The following two articles discussing recent developments in San Francisco raise two (2) important points.

• The value of community engagement – a key component of MuniReg’s solution – “Vacant storefronts have gained attention in recent years as local groups survey their own neighborhoods to counter the mere 25 registered by the Department of Building Inspection in 2016 and 40 in 2017. In April, Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer led a crowdsourced count that spotted 156 vacancies in the Richmond. North Beach had 38 vacancies in 2018, up from about 15 in 2015, according to Peskin.” However the question should be asked why was only approximately 20% of properties registered?
• A popular exemption in ordinance language is if the property is actively listed for sale/rent. Clearly some bad actors are taking advantage. Loophole must be closed.

SF Weekly: Tax on Vacant Properties Emerges for November Ballot
SF Examiner: San Francisco seeks to get a handle on its inventory of vacant storefronts