Feds open investigation into SF affordable housing policies

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is investigating whether San Francisco has violated any federal nondiscrimination laws. There is some speculation that San Francisco’s neighborhood preference program is what brought upon the scrutiny of HUD. The preference gives a better chance in the housing lottery to people who live in the same Supervisor district as, or half-mile from, the property they are applying to.

The Neighborhood Resident Housing Preference (NRHP) has continued to exist so far because it is considered a valuable tool in limiting the gentrification happening to local neighborhoods in San Francisco.

It seems like the Trump administration is attempting to overturn the decision made by the Obama administration to leave the NRHP intact. They want to do so by creating the narrative that the NRHP is racist. In reality, communities of color see it as one of the few opportunities they have to stay in their neighborhood.

Published by Dominic Fracassa, SF Chronicle on August 18, 2019

BiSHoPAugust 19, 2019