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COPA Update: Compliance Not Required Until September 3, 2019

By Caroline Guibert Chase on June 17, 2019

San Francisco’s Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) became effective earlier this month but the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) has clarified that sellers of multi-family residential rental properties and certain vacant lots in San Francisco will not be required to comply until September 3, 2019 (90 days after the effective date). That date is the deadline for MOHCD to release a formal implementation program, including a list of “Qualified Nonprofits” that…

Unfamiliar Terrain

Two Affordable Housing Measures Proposed for November Ballot

By Caroline Guibert Chase on June 4, 2019

Two affordable housing measures are currently proposed for the November 5, 2019 ballot: (i) City Charter and Code amendments to encourage certain 100% affordable and teacher housing projects by providing for a streamlined ministerial — i.e., no CEQA — approval process for qualified projects and (ii) an up-to $500 million affordable housing bond.…

Unfamiliar Terrain

SB 50 Update: Vote Postponed to 2020

By Tay Via on May 16, 2019

The Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee announced that Senator Wiener’s SB 50 is now a two-year bill, which means that it will not be eligible for vote until January. We will continue to track the status of SB 50 and any future amendments or successor legislation that may be introduced.…

Unfamiliar Terrain

Senator Wiener’s SB 50 Moves Forward with Compromise Amendments

By Tay Via on May 10, 2019

On April 24, Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 50 passed the Senate Governance and Finance Committee with bipartisan support, incorporating amendments that limit the bill’s scope. It is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 13. As previously reported, SB 50 mandates a combination of “equitable communities incentives” and a streamlined, ministerial approval process designed to promote housing production for qualifying projects on eligible sites. The amendments are part of a compromise…

Unfamiliar Terrain

Sellers Beware? San Francisco Adopts Community Opportunity to Purchase Act for Multifamily Properties

By Megan Jennings on May 8, 2019

Owners of multifamily residential properties in San Francisco will soon have to extend purchase offers to certain nonprofit organizations, before making or soliciting offers to sell those properties to anyone else—and will have to give those nonprofits the right to match any offer received from a potential buyer—under new legislation that is poised to become effective in June 2019. In the meantime, potential buyers and sellers of multifamily properties should familiarize themselves with COPA’s key…

Law on Purpose

Congress Increases Scrutiny of Syndicated Conservation Easements

By Misti Schmidt on April 16, 2019

Senate Finance Committee launches investigation, while anti-syndication bill is introduced in the House and Senate Abusive syndicated easements are bad news, as described in more detail in my December 2017 article here. The Land Trust Alliance and the IRS have been fighting to shut down this tax shelter for years, and now Congress is jumping into the fray. On March 27, 2019, the Senate Finance Committee announced the beginning of an investigation into abusive syndicated…

Law on Purpose

Land Trusts Take Note: Transfer Fees in California Must Provide Direct Benefit to the Property

By Misti Schmidt on April 16, 2019

New California Law Tracks Federal Financing Restrictions on Transfer Fees Last session, California passed California Civil Code Section 1098.6 prohibiting the creation of new transfer fees effective as of January 1, 2019, unless the fee provides a “direct benefit” to the property, as defined under federal regulations. A “transfer fee” means any fee requirement imposed by a covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other document affecting the transfer or…

Unfamiliar Terrain

The CASA Compact’s Response to the Bay Area Housing Crisis

By Daniel Barsky on March 28, 2019

In 2017, the Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) mobilized a task force of affordable housing advocates, private developers, local government officials, and other Bay Area leaders and experts to form CASA, or the Committee to House the Bay Area. CASA set out to identify a comprehensive policy response to the region’s housing crisis.…

Unfamiliar Terrain

San Francisco’s Next Big Move in Maintaining Housing Affordability: Nonprofits’ First Right to Purchase Multi-Family Rental Properties

By Caroline Guibert Chase on March 20, 2019

Pending legislation introduced by San Francisco Supervisor Fewer would amend the City’s laws to give certain qualified non-profit organizations certified by the City (“Qualified Nonprofits”) the first right to purchase multi-family rental properties and certain vacant lots in San Francisco. …

Unfamiliar Terrain

Update on SF Planning Department’s Streamlined Review Procedures for Development Projects

By Daniel Barsky on March 11, 2019

In February, the San Francisco Planning Department issued the first quarterly performance report for implementation of its Process Improvements Plan, a program intended to overhaul the project review process. The Plan first took effect in June 2018 in response to an Executive Directive from the Mayor’s Office to reduce approval timelines and remove administrative barriers to housing production. According to the Department’s quarterly progress report, the Department met its deadline for two-thirds of Preliminary…

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP Blogs

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COPA Update: Compliance Not Required Until September 3, 2019

Two Affordable Housing Measures Proposed for November Ballot

SB 50 Update: Vote Postponed to 2020

Senator Wiener’s SB 50 Moves Forward with Compromise Amendments

Sellers Beware? San Francisco Adopts Community Opportunity to Purchase Act for Multifamily Properties

Congress Increases Scrutiny of Syndicated Conservation Easements

Land Trusts Take Note: Transfer Fees in California Must Provide Direct Benefit to the Property

The CASA Compact’s Response to the Bay Area Housing Crisis

San Francisco’s Next Big Move in Maintaining Housing Affordability: Nonprofits’ First Right to Purchase Multi-Family Rental Properties

Update on SF Planning Department’s Streamlined Review Procedures for Development Projects

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