The Proposition E ballot is one of the five measures proposed for the election on March 3, 2020, and is about to decide the future of affordable housing and office space development in San Francisco. The proposition is intended to restrict the construction of new office spaces, if the city is not able to reach its affordable housing quota. In other words, Proposition E ties the amount of affordable housing and office spaces together, by helping to balance the number of office development and affordable housing. (Fracassa, 2019)
Already since 1986 there has been a restriction on the approval of office spaces in San Francisco in order to provide more spaces for affordable housing programs. Proposition E will only add to this restriction. John Elberling, the executive director of TODCO, is a sponsor of this initiative. TODCO is a San Francisco based nonprofit affordable housing organization and developer, that works through planning and advocacy for diversity and social justice. Elberling states that the new proposition is much needed to reach the states requirements on affordable housing, asin the last three years, San Francisco has reached only 68% of its affordable housing goal. (Capp, 2019)