redevelopment plan. Mayor Gavin Newsom and his allies say the city has squeezed major concessions from the developer, Lennar Corp. The San Francisco Labor Council and two community groups have forced Lennar to sweeten the pot even more (see "Assessing the deal," page 11). At this point, the city's supposed to have the best deal it can possibly get.
But with all due respect to the Labor Council, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and the San Francisco Organizing Project, it's not good enough. Keep Reading.
The following articles don't tell the whole story, but are evidence that we're starting to see a frame change around affordable housing, luxury development and the economy. All thanks to the organizing behind Prop F!
NY Times: Major San Francisco Development Faces a Ballot Test
WSJ: Lennar Plans are tough sell in San Francisco
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