Activists who want to halt demolition and construction in San Francisco's Mission District moved one step closer to putting a housing moratorium on the November ballot.

Volunteers on Monday submitted to the Department of Elections 15,000 signatures required for the moratorium to be placed before voters. The moratorium was previously rejected by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Activists said they want voters to approve the moratorium -- which calls for an 18-month stop for demolition and construction in the Mission -- to preserve housing and industrial spaces.

"Those are spaces in the Mission dedicated to working class jobs, union workers and industrial workers," said Gabriel Medina of the Mission Economic Development Agency.

But opponents said a ban will limit supply and drive prices higher.

"Moratorium seems like a dramatic thing we can do to push back against the housing crunch," Supervisor Scott Wiener said. "It won't help anyone (and will) only make the housing crunch worse."

The Department of Elections will now review the submitted signatures and determine if the moratorium will appear on the November ballot.

If approved by voters, the moratorium would take effect in January.