D. K. Dineen : sfchronicle – excerpt
San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell and Supervisor Aaron Peskin think they have found a solution to a problem posed by Proposition M, a 1986 cap on development that threatens to block millions of square feet of new commercial space South of Market.
The fix, which has the potential to usher in high-profile projects like the new San Francisco Flower Mart at Sixth and Brannan streets, has its roots in a short-lived real estate trend that swept the city in the mid-2000s: a rash of conversions that turned older office buildings into residential condominiums.
Peskin and Farrell are co-sponsoring an ordinance that would allow office space converted to residential use to be reallocated as commercial space available to be developed — about 1.3 million square feet. The law, which will be introduced at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, would need their approval but would not have to go before the voters… (more)
