Anti-Displacement Study

The City is current preparing a Commercial and Residential Anti-Displacement Roadmap. This process began in October 2023 and is anticipated to take two years.

The purpose of the Anti-Displacement Roadmap is to:

• Pull together, in one place, all current City policies and programs that address commercial and residential displacement
• Conduct extensive community and stakeholder outreach
• Gather additional data on which to base decision making, and
• Prepare policy recommendations to strengthen the City’s approach to addressing commercial and residential displacement

The Anti-Displacement Roadmap scope of work includes research and data gathering, community engagement and outreaching, and policy recommendations and reporting. The City expects the identified scope of work to take up to two years to complete.  

The task list includes documenting and evaluating existing policies and programs, research and data gathering, conducting community outreach efforts to establish a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), developing policy recommendations, and creating a final report/roadmap detailing all the work done during the process. The anticipated timeline includes three to six months for the preliminary work, which includes data gathering and research, as well as forming the CAC. Up to one year of CAC meetings would take place after the CAC has been assembled, and an additional three to six months would be necessary to finalize policy recommendations and create roadmap reports for commercial and residential displacement. 

Background

The City of South San Francisco adopted a comprehensive update to the General Plan in 2022 and recently received State certification for its 2023-2031 Housing Element. As stated in the General Plan, the City’s housing priorities include new housing production while preserving affordable housing and protecting vulnerable residents from housing instability and displacement. Displacement pressures have also affected commercial tenants. As South San Francisco’s commercial areas continue to transform through rapid growth and changing development patterns, the General Plan prioritizes support for vulnerable commercial tenants, particularly in the Downtown area, which serves as the heart of the community and serves as a place for both small, local businesses and national chains.   

During the outreach and community engagement phases of developing the 2040 General Plan and 2023-2031 Housing Element, displacement pressures were a top concern for both residential and commercial residents. Echoing this theme, in February 2023, City Council held its annual retreat to discuss the City’s priorities. At the retreat, Council directed staff to begin preparing an Anti-Displacement Roadmap, synthesizing in one document all of the City’s existing policies and programs to address commercial and residential displacement, gathering richer data on which to base decision making, conducting extensive community and stakeholder outreach, and preparing policy recommendations to strengthen the City’s approach to addressing displacement. 

On October 4, 2023, staff issued a Request for Proposals for consulting services to develop the Roadmap. During the January 10, 2024 City Council meeting, Council approved a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a professional services agreement with HR&A Advisors, Inc. (HR&A) to prepare an Anti-Displacement Roadmap.  

Community Advisory Committee (CAC)  

The City of South San Francisco is currently accepting applications for the CAC now!  

The City of South San Francisco’s Residential and Commercial Anti-Displacement Community Advisory Committee (CAC) aims to: bring together South San Francisco business owners, residents, landlords, and subject matter experts from professional organization and advocacy communities to identify residents and businesses susceptible to displacement; to discuss and provide feedback on policies and program recommendations that address displacement; and provide guidance to the City Council on resolving commercial and residential displacement pressures in South San Francisco.  

CAC Timeline: 

Phase One: 

• Focused on information gathering with CAC Member introductions and a discussion of the foundation of the work ahead, including taking diverse feedback to develop a framework. 

• Review of key definitions including the CAC Charter, and mission, objectives, and an overview of the CAC workplan.  

• Consultants will prepare materials for the CAC and community to review in written and visual formats in advance of each CAC meeting.  

Phase Two: 

• Focused on sharing best practices, defining the priority issues and potential policy recommendations. Ideally, there will be some consensus on a draft set of recommendations for policy and program interventions for City Council approval.  

Phase Three:  

• Focused on refinement of recommendations, development of implementation plans, and review of the final report. 

• Consultant and City staff will prepare and deliver the final report to the South San Francisco City Council, at their discretion. 

For more information on this developing effort, please see recent City Council reports here: https://shorturl.at/iqtJX 

CAC Application 

Interested applicants can submit an application online or by picking up a hard copy at City Hall and dropping a completed application at the City Clerks' Office.  

Use the link below to submit an online application: 

CAC Application (English & Spanish Version) - https://forms.office.com/g/z44ah5BFkz

CAC Application (Tagalog Version) - https://forms.office.com/g/fuXh4AZre5 

CAC Application (Traditional Chinese Version)  - https://forms.office.com/g/VF7hP8b9Pp

The Consultant team and City Staff held an informational session on Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 from 5 pm to 6 pm at the Economic Advancement Center (located on 366 Grand Ave) to answer any CAC or application related questions. Interpretation services will be provided upon request. Please reach out to Katie Lan, Management Analyst II at katie.lan@ssf.net to set up language access needs. Click here to watch the zoom recording of the meeting.