San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve Mayor Daniel Lurie’s controversial “Family Zoning Plan,” a proposal aimed at making it easier for developers to build taller, denser housing across the city.
The plan comes as San Francisco faces mounting pressure from the state to meet California’s housing goals. If cities fail to comply, state officials – not local leaders – will decide where new homes are built. For San Francisco, the city faces a Jan. 31 deadline to update its zoning rules to accommodate housing demand. The city also must create enough capacity for nearly 83,000 new units over the next six years to avoid state intervention.
“This is a critical step to keep San Francisco in control of what gets built in our city,” Lurie said earlier at a groundbreaking for new a affordable housing building in the SoMa neighborhood. “Too many families and young people are wondering if they’ll be able to stay in the city that they call home.”
Currently, most neighborhoods restrict mid-sized multifamily housing. Lurie’s plan would target areas like the Marina, Richmond and Sunset – districts that have seen little development in recent decades.
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Some residents welcome the idea, citing affordability concerns.
“I just graduated out of college and trying to find a place that’s affordable is really hard,” said Sunset resident Aisha Williamson-Raun. “As long as they are affordable and make sense for what people are making, then yes. But if it’s just gonna push out people already in the community, then no.”
Supervisors debated how to balance housing capacity with affordability, with opponents criticizing that the measure does not earmark funding for the new housing units.
“This is response to state bullying disguised as results-oriented,” said Supervisor Shamann Walton. “Maybe if it included a financing package or proposal to actually build housing. Maybe if it guaranteed not to displace families and businesses…we can do better.”
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In a statement after the board’s vote, small business owners in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood expressed concern about how the ordinance will impact rent-controlled tenants. The Small Business Forward association anticipates anywhere from 10 to 40 owners could face displacement under the new zoning plan.
“The Mayor and Board of Supervisors have paid lip service to supporting small businesses and their workers impacted by the inevitable displacements of dozens if not hundreds of businesses over the next several years. However, with no commitment to funding, there is no plan in place to support small businesses from the displacement they’ll experience from non-renewal of their lease.” said Christin Evans, co-owner of Booksmith and Alembic, co-founder and Board Member of Small Business Forward.
Supporters pushed back, arguing rejecting the ordinance would further delay necessary reforms for the city to catch up on expanding its housing capacity.+
“I reject the notion that we have to choose between building more homes and protecting renters,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter. “We can do both, and that’s what this plan does.”
The measure passed 7-4, with Supervisors Connie Chan, Chyanne Chen, Shamann Walton and Jackie Fielder voting no.
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