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 San Francisco Passes Mandatory Composting and Recycling Law
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to approve Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposal for mandatory composting and recycling. It's an aggressive push to cut greenhouse gas emissions and have the city sending nothing to landfills or incinerators by 2020.
The ordinance is expected to take effect this fall.
The legislation calls for every residence and business in the city to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost and black for trash.
Failing to properly sort your refuse could result in a fine after several warnings, but Newsom and other officials say fines will only be levied in the most egregious cases.
Fines for almost all residential customers and many small businesses - anyone who generates less than a cubic yard of refuse a week - are initially capped at $100. Businesses that don't have proper bins face escalating fines up to $500.
There is a moratorium on fines until at least July 2011 for tenants and owners of multifamily buildings or multitenant commercial properties to get people used to composting. Buildings where recycling carts won't fit can get a waiver. The ordinance calls for garbage collectors to leave tags on containers when they spot incorrectly sorted material,
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Update on Renter's Economic Relief Package
The full Board of Supervisors approved the Renters Economic Relief Package on June 23. The Board adopted some amendments to the package, in hopes of averting a Mayoral veto or in hopes of securing enough votes to override the veto.
The amendments limits the rent increase protections to tenants who have lost jobs, had wages cut significantly or who are dependent on government benefits but not receiving any cost of living increase. Newson's allies on the Board (Michaela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, Bevan Dufty and Sean Elsbernd) all voted against the measure
Sup .Sophie Maxwell was again excused from voting as the Fair Political Practices Commission will not issue their decision on whether or not her ownership of 6 rental units precludes her from voting. This decision will be issued by July 8, so she will likely be able to vote on any veto override attempt. Maxwell-a landlord who usually votes pro-tenant-can vote.
The package of amendments to the city's rent control law consists of three parts:
- Suspend any rent increases which will cause a tenant's rent to exceed 33% of their incomeif the tenant is unemployed, has had wages cut or is living on a fixed income and has not received a cost of living increase. This provision expands the law's existing provision which enables the Rent Board to suspend rent increases based on "tenant hardship" by expanding when a tenant can apply for hardship and defining hardship as any rent increase which would cause a tenant's rent to exceed 33% of their gross income.
- Expand the rights of tenants to add roommates to help pay the rent. This provision will let tenants bring in roommates so that the rent will be more affordable. The number of roommates would be limited by San Francisco Housing Code provisions which establish occupancy limits based on the size and number of bedrooms in an apartment. Currently landlords are able to limit the number of tenants to levels below what the law allows.
- Limit the amount of "banked" rent increases which can be imposed in any one year. Current law allows landlords, to "bank" annual rent increases and impose them all at once at a later date, often resulting in rent increases of 20% or more. This provision will limit these banked rent increases to no more than 8% in any one year.
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