After a lengthy debate Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved Mayor Daniel Lurie’s plan to rezone large sections of the city to build taller buildings that could provide tens of thousands of homes.
The supervisors approved what Lurie has dubbed the Family Zoning Plan in a 7-4 vote that divided the board’s moderate and progressive factions. The legislation, which needs a second board vote before heading to Lurie’s desk for a signature, aims to add roughly 36,000 units by 2031 to meet a state mandate for local governments to build more housing, amid what regulators in Sacramento estimate to be a shortage of 2.5 million homes. (opens in new tab)
Lurie has for months warned critics that the state could take control (opens in new tab) of local housing decisions if supervisors did not approve his plan.
“With this plan, we will add affordable housing, support small businesses, and protect the character of the neighborhoods that make San Francisco so special,” Lurie said in a statement after the vote.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar — a former planning commissioner and chair of the board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee — called the vote a historic moment for the city’s efforts to mitigate the affordability crisis.
“We can move ahead with other important strategies to jumpstart more affordable housing, to incentivize the project that we want to see, and to ensure that tenants and small businesses are provided the strongest protection,” said Melgar, who helped negotiate amendments and shepherded the proposal through the legislative process.
Newly sworn-in Supervisor Alan Wong, who represents the Sunset District, also voted in favor of the plan.
Getting board approval for such a plan would have been much harder a year ago, when progressives maintained a majority vote on the 11-member panel. San Francisco has for years resisted aggressive efforts to build housing, especially on the north and west sides, where Lurie’s plan will have the biggest effect.
The Family Zoning Plan drew staunch opposition from NIMBY-aligned groups across the city, which argued that more development would destroy their neighborhoods, and from tenant activists worried about how upzoning might displace residents.
Progressive Supervisors Connie Chan, Shamann Walton, Jackie Fielder, and Chyanne Chen tried to water down the legislation with amendments to address those concerns. All four voted against the measure.
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“I am disappointed that we are not choosing the path to figure out a way to either negotiate or, frankly, to fight some of these mandates,” Chan said.
Pro-housing and YIMBY activists celebrated the win as a long-overdue step to building housing in San Francisco, which has an estimated 82,000-unit shortage.
Graeme Joeck, director of advocacy at Abundant San Francisco, said the Family Zoning Plan reflects a city that welcomes families, builds for the future, and supports neighborhoods where everyone can afford to stay and put down roots.
Abundant San Francisco was part of a coalition of volunteers that fanned out across the city to rally support for the plan. Over the past three months, volunteers held house parties and community events, peppered neighborhoods with flyers, sent emails, and attended hearings to vocalize their support.
“This is exactly what residents have been asking for, and we thank everyone who worked to get this legislation through,” Joeck said.
Taller buildings
The plan targets the western and northern parts of San Francisco for upzoning, meaning areas where development has for decades been more limited could soon see a construction boom.
The plan calls for buildings up to 10 stories in most west-side commercial corridors, or up to 20 stories along some Geary Boulevard intersections. Sites at the Geary–Masonic crossing could reach 40 stories.
Van Ness Avenue, a major transit corridor, could experience the most dramatic changes, with towers up to 60 stories. Developers could build even higher because of state or local rules that allow for more housing units if a certain portion is reserved for low-income residents.
Most residential neighborhoods would keep their four-story height limits, but a demolished single-family home could be redeveloped into multi-unit apartments.
Even so, an October city economist report said the rezoning plan would produce half the amount of new housing in twice the time required by state authorities.
Supervisors soften the plan
Though the plan easily passed the board, supervisors have for weeks negotiated amendments. While tweaks put forth by progressives largely failed, moderates were more successful in blunting the plan’s impact.
Among the changes that made it into the final legislation:
Melgar amended the plan to protect rent-controlled buildings with three or more units from redevelopment into larger housing projects. Supervisor Danny Sauter, who represents downtown neighborhoods, made an amendment to incentivize housing developments that include space for commercial use.Board President Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro, exempted historic buildings from demolition.Supervisor Stephen Sherrill carved out the Marina Boulevard Safeway, Ghirardelli Square and its adjacent block, and a seniors home and dialysis center on Geary Boulevard from development, while increasing allowable building heights on Van Ness.Sherrill, Sauter, and Chen included amendments that push for more multi-bedroom units.Chan restored a previously cut mandate for the city to hold hearings before approving the demolition of residential flats.
Chan and Chen unsuccessfully pushed for amendments that would have exempted coastal areas, all residential neighborhoods, and low-income communities from the plan. Planning officials said those changes were noncompliant because they would significantly reduce the number of projected housing units under the plan without providing viable alternatives.
Chen is pushing through the board a separate tenant-protection ordinance, which will likely pass as a majority of supervisors have signed on as sponsors.
But the fight may not be over. Critics of the Family Zoning Plan are considering a ballot measure (opens in new tab) next year to effectively roll back the legislation.
“The mayor has failed to provide a commitment to funding any meaningful expansion in affordable housing,” said Yolanda Porrata, a business owner and a board member of Small Business Forward, an outspoken group opposing the plan. “The mayor’s plan will displace small business workers for new housing they cannot afford.”