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San Francisco Lawsuit Would Force Tech Companies to Pay for Evictions

The lawsuit could force the city to review what "displacement" means under the California Environmental Quality Act.

For a time, San Francisco's "Google buses" were the tech boom's gleaming white symbols of gentrification. Activists were furious when the tech shuttles ferrying workers to campuses on the Peninsula used public bus stops for the low price of $3.66 per stop (less than a round-trip on Muni). They were madder when rising rents appeared to follow on the buses' heels, making the city's housing crisis worse.

The tech shuttles now appear to be here to stay — and that's okay with the activists, who think they can make the likes of Google, Apple, and Facebook pay for evictions caused by rent spikes near shuttle stops.

A lawsuit going to trial next month — filed by housing activists and public sector employee union Services Employees International Union Local 1021 — could force a lengthy California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the tech shuttles' use of Muni stops. The suit could also force the city to conduct a review of what "displacement" means.

State law forbids the city from charging tech shuttles more than the cost of using a stop. In order to charge higher rates, the city would need to study the gentrification effects of commuter shuttles. Once the impact was quantified, that money could then be added to the cost of administering the shuttle program, litigants say.

View full story from SF Weekly