San Francisco currently lacks adequate affordable housing for extremely low- to moderate-income households, with attempts to meet these needs being hampered by limited state and federal resources, the 2015 and 2019 bonds nearing exhaustion, and a decrease in affordable housing funds from impact fees.

The legislation proposes a special election for San Francisco voters to approve a bond of not-to-exceed $300,000,000 for the construction, development, acquisition, and/or rehabilitation of affordable housing. The bond encompasses workforce and senior housing for households ranging from extremely low-income to moderate-income households.

The bond will address the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing, provide resources to meet state-mandated affordable housing production, support diverse economic households, and reduce greenhouse gases through local residency. It aims to improve housing accessibility for specific populations including cisgender women, seniors, and climate-advocacy backed housing projects.

The rationale includes meeting objectives for expanding affordable housing, planning for a large number of affordable units, providing for families hit by the pandemic, adapting to declines in state and federal funding, utilizing previous voter-approved resources, and recognizing the need for economic, social, and climate resilience.

The proposed bond will be subject to a special election on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, and includes conditions such as independent citizen oversight, regular audits, the potential to levy taxes to pay for the bonds, and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

Oversight would be provided by the Citizen's General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee, with additional collaboration from local and city departments for specific project standards and protections including strong labor, antidiscrimination, health, and safety standards, and strong climate standards and protections.