SEC. 16.132. AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITY FUND FOR SENIORS, FAMILIES, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

(a) Establishment of Fund. There is hereby established the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund for Seniors, Families, and People with Disabilities (“Fund”) to be administered by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (“MOHCD”), or any successor agency. Monies therein shall be expended or used solely by MOHCD, subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the Charter. Monies in the Fund shall accumulate interest which shall be credited to the Fund, provided that the balance in the Fund exceeds $50,000. Any unexpended and unencumbered balance remaining in the Fund at the close of any fiscal year shall be accumulated to the Fund.

(b) Purpose of Fund. The purpose of the Fund is to increase and fund project-based rent subsidies for permanently affordable housing to make rents affordable for Extremely Low-Income Households.

(c) Definitions.

“Acutely Low-Income Disabled Persons” shall mean households consisting of persons eligible for accessible units for disabled households and earning up to 15% of Median Income.

“Acutely Low-Income Seniors” shall mean households consisting of seniors and earning up to 15% of Median Income.

“Extremely Low-Income Disabled Persons” shall mean households consisting of persons eligible for accessible units for disabled households and earning up to 25% of Median Income, and including Acutely Low-Income Disabled Persons.

“Extremely Low-Income Families” shall mean single adults or families earning up to 35% of Median Income.

“Extremely Low-Income Households” shall mean, collectively, Extremely Low-Income Disabled Persons, Extremely Low-Income Families, and Extremely Low-Income Seniors.

“Extremely Low-Income Seniors” shall mean households consisting of seniors and earning up to 25% of Median Income, and including Acutely Low-Income Seniors.

“Fund” shall mean the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund for Seniors, Families, and People With Disabilities, established in this Section 16.132.

“Housing Preservation Program” shall mean a program administered by MOHCD to preserve multifamily residential buildings or buildings with SRO Units as Permanent Affordable Housing that are at risk of loss of affordability or at risk of loss of the opportunity to create permanent housing affordability, due to vacancy decontrol or market speculation, and/or at risk due to their physical condition and need for life safety improvements.

“LOSP” shall mean the City’s Local Operating Subsidy Program that provides operating subsidies to residential buildings providing supportive housing for homeless individuals and families.

“Median Income” means the median income published annually by MOHCD for the City and County of San Francisco, adjusted solely for household size, and derived in part from the income limits and area median income determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the San Francisco area, but not adjusted for a high housing cost area.

“MOHCD” shall mean the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, or any successor agency.

“Permanent Affordable Housing” shall mean a multifamily housing building or a building with SRO Units that is: (1) regulated and monitored by the City under a recorded deed restriction, recorded regulatory agreement, and/or ground lease ensuring permanent affordability for the useful life of the property but for no less than 75 years; (2) 100% of the residential units are restricted to income qualified households (except any manager units) with a maximum average of not more than 80% of Median Income across all units in a project, but not to exceed 120% of Median Income for any unit; and (3) with a rent for all units in a project affordable to such households, at initial residence and at re-rental at no more than 30% of the maximum household income. Permanent Affordable Housing may include principally permitted non-residential uses on the ground floor, and non-residential uses that are accessory to and supportive of the affordable housing.

“Senior Housing” shall mean a multifamily residential building that is specifically designed for and occupied by senior households and complies with all applicable federal and state fair housing laws.

“Senior Operating Subsidies (SOS) Program Fund” shall refer to the program established to receive any monies appropriated or donated for the purpose of providing project-based subsidies to new senior affordable housing developments funded by the City to maintain rents that are affordable to extremely low-income senior residents with incomes at or below 30% of Median Income, or any successor program.

“SRO Unit” shall mean a Single Room Occupancy Unit and shall mean a dwelling unit or group housing room consisting of the following: (1) no more than one occupied room with a maximum gross floor area of 350 square feet and meeting the Housing Code’s minimum floor area standards; (2) which may have a bathroom in addition to the occupied room; and (3) as a dwelling unit, has a cooking facility and bathroom or, as a group housing room, it shares a kitchen with one or more other single room occupancy unit(s) in the same building and may also share a bathroom.

(d) Annual Appropriations to the Fund.

(1) In Fiscal Year 2026-2027, except as provided in subsection (d)(3), the City shall appropriate $8.25 million to the Fund.

(2) In each year after Fiscal Year 2026-2027, and through Fiscal Year 2045-2046, the City shall appropriate to the Fund an amount not less than the prior year’s appropriation, adjusted by the percentage increase or decrease in aggregate discretionary revenues, as determined by the Controller, based on calculations consistent from year to year, provided that the City may not increase appropriations to the Fund under this subsection (d)(2) by more than 3% in any fiscal year. In determining aggregate City discretionary revenues, the Controller shall only include revenues received by the City that are unrestricted and may be used at the option of the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors for any lawful City purpose.

(3) Notwithstanding subsections (d)(1) and (d)(2), the City may reduce the amount appropriated to the Fund in any fiscal year when the City’s projected budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year at the time of the March Joint Report or March Update to the Five Year Financial Plan as prepared jointly by the Controller, the Mayor’s Budget Director, and the Board of Supervisors’ Budget Analyst exceeds $250 million, adjusted annually beginning with Fiscal Year 2026-2027 by the percentage increase or decrease in aggregate City discretionary revenues, as determined by the Controller, based on calculations consistent from year to year; provided, however, that the amount appropriated to the Fund in Fiscal Year 2026-2027 shall be no less than $4 million and, thereafter, must be no less than $8.25 million in each fiscal year.

(4) The Controller shall set aside and maintain appropriations, together with any interest earned thereon, in the Fund.

(5) Commencing with a report filed no later than March 1, 2025, the Controller shall file annually with the Board of Supervisors, by March 1 of each year, a report containing the amount of monies from each non-general fund source projected to be available that may be appropriated to the Fund under this subsection (d).

(e) Uses of the Fund. The City, acting through MOHCD, shall disburse monies from the Fund through grants or other types of payments, on terms determined by MOHCD in its sole discretion. Any repayment of a grant or other payment from the Fund that the City receives will be returned to the Fund. Monies in the Fund shall be used to provide project-based rent subsidies only for new and existing Permanent Affordable Housing, provided that no more than 20% of annual funding from the Fund shall be used for the purpose of subsidizing existing Permanent Affordable Housing. Monies in the Fund shall be used to allow:

(1) Extremely Low-Income Seniors to afford a unit with rent restricted at 30% of 60% of Median Income in new or existing Permanent Affordable Housing that is Senior Housing and such households to pay a maximum rent not to exceed 30% of 15% of Median Income or 30% of 25% of Median Income, as applicable to the household’s income, with priority for Senior Housing that provides housing to persons at or over the age of 62; or

(2) Extremely Low-Income Families, prioritizing families with children, to afford a unit with rent restricted at 30% of 60% of Median Income in new or existing Permanent Affordable Housing, including a building with SRO Units, and such households to pay a maximum rent not to exceed 30% of 35% of Median Income; or

(3) Extremely Low-Income Disabled Persons to afford new or existing accessible units designated and designed for disabled households in Permanent Affordable Housing with rent restricted at 30% of 60% of Median Income and such households to pay a maximum rent not to exceed 30% of 15% of Median Income or 30% of 25% of Median Income, as applicable to the household’s income; or

(4) Extremely Low-Income Households to afford a unit with rent restricted at 30% of 60% of Median Income in an existing multifamily residential building, including an existing building with SRO Units, that will be acquired and preserved as Permanently Affordable Housing through funding under a Housing Preservation Program and such households to pay a maximum rent not to exceed 30% of 15% of Median Income, 30% of 25% of Median Income, or 30% of 35% of Median Income, as applicable to the household’s income.

Monies in the Fund shall not be used to provide rent subsidies directly to tenants to lease residential units, to provide subsidies for the sole purpose of an operating deficit, or to provide any other form of housing assistance that is not supporting Extremely Low-Income Households to afford a Permanent Affordable Housing unit. Except for expanding the availability of existing Senior Operating Subsidies (SOS) Program Fund programs, monies in the Fund shall not be used to replace or supplant funding for other rent subsidy programs existing as of the date this Section 16.132 was added to the Charter, including, but not limited to, LOSP housing or its successor programs.

(f) Implementation Policies and Annual Report.

(1) No later than June 1, 2025, MOHCD shall publish a report describing and analyzing implementation policy options that would maximize the number of ELI affordable senior, family, and accessible units through the provision of project-based rent subsidies in both new affordable housing and preservation projects.

(2) Beginning with the end of Fiscal Year 2026-2027, within 150 days of the end of each fiscal year, MOHCD shall file with the Board of Supervisors a report describing the status of any project authorized to be funded under this Section 16.132. MOHCD may combine such report with any other annual reporting obligations to the Board of Supervisors.

(g) Legislation. The City may enact ordinances establishing additional requirements for use of the Fund consistent with the purpose of this Section 16.132 .

(h) Expiration. This Section 16.132 shall expire by operation of law on December 31, 2046, following which the City Attorney may cause it to be removed from the Charter unless the Section is extended by voters.