The recent decision by federal housing officials to reject a local measure aimed at easing the effects of San Francisco's housing crisis on low-income and minority residents will further displace some of the city's most vulnerable communities, the city's top lawyer said.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) denial of San Francisco's neighborhood preference plan "is wrong as a matter of law and public policy," City Attorney Dennis Herrera wrote in a letter to HUD Secretary Julián Castro on Thursday.
"Without the plan, the opportunity to remain in the neighborhood will not be possible for those low-income residents who are most vulnerable to displacement," Herrera wrote.
The measure sets aside 40 percent of new affordable housing units for qualified residents who already live in a district where a new affordable development is being built.
It was aimed, in part, at helping to keep African-American residents from being priced out of the city.