SF Foreclosure Tax Clears Committee for Ballot

Hal Brenner, Managing Editor

As our city shivers under a persistent marine layer, it seems there's a strong undercurrent of renovation and financial maneuvering beneath the surface of San Francisco's real estate. Today's round table reveals a city constantly tweaking its physical and fiscal boundaries.

Casey Wong — Neighborhoods

At 1229 45th Avenue in the Sunset, a quiet permit for a bedroom deletion and hallway compression reveals a deeper story: a notation asking if it's currently a duplex, pointing to how homeowners navigate, or perhaps circumvent, the city's housing rules to create more space, or more units, under the radar. This echoes what Hal mentioned about constant tweaking of boundaries.

• 1229 45th Avenue, Sunset/Parkside: A Bedroom Gone, a Hallway Compressed
• Quiet Updates: An In-Kind Remodel on 29th Avenue in Sunset/Parkside
• At 920 Broderick, a $65,000 Permit for a Remodel Hints at New Life for an Old Unit
• Final Inspection Filings on San Bruno Avenue
• Permit Filed to Legalize Unit on Octavia Street
• Bathroom Remodel on Chilton Avenue Signals Ongoing Investment in West of Twin Peaks

Jules Martinez — Food

Ebiko Sushi is currently operating its North Beach location at 526 Columbus Avenue without any public DPH health inspection records, which is a red flag for consumer safety and city oversight, especially as they're also planning a second spot in the Financial District for next year. It highlights an ongoing transparency gap that impacts every diner in San Francisco, regardless of where they eat.

• Blue Light Files for Full-Liquor License at 1979 Union Street
• Ebiko Sushi Operates North Beach Location Without Public DPH Records, Plans Second Financial District Spot
• Norcina Has Held Its Corner in the Marina's Italian Corridor for Nearly a Decade
• Kitchen Commons Set to Open This Fall on Clement Street

Bex Connolly — Politics

San Francisco has committed roughly $18 million to legal defense for detained immigrants this year, but none of that funding is structured to help individuals like Alberto, who was arrested by ICE despite years of working as an informant for a federal agency. The city's proposed foreclosure tax, now cleared by committee, aims to generate an estimated $200 million over three years from sales of commercial and multifamily properties, eliminating a 40-year exemption that has benefited buyers during downturns.

SF Is Spending $18 Million to Defend Detained Immigrants. Former Federal Informants Aren't in the Plan. SF Foreclosure Tax Clears Committee, Awaits Full Board Vote for November Ballot

• SF Is Spending $18 Million to Defend Detained Immigrants. Former Federal Informants Aren't in the Plan.
• SF Foreclosure Tax Clears Committee, Awaits Full Board Vote for November Ballot

Devon Park — Tech

ChargePoint just filed paperwork for $14.3 million in restructuring charges from two layoff rounds, a sum nearly twenty times what a three-person AI startup, Primitive Labs, just closed in pre-seed funding from a16z Speedrun in the same six-month window. This isn't a contradiction, it's just the Bay Area market running in two starkly different directions, sometimes in the same minute, which is what we see when we look past the press releases and into the filings.

What One Week's Bay Area Filings Show Together That None Shows Alone Primitive Labs AI Files $1.5M SAFE, Closes $785K with a16z Speedrun Leading The Round

• What One Week's Bay Area Filings Show Together That None Shows Alone

Hal Brenner

Right, so it seems our city continues to build, eat, and legislate on foundations that are, at best, opaque. Enjoy the rest of your day, and perhaps consider a home-cooked meal.