Campos wants moratorium on new housing in the Mission

Dr. Estela Garcia, speaks out in favor of the new ordinance calling for a temporary moratorium on construction of market-rate housing in the Mission announced by Supervisor David Campos on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 in San Francisco, Calif. less Dr. Estela Garcia, speaks out in favor of the new ordinance calling for a temporary moratorium on construction of market-rate housing in the Mission announced by Supervisor David Campos on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 ... more Photo: Amy Osborne, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Amy Osborne, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Campos wants moratorium on new housing in the Mission 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Calling the city’s housing policies a failure, Supervisor David Campos introduced legislation Tuesday to halt construction of market-rate housing in the Mission District.

The measure, an attempt to address the displacement of longtime Mission residents, would implement a 45-day moratorium on planning approvals, demolitions and building permits for multifamily residential developments in a 1½-square-mile area. It could be extended for up to two years under state law.

“The Mission is ultimately the Mission because of the people, and if we lose the people we lose the Mission,” Campos said in announcing the legislation at the Mission Neighborhood Center, surrounded by a dozen jostling preschoolers holding antieviction posters. “A moratorium gives the community a fighting chance.”

Campos introduced the measure at the beginning of Tuesday’s board meeting to cheers from the audience of “si, se puede!” — yes, we can.

The measure is a long shot: Because it is an “interim urgency ordinance,” it needs the support of nine supervisors to pass. And while Campos has four co-sponsors, he will have a hard time rounding up the remaining votes. Several board members have said they are opposed, as has Mayor Ed Lee.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Supervisor Scott Wiener, who represents the Castro, said before the meeting. “It seems to rely on the theory that we can control who moves into the city and who moves into the Mission. People are going to move where they are going to move.”

Board President London Breed said she was sympathetic to Campos’ proposal but also concerned it could backfire.

“There is a lot of frustration all over this city with market-rate development and the total lack of new affordable housing,” she said. “It’s a genuine fear and frustration that communities are having all over the city.”

But, she noted, developers pay fees to the city that are used to build affordable housing. Without market-rate development, she asked, “how would we get the money to do the affordable housing piece?”

Under city law, residential market-rate developers must pay those fees or make 12 percent of on-site units affordable or 20 percent of off-site units. Since July 2014, the city has collected $23.6 million in fees, according to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

Fewer Latinos

In a city where soaring housing and rental prices have affected every neighborhood, the Mission has seen high numbers of evictions in recent years. The population of Latinos in the Mission has declined by more than 8,000 since 2000, according to Campos, a result of being evicted and priced out of the neighborhood. He told the other supervisors that his district, which includes the Mission, was “in crisis.”

San Francisco’s affordability problem has spawned resentment against well-paid tech workers for companies such as Twitter and Facebook. Tuesday morning’s announcement highlighted those tensions.

“The tech industry has come like a train wreck into this neighborhood and into this city,” said Roberto Hernandez, leader of a group called Our Mission, No Evictions. “They are a group of people that are heartless in this community.”

“We need to stop this unfettered, capitalistic development in our neighborhood,” said Anastacia Powers Cuellar, executive director of Brava Theater Center in the Mission.

Campos pegged his announcement of the moratorium proposal to Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates a Mexican military victory against the French.

Other proposals

But politics may have also played into the timing. It came one day after Edwin Lindo of the San Francisco Latino Democratic Club said a coalition of housing and progressive groups would push for a ballot measure to impose a building moratorium in the Mission.

Lindo plans to run for Campos’ seat when the supervisor is termed out next year. Campos has endorsed his top aide, Hillary Ronen, to replace him.

On Tuesday, Campos rejected the idea that he rushed announcement of the legislation.

Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen