{"id":175646,"date":"2026-02-12T22:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T22:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/175646\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T22:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T22:57:09","slug":"yimby-groups-sue-san-francisco-arguing-upzoning-doesnt-go-far-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/175646\/","title":{"rendered":"YIMBY Groups Sue San Francisco, Arguing Upzoning Doesn\u2019t Go Far Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen the time came to fulfill the promises that San Francisco made in its housing element, the city came up short,\u201d said Nick Eckenwiler, a staff attorney with the California Housing Defense Fund. \u201cAnd so we\u2019re here to make sure that San Francisco follows through on those and actually gets enough housing built.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for Lurie\u2019s office, said the city is going to meet state requirements for its housing element, a state-mandated housing plan, while protecting \u201cwhat\u2019s so special about our neighborhoods and our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the cost of housing continues to rise, the Family Zoning Plan is going to help ensure that the next generation of San Franciscans can afford to raise their kids here,\u201d he wrote in an email to KQED.<\/p>\n

But on the other side of the debate, organizers with Neighborhoods United SF and Small Business Forward worry the Family Zoning Plan could be too effective. The lawsuit filed in early January<\/a> by the two groups and others, argues the upzoning could displace people living in rent-controlled buildings and could harm historic buildings. It also accuses the city of not following the state\u2019s landmark environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).<\/p>\n

Joseph Smooke, an organizer with the city\u2019s Race and Equity in All Planning Coalition, said not everyone in San Francisco wants to live in a high-rise condo tower. He also argued, if people are displaced because their neighborhoods become too expensive due to new development, it will be hard for them to find a more affordable rental in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat household that\u2019s looking for a new place to live is going to be confronted with whatever the market rents are at that time,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat you end up with is displacement, not just from communities, but from the city entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n

A settlement hearing in the Neighborhoods United lawsuit is set for Feb. 19.<\/p>\n

Trauss said her lawsuit and the opposing one are manifestations of the local politics surrounding housing affordability, with one side arguing the city isn\u2019t doing enough to make way for more housing, while the other says the city isn\u2019t protecting its existing residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, I think it\u2019s good that the government is caught on both sides,\u201d she said. \u201cIt demonstrates why state intervention is needed because left just to the local politics, they\u2019re never going to quite get over the hump.\u201d<\/p>\n

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