The latest strategy by SF neighborhoods to avoid development? Be ‘historic’

When Donna Howe meets new friends in her cozy Ingleside Terraces neighborhood, she often quizzes them on the age of local Craftsman and revival-style homes.



Howe’s family has lived in the southwestern San Francisco neighborhood — known for its distinctive architecture and single-family homes — for five generations, since the 1940s.



But as the city faces a dire housing shortage and increasing pressure from state officials to build residential units, many locals are increasingly concerned that Ingleside Terraces could be targeted for rampant development.



“I have deep roots and deep love for this neighborhood,” Howe, 72, told The Standard. “I don’t want to see it go.”



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg?w=2500" alt="The image shows a hilly neighborhood with colorful houses and lush greenery. Cars line the street, and a foggy sky hovers above the distant hills." class="wp-image-413908" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg 7632w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_012.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ingleside Terraces homeowners are seeking historic status for their neighborhood.</figcaption></figure>



San Francisco faces a state mandate to add tens of thousands of residential units over the next six years. To address that goal, Mayor Daniel Lurie last week released a zoning plan that would add more than 36,000 units in west-side neighborhoods, including Ingleside Terraces, where opposition to development has historically been strong.



To avoid that, the Ingleside Terraces Homes Association is pushing to designate the neighborhood as a “historic district,” a state-recognized status that critics see as a tool to stall development. The association hired an architectural consulting firm and three months ago submitted an application to the California Office of Historic Preservation.&nbsp;



The pursuit of a “historic” designation is an increasingly popular tactic in San Francisco and other California cities. Residents of St. Francis Wood successfully <a href="https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/housing/st-francis-wood-earns-historic-designation-sparks-backlash/article_bff67cf0-02e0-11ed-87c7-e3d2da717575.html">petitioned the state for historic status</a> in 2022, while a proposal submitted in 2024 by a coalition of North Beach residents is in the final stage of review at the State Historical Resources Commission.&nbsp;



Wealthy neighborhoods in <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/housing-nimby-historic-baywood-18450990.php">San Mateo</a>,<a href="https://padailypost.com/2022/03/21/city-takes-an-historic-approach-to-dealing-with-new-housing-law/"> Palo Alto</a>, and <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-puts-city-pasadena-notice-violating-state-housing-laws">Pasadena</a> have taken similar steps in recent years in attempts at avoiding new development.



The trend has generated criticism from groups that want California cities to build more housing. The North Beach proposal in particular has <a href="https://sfstandard.com/opinion/2024/03/29/a-modest-proposal-its-time-for-north-beach-to-secede-from-the-city/">sparked intense debate.</a>



Ryan Patterson, an attorney for the pro-housing groups YIMBY Law and YIMBY Action, called the movement “a last-ditch, desperate effort” to block development.



“The anti-growth NIMBYs are trying to create new historic districts just to avoid state housing laws,” Patterson said. “It&#8217;s very unfortunate that they&#8217;ve taken this approach, and I hope people recognize what they&#8217;re actually doing and say no to it.”



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Ingleside Terraces was built in the wake of the 1906 earthquake on the site of a former racetrack. The neighborhood of around 750 single-family homes is known for its architectural diversity and central 28-foot concrete sundial.



Homeowners have for decades contemplated petitioning for historic status, but their efforts recently gained momentum. And they’re not the only ones.



Woody LaBounty, president of the preservation group San Francisco Heritage, said more neighborhoods are exploring the historic designation route as the state intensifies pressure on cities to increase their housing supplies.



LaBounty said that until recently, historic status was largely a symbolic, apolitical achievement. But with a barrage of new state laws that aim to expedite housing production in areas previously immune to more construction, many locals became worried that “the whole decision will be taken out of my hands,” LaBounty said.&nbsp;



“You could see some big changes with unintended consequences that won’t add tons of housing,” LaBounty said. “But they may mess up the way a neighborhood looks and feels.”



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-neighborhoods-be-both-pro-housing-and-historic">Can neighborhoods be both pro-housing and historic?</h2>



Individual properties and neighborhoods can achieve historic status across three levels: local, state, and federal. Local historic status in San Francisco offers protections against development because the designation requires that major remodels or construction be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission and the San Francisco Planning Department.



For example, the Jackson Square Historic District <a href="https://sfplanninggis.org/pim/map/">is under historic protection</a>, and City Hall and Fairmont Hotel are designated local landmarks.



St. Francis Wood Historic District is not recognized on the city level but is listed as historic on state and national lists. State and federal designation come with benefits such as tax credits for property restoration projects and, crucially, potential exemptions from certain state housing laws.



California lawmakers have over the last decade approved a slew of laws to streamline housing production and limit local authority to reject certain projects. Those include Senate Bill 423, which <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-04/california-affordable-housing-red-tape-san-francisco">cut the approval time for housing projects</a>, and Senate Bill 9, which allows homeowners to build up to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2021-12-02/facing-housing-crisis-l-a-voters-back-duplexes-in-single-family-neighborhoods">four units on single-family lots</a>.



Both laws provide limited protections for historical buildings and neighborhoods that exempt them from more construction. The state’s density bonus law, which allows developers to build more units in a project as long as they set aside a percentage for low-income residents, similarly carves out some exceptions for historic areas.&nbsp;



Historic status doesn’t necessarily stop housing but often makes it more difficult to construct homes or demolish an old house to replace it with a multi-family building.&nbsp;



Still, neighborhood preservation and new development can both be achieved, said Rachael Tanner, San Francisco’s director of citywide planning.&nbsp;



“Preserving our city’s historic resources doesn’t need to be the enemy of building new homes,” Tanner said. “Development and historic preservation can coexist in harmony.”



San Francisco Planning Commission President Lydia So said it’s possible to achieve a more tailored approach to preservation, such as designating individual buildings, rather than entire neighborhoods, as historic.



“People sometimes misunderstand ‘historic preservation.’ They think it means freezing things in time,” she said.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1406" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg?w=2500" alt="Aerial view of a residential neighborhood featuring houses with varied architecture, lush trees, and parked cars lining the curved streets." class="wp-image-413935" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg 3959w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg?resize=2500,1406 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9195468954_homeownersfight_020.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-debate-continues">The debate continues</h2>



While Ingleside Terraces is the latest San Francisco neighborhood to apply for historic status, it’s hardly the most controversial.&nbsp;



The North Beach proposal, which faces a final decision by state regulators, has generated criticism from housing advocates who say exempting an entire neighborhood from development would worsen San Francisco’s housing crunch.&nbsp;



Pro-housing activists in April <a href="https://link.sfstandard.com/view/6436ea099b26044931999510nepz7.1af/34ef191a">hosted a satirical tour</a> in North Beach to highlight how an empty parking lot and burned building site would be listed as historic under the proposal.



Aaron Peskin, a former Board of Supervisors presidents who represented North Beach and is an advocate for preserving neighborhood character over development, said there is widespread support for designating North Beach as a historic district. He cited a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15iB44nLx_aCGWlT92n4psgLXm00YzEjw/view?usp=sharing">June poll</a> of 600 people that showed 63% of respondents supported the initiative.



“North Beach has been San Francisco’s historic living room for generations. It’s beloved and celebrated all over the city,” Peskin said.



Despite the pushback, interest in historic designation continues to grow. At a recent town hall in the Sunset, residents expressed interest in pursuing historic status as the neighborhood faces more development under Lurie’s zoning plans. A <a href="https://files.sfplanning.org/documents/preservation/sfsurvey-OuterSunsetParksideFindings-MapTable.pdf">city planning survey</a> identified a small portion of the area that could qualify as historic but determined that almost 800 properties were not qualified or ineligible.



Annie Fryman, director of special projects at the think tank SPUR, said westside neighborhoods with more single-family homes and homeowners are more ideal for denser development. 



&#8220;When these neighborhoods try to wiggle out of housing obligations by establishing historic districts,&#8221; Fryman said, &#8220;it pushes development pressure into areas where it could be more disruptive to renters and small businesses.&#8221;



LaBounty disagreed with criticism that preservation efforts are ill-intentioned, arguing that the process is “not something that can be casually abused.”&nbsp;



“People who do it are 99% trying to support and preserve special places,” the SF Heritage leader said.



He also noted that commercial corridors such as Clement Street in the Inner Richmond and Chestnut Street in the Marina, as well as Chinatown and Japantown, have historic value.



But designating large swaths of San Francisco as historic would almost certainly complicate Lurie’s goal of building tens of thousands of units across the city — a plan YIMBY groups have argued is not ambitious enough.



The movement for historic status adds another layer of complexity and sets the stage for a political battle in the months ahead.



“Everybody is in support of preserving the special places,” LaBounty said. “It&#8217;s how. And that&#8217;s where politics usually come in.”

Inside Lurie’s plan for the private sector to rescue downtown

San Francisco has spent tens of millions since the pandemic on programs aimed at reviving the hollowed-out downtown core. Now, amid a budget crisis, funding for those initiatives is on the chopping block. At risk are city grants for storefront beautification, small-business support, and entertainment meant to draw visitors downtown.



To offset the cuts, Mayor Daniel Lurie is looking outside of government to the wealthy individuals who make up his Rolodex to take on a role traditionally filled by the city. While those likely to be affected&nbsp; by the cuts say they understand that difficult choices are necessary to balance the budget, they express worry about entrusting such an important mission to individuals with little or no experience working with the city’s bureaucracy and have doubts as to whether such handouts can be a long-term solution.



“Part of the theme of the day right now for all of us is the unknown,” said Steve Gibson, executive director of the Mid-Market Business Association and Foundation. “What we do know and is pretty obvious is that there will be less money to give out.”&nbsp; 



City Hall’s efforts to boost downtown over the past few years could be characterized as a “spaghetti at the wall” approach featuring an array of programs — from <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/09/29/first-look-at-san-franciscos-pop-up-bid-to-save-downtown/">free rent</a> to <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/06/07/downtown-san-francisco-first-thursday-event-impact/">street fairs</a> — with varying degrees of success. Lurie campaigned on creating better street conditions, and part of his strategy is to outsource economic development programs to philanthropy and the private sector.&nbsp;



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&#8220;Government&#8217;s job is to create the conditions for business and our economy to thrive,” said Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for the mayor. “We are doing that in this budget and every day by prioritizing the core services like public safety and clean streets that are driving San Francisco’s recovery.”&nbsp;



Lurie’s vehicle for bringing in private money is the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation, a nonprofit public-benefit corporation <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/04/08/lurie-downtown-development-corp-nonprofit-david-stiepleman/">spun up by his allies</a>. To do this, the mayor’s office obtained a special waiver that allows public officials to solicit private donations for city projects or initiatives through the DDC.



There’s a simple reason for the mayor’s focus on downtown recovery. Although it makes up a small portion of San Francisco’s footprint, downtown provides 40% of the city’s tax revenue and is the site of 40% of jobs. Critically, it’s often the lens through which outside observers judge the city’s overall health.&nbsp;



Previously, much of the downtown revitalization effort was run through the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, which is charged with boosting small businesses, training workers, and investing in commercial activity.&nbsp;



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OEWD is one of the departments that saw its budget cut most significantly in the mayor’s proposed budget — reduced by nearly $57 million, or 40%. The agency’s economic development division faces an even steeper cut of 62%.



A major portion of the OEWD cuts come from a $26 million ambassador program that is being moved to the Department of Emergency Management. Still, among the cuts is&nbsp; $15 million worth of grants and programs that went to downtown pop-ups, tourist-area patrols, and street-level improvements last year.



Lurie has also shaken up OEWD leadership, moving its executive director, Sarah Dennis Phillips, to head the Planning Department instead and elevating director Anne Taupier to replace her.



Downtown is also being singled out in the zero-sum battle for resources with other neighborhoods. Despite the cuts, the mayor’s office touted that the proposed budget has preserved funding for programs that support events and activations in the Mission, the Castro, and Chinatown.&nbsp;



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“Our administration is laying the groundwork for downtown to succeed, and we are leveraging every tool in our toolbox, public and private, to drive downtown’s recovery,” Lutvak said.&nbsp;



The DDC, which launched in April, is based in the Hearst Building at Third and Market. The nonprofit&#8217;s board — led by David Stiepleman, co-president of private equity firm Sixth Street — has since added three billionaires (Chris Larsen, Bob Fisher, and Meg Whitman), Tipping Point Community CEO Sam Cobbs, and influential union leader Olga Miranda.



The organization has raised seed money —&nbsp;although fundraising has yet to start in earnest — and is in the midst of hiring its first CEO. Tech executive and former Obama administration staffer Tyler Brandon was hired as chief operating officer.



Initially, the DDC will focus on the so-called Hospitality Zone — an area encompassing the Moscone Center, Yerba Buena Gardens, and Union Square. Lurie has already dedicated additional police units to the area, which frequently functions as a welcome mat for tourists and business travelers.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1600" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png?w=1600" alt="The image shows a red grid-patterned rectangle on a gray background with white lines and shapes. It contains a quote about financial challenges by Steve Gibson." class="wp-image-412207" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png 1600w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png?resize=150,150 150w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png?resize=300,300 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png?resize=768,768 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-3.png?resize=180,180 180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Even though the DDC has been meeting with stakeholders in each downtown neighborhood, as well as OEWD officials, there are open questions as to what its role will be in determining the city’s economic development policies, according to sources who have met with the organization.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Gibson, who is trying to revive one of downtown’s <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/05/02/the-mid-market-faithful-life-inside-san-franciscos-office-dead-zone/">most beleaguered neighborhoods</a> with the Mid-Market Business Association, said his group has hired a consultant to pursue private funding in anticipation of leaner city support.



 “It&#8217;s not the most fun time to be an executive director,” he said.



In a recent interview at the Bloomberg Tech conference, Lurie described private dollars as start-up capital — meant to be replaced down the line by public funding once programs are off the ground.&nbsp;



“It’s not about being sustainable, it’s about giving us test cases,” Lurie said. “Those funds help kick-start something that we can continue to pay for in the out years.”



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1600" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png?w=1600" alt="A red starburst shape contains the quote, &quot;Government's job is to create the conditions for business and our economy to thrive,&quot; attributed to Charles Lutvak." class="wp-image-412206" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png 1600w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png?resize=150,150 150w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png?resize=300,300 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png?resize=768,768 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9294606992_luries-privatization-of-oewd_spot-2.png?resize=180,180 180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



It’s a similar playbook to the one he employed while running Tipping Point Community, where a $65 million donation from Charles and Helen Schwab helped develop the nonprofit’s <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/02/04/833-bryant-homelessness-housing-lurie-cockroaches/">homeless housing project at 833 Bryant St.</a> But public funding for that development has largely failed to materialize since the model used to construct the building is <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/24/daniel-lurie-833-bryant-campaign/">politically impossible to replicate</a> in San Francisco.&nbsp;



Those working on transforming downtown for the post-Covid era say changes will take place over decades, rather than on a quarterly reporting schedule.&nbsp;



That’s the kind of responsibility that has historically belonged to the government. For example, OEWD is leading a legislative effort to <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/02/san-francisco-incentivizing-office-conversions/">fund downtown commercial-to-residential conversions</a> using tax increment financing over the next 30 years. If approved, the plan would let developers use additional property tax revenue from new housing to offset construction costs.&nbsp;



That type of long-term planning might eventually be in the DDC’s purview. According to its website, one of the organization’s goals is to “identify long-term public financing tools to support downtown San Francisco’s health and evolution for generations to come.”&nbsp;

Lurie under YIMBY pressure to embrace aggressive rezoning plan

With the deadline fast approaching for San Francisco to submit a plan to create <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/01/24/sf-housing-plan-passes-but-faces-tight-timeline-and-tough-road-to-implementation/">tens of thousands of housing units</a>, Mayor Daniel Lurie will soon have to plant a flag in the ground on one of the city’s most contentious issues.



A new version of the state-mandated rezoning plan is set to drop this spring, and the city has until January to send it to Sacramento, setting up a potential skirmish of <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/06/07/san-francisco-zoning-housing-element-united-neighborhoods/">neighborhood preservationists and anti-displacement activists</a> versus <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/10/16/yimby-winning-san-francisco-housing-war/">pro-development and YIMBY forces</a>.&nbsp;



The debate could mark a political test for Lurie, who expressed support for housing on the campaign trail but has said little about the rezoning effort since. Pro-housing advocates have flagged political liabilities for the mayor should he decide to seek a second term.&nbsp; 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg?w=2500" alt="A construction site with a worker on a platform attached to a crane, surrounded by steel beams and scaffolding, under a clear blue sky." class="wp-image-243234" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240125_alivetil25_0062.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Construction has slowed down considerably in San Francisco because of high material and labor costs, experts say.</figcaption></figure>



In a Jan. 31 meeting memo, Ned Segal, Lurie’s housing and economic development policy chief,&nbsp; informed the mayor that “YIMBY groups now warn of legal and political risks of a too-timid approach in the rezoning currently underway.”



The memo explains that the city must issue permits for 29,049 housing units by 2027; the clock started ticking in 2023. If the city does not meet that goal, it could be forced to commit to more rezoning.&nbsp;



“A decision does not need to be made in this [Jan. 31] meeting but in the near future the planning department will need direction from YOUR office,” the memo states.



It seems unlikely the city will meet that target: San Francisco has issued permits for 4,307 housing units since 2023, according to the Planning Department.&nbsp;



This month, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/opinion/2025/02/21/daniel-lurie-sly-mayor-moves/">the mayor announced a task force</a> to speed up the <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/08/san-francisco-new-housing-permits-pace/">permitting</a> system — but the high cost of materials and labor have made it extremely difficult to build anything in the city, said Corey Smith, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition.



“Nobody is applying to build housing projects right now,” Smith said. &#8220;When they pencil it out, they lose money. Investors are not about losing money.”



The city could avoid retriggering a rezoning if the plans that are currently under development accommodate more housing units than is required under state law, according to Chris Elmendorf, a University of California at Davis law professor specializing in housing policy.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“If the rezoning creates a lot more capacity than the minimum required, then the <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2022/12/29/2022-housing-san-francisco-2023-bigger/">circuit breaker</a> wouldn’t be triggered at all,” he explained, referring to the penalty that requires the city to go back and rezone.&nbsp;



Jane Natoli, the San Francisco organizing director for YIMBY Action, said if rezoning occurs, it would happen right around the time Lurie’s first term ends. “Do you really want to be rezoning again in two years if you’re running for reelection?” she asked. “Do you want to have this conversation again in a couple of years or not?”



Natoli said she and other YIMBY members are advocating for greater density along Van Ness Avenue, stretches of Geary Boulevard, west of Masonic Avenue, and elsewhere.



A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.



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While on the campaign trail, <a href="https://daniellurie.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Press-Release_-Former-SF-Planning-Director-Backs-Luries-Housing-Strategy-.pdf">Lurie generally expressed support for more housing</a>, calling for mid-rise development along main city corridors, near transit, and on corner lots. Meanwhile, a<a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/30/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie-inauguration-chinatown/"> significant chunk of Lurie’s base comes from the city’s west side</a>, where new housing developments often face opposition.&nbsp;



Matt Boschetto, a former District 7 supervisor candidate and Lurie supporter, said residents in the west side are “holding their breath” to see how the mayor approaches the rezoning matter.



“I think he’s going to be in a very precarious place to make a decision,” he said. “If he continues on the same trajectory as London Breed, it is going to upset a lot of people.”



Development skeptics are organizing ahead of the rezoning, calling on officials to focus on affordable housing and preserving tenant protections. <a href="https://citypln-m-extnl.sfgov.org/Commissions/CPC/2_27_2025/Presentation/2021-005878CWP_Presentation1_REP.pdf">In a February letter to city officials</a>, the Council of Community Housing Organizations and others called for any rezoning to allow for&nbsp; 100% affordable housing projects.&nbsp;



“We can have better neighborhoods with our same neighbors,&#8221; Amalia Macias-Laventure, a member of the San Francisco Anti-Displacement Coalition, said during a Thursday press conference.&nbsp;



Lori Brooke, who leads the neighborhood preservationist group United Neighborhoods SF, said the mayor will be challenged as he balances the wants and needs of his voter base.



“During a campaign, it&#8217;s easy to discuss housing in broad, high-level terms,” she said. “But when the rubber meets the road, decisions must be made, ones that prioritize residents and small businesses from displacement.”

Short of giving away money, SF is trying everything to juice office conversions

San Franciscans are fed up with vacant real estate sitting unused. 



A recent Chamber of Commerce <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/02/26/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie-chamber-commerce/">poll</a> found that 87% of voters favor “transforming underused malls and stores” to “revitalize downtown.” At an event Wednesday with the city’s business elite, Mayor Daniel Lurie bragged about how he and the Board of Supervisors are meeting that demand.



The mayor pointed to <a href="https://sfgov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6875718&amp;GUID=0607A97D-42AC-4FF3-8462-F04A7A0E265E">an ordinance</a> that passed the day before with a 9-2 vote that would exempt certain conversion projects from development impact fees, inclusionary housing fees and would remove application deadlines.&nbsp;



The city&#8217;s analysis found that those fees — which fund infrastructure improvements and affordable housing development — add $70,000 to $90,000 in additional construction costs to each new housing unit.&nbsp;



“Transforming vacant offices into housing will help drive our recovery downtown while creating new homes for San Franciscans,” Lurie said. “This is a win-win for our city.”



Conversions have long been touted as an obvious solution to the twin challenges of a housing shortage and a downtown bereft of office workers. But even with years of a simmering real estate crisis that have led to <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/28/san-franciscos-next-real-estate-wave-is-starting-to-take-shape/">record-high vacancies</a> and <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/26/navigating-the-bottom-of-san-franciscos-office-market/">plummeting real estate values</a>, only one San Francisco project has started construction since the pandemic: the Humboldt Building on Market Street.&nbsp;



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Developers boil it down to a lack of financing and, ironically, available inventory. Of the city’s nearly 90 million square feet of office space, <a href="https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/Transfer%20Tax%20Exemption%20Economic%20Impact.pdf">only 13%</a> of those buildings are viable candidates for conversion, according to the controller’s office.&nbsp;



The ordinance is the latest in a series of steps started by previous administrations which <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/09/15/sf-is-cutting-deals-to-unfreeze-housing-but-developers-have-to-do-their-part-too/">aided private developers</a> by <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/10/17/mayor-london-breed-pitches-tax-breaks-for-downtown-san-francisco-office-conversions/">cutting transfer taxes</a> and <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/03/27/new-law-could-kickstart-downtown-office-to-housing-conversions-but-its-only-half-the-battle/">rezoning blocks</a> of commercial buildings.&nbsp;



“This was the single biggest thing we can do as a city,” Anne Taupier, director of joint development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said of the fee reduction. “Developers are telling us that they can now start looking at building acquisitions. This is a signal to lenders that they can come back to San Francisco. We are worth the risk.”&nbsp;



Next up is creating a special financing district that would essentially freeze property tax values for 30 years, thus guaranteeing more returns for investors. Assemblymember Phil Ting’s <a href="https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202320240ab2488">AB 2488</a>, which was signed into law last year, has paved the way for this in downtowns across the state.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg?w=2500" alt="A man in a hat sits reading at a desk in an empty office with several rows of desks and chairs, large windows, and overhead lights." class="wp-image-317507" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241001-officeconversionribboncutting-es-16.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Humboldt Building&#8217;s abundance of windows and floor plans made it a good fit for conversion.</figcaption></figure>



OEWD has to complete a fiscal and building eligibility analysis for the district to take effect in San Francisco, Taupier said. Then, the Board of Supervisors would have to pass a resolution establishing a governing board for the district.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The final step will be for that body and the Board of Supervisors to approve a finance plan to govern the district’s activities. Taupier said OEWD expects the resolution to be introduced this spring and the finance plan to be adopted by late summer or early fall.



Efforts to incentivize office-to-housing conversions in San Francisco started in earnest in 2023, Taupier said. As new construction <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/08/san-francisco-new-housing-permits-pace/">crawled to a standstill</a>, OEWD partnered with the Planning Department and private developers to strategize what the city could do to <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/07/26/bay-area-housing-group-solves-affordable-homes-math/">bring down construction costs</a>.&nbsp;



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Marc Babsin, president of Emerald Fund, a San Francisco developer that in 2015 converted an insurance office at 100 Van Ness into housing, called the new ordinance a “vital piece of the puzzle” in unfreezing the construction pipeline.



“Today the conversation with lenders is short,” Babsin said. “But with this [slate of reforms], I believe investors are going to see that these projects are more financeable. We’ve reduced the infeasibility gap.”



He added that an office building with the “right characteristics” could be converted to housing for 30% less of the cost of ground-up, high-rise construction. The aforementioned Humboldt Building — which is being redeveloped by Forge’s Richard Hannum and the property’s owner — achieved savings through federal grants and financing that incentivize clean-energy development. 



Joy Ou, CEO of Group i, once owned a prime candidate for conversion: the historic Warfield Building at 982 Market St. In 2022, the developer proposed to <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2022/12/22/historic-sf-building-could-be-first-office-to-homes-conversion-since-the-pandemic/">convert it</a> into 34 apartments.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1730" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-scaled.jpg?w=2500" alt="The image shows a building entrance with a golden awning frame. The word &quot;Warfield&quot; is displayed prominently, and the number &quot;988&quot; is visible above." class="wp-image-106452" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-300x208.jpg 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-2500x1730.jpg 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-768x532.jpg 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-1536x1063.jpg 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-2048x1417.jpg 2048w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-650x450.jpg 650w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-370x256.jpg 370w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-800x554.jpg 800w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-450x311.jpg 450w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-185x128.jpg 185w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-740x512.jpg 740w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-20x14.jpg 20w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-400x277.jpg 400w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-1600x1107.jpg 1600w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-225x156.jpg 225w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-900x623.jpg 900w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1408471856-69x48.jpg 69w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A developer once tried to convert a section of office space in the Warfield into 35 apartments.</figcaption></figure>



But Ou said the project never got off the ground because of high costs. This month, the Warfield was sold to the Community Arts Stabilization Trust for $7.3 million. As a result, the property will remain an office building, with public radio station KALW <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/downtown-sf-warfield-kalw-20154126.php">as the anchor tenant</a>.&nbsp;



Ou said that if San Francisco wants to help developers further, the city could take on a more active role providing financing directly. But with a ballooning deficit and an uncertain economy, that idea seems unlikely.&nbsp;



“Finding capital is still tough,” she said. “Lenders have been scarred from the past [five years], and they’re afraid to get burned.”&nbsp;

San Francisco’s new transportation boss is a powerful nonprofit exec

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie said Monday that Alicia John-Baptiste, head of the influential urban policy think tank SPUR, will serve as a policy chief in his administration, overseeing infrastructure, climate, and transportation.



The hire is part of <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/11/daniel-luries-san-francisco-mayor-reorganization/">Lurie’s restructuring of the mayor’s office</a>, in which a group of policy chiefs will act as intermediaries with a host of departments, rather than the agency heads reporting directly to the mayor. John-Baptiste’s portfolio of agencies includes the Environment Department, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency, the Port of San Francisco, the Public Utilities Commission, Public Works, and Recreation and Parks.



John-Baptiste spent a decade at SPUR; for the last six years, she ran the nonprofit as president and CEO. Prior to that, she worked as chief of staff at the SFMTA and, before that, the Planning Department, according to LinkedIn.



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John-Baptiste said in a statement that her return to City Hall comes at a “critical time” for San Francisco.



“How the city plans for and delivers on its major infrastructure, climate, and mobility goals will shape our vitality for years to come, and I’m looking forward to partnering with the mayor-elect and city leadership on this important work,” she said.



“Alicia brings extensive expertise in shaping bold, transformative policies, and whose leadership will enhance communication and transparency as we pursue a more sustainable, connected, and resilient San Francisco,” Lurie said in a statement.



Few agencies will be under more scrutiny than the SFMTA, whose embattled director <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/12/sfmta-chief-jeff-tumlin-to-step-down/">Jeffrey Tumlin stepped down</a> at the end of the year.



SPUR has been influential in shaping the incoming Lurie administration’s approach to governance. In August, the nonprofit recommended the&nbsp; restructuring of the mayor’s office to reduce the number of direct reports and create greater accountability.&nbsp;



“In its current state, the City and County of San Francisco’s government structure is like an overgrown garden: Everything was planted for its specific purpose but over time has grown thick and become difficult to disentangle,” the report states.&nbsp;



However, the report went on to note that the introduction of policy chiefs and other proposals — such as restoring the mayor’s ability to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sfstandard/reel/DD-KNq2NCgq/">hire and fire department heads</a> — would allow the city to “design a system that supports leadership and empowerment with clear lines of accountability.”



In addition to her work in the public and nonprofit sectors, John-Baptiste holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree from Duke University. She has served on the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board, and the Oakland Budget Advisory Commission.

Furious SF Zoo leaders say city audit could derail panda deal with China

San Francisco&#8217;s embattled zoo is facing another challenge that could derail its high-profile panda deal with China.



The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to audit the San Francisco Zoo&#8217;s finances and overall performance following a series of negative press reports about conditions at the facility.



The decision triggered a furious reaction from zoo officials, who argued that the move could imperil plans to host giant pandas loaned from China starting late next year.&nbsp;



&#8220;Having this audit may significantly diminish our chance of bringing giant pandas back to the San Francisco Zoo,&#8221; deputy director Vitus Leung told The Standard. &#8220;While we respect the board&#8217;s decision, we are disappointed by their approach and timing.&#8221;



Mayor London Breed announced in April during a trip to China that <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/04/18/china-san-francisco-zoo-panda-announcement/">a pair of pandas would be coming to the San Francisco Zoo</a>. The facility last hosted the beloved animals about 40 years ago.&nbsp;



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Leung said the Chinese government has expressed concerns about recent &#8220;unjustified negative press&#8221; and suggested that the city audit, coupled with changes in federal leadership, creates uncertainty around the deal.



&#8220;The Chinese government has multiple options for sending their pandas to different zoos,&#8221; Leung said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want to lose this opportunity, especially given our large Asian American, and specifically Chinese American, population in the San Francisco Bay Area.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg?w=2500" alt="A majestic lion with a thick mane lounges on a metal platform, bathed in sunlight, with a dark green leafy background." class="wp-image-342711" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0500_099cd9.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The zoo plans to renovate a lion habitat to house giant pandas on loan from China.</figcaption></figure>



Previous investigations have shone a light on the zoo’s problems. In April, the San Francisco Chronicle <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/san-francisco-zoo-safety-18986471.php">published a report</a> highlighting animal welfare and safety issues. An <a href="https://sfgov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=13383557&amp;GUID=1E09FAFC-73EB-40B6-A5BF-CC41BC1E12DE">October report</a> by Joint Zoo Committee members, which received feedback from current and former staffers and was approved by the Animal Control and Welfare Commission, criticized the facility as outdated and unsuitable to host pandas.



&#8220;We highly recommend that pandas not be sent to San Francisco,&#8221; the report stated.



Justin Barker, an animal rights activist who contributed to the report, supports the supervisors’ audit and urged the city to drop the panda plan.



&#8220;Using pandas as a bargaining chip is problematic,&#8221; Barker said. &#8220;The panda plan is incredibly irresponsible and should not move forward.&#8221;



Leung criticized the October report’s methodology as severely flawed and said zoo leadership will present a rebuttal next week. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and <a href="https://richmondsunsetnews.com/2024/11/06/sf-zoo-bashed-by-citys-animal-control-and-welfare-commission-report/">passed the 2022 inspection with no significant safety issue identified</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" height="1667" width="2500" src="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg?w=2500" alt="The image shows a sunny landscape with tall trees, a large rock, and dense foliage in the foreground. The sky is clear, and the scene feels tranquil." class="wp-image-342708" srcset="https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg 3000w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241203-pandahome_0405.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&#8220;Having this audit may significantly diminish our chance of bringing giant pandas back to the San Francisco Zoo,&#8221; deputy director Vitus Leung says.</figcaption></figure>



Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who led the call for an audit and represents the district that includes the zoo, said the audit is not intended to sabotage the panda deal but to provide clarity on the facility’s condition.



&#8220;It is the city&#8217;s responsibility to ensure that organizations receiving city funding are healthy,&#8221; Melgar said. &#8220;This audit is routine and should be expected. It is not punitive.&#8221;



The audit will likely take nine to 12 months to complete. The last city audit of the zoo occurred in 1999 and the annual funding from the city budget to the zoo, about $4 million, hasn’t increased since then. The zoo will likely spend $40 million for the panda project in the next decade; the cost will be borne by private donations.



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The New York Times has published investigations in recent months questioning <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/15/world/asia/pandas-zoo-breeding-death-captivity.html">China&#8217;s panda programs</a> and its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/world/asia/china-panda-money-us-zoos.html">spending of panda rental money</a>. Last week, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan <a href="https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/player/clip/47930?view_id=11&amp;redirect=true">suggested at the audit hearing</a> that if the zoo needs to pause its panda project to address financial and safety issues, &#8220;so be it.&#8221;



But the zoo is determined to welcome the pandas back. Last week, it <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/05/panda-new-home-sf-zoo/">unveiled</a> plans to remodel a lion habitat to host the pandas. The Planning Department confirmed it has received the zoo’s application for a permit for renovations.



Despite the tensions, Melgar remains enthusiastic about the pandas.



&#8220;I am 110% in support of the panda deal,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think it will be great for our city and for the west side.&#8221;

YIMBY dreams come true as state bill eliminates housing red tape

The glacial pace and headache-inducing maze that has long defined housing permitting in San Francisco may be nearing its end after the city failed to meet its state-mandated development goals and a new state law kicked in Friday.



Senate Bill 423, which was authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener and clears the way for housing projects to sail through the city’s approval bureaucracy, is projected to reduce the time it takes for a permit to be granted from around two years—the longest in the state—to just six months, officials said Monday.&nbsp;



“No discretionary hearings, no <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2022/02/23/the-story-behind-ceqa-breaking-down-the-lefts-love-hate-relationship-with-californias-pioneering-environmental-law/">CEQA lawsuits</a>, none of the <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2024/03/14/san-francisco-breed-peskin-housing-waterfront-density/">politics</a> at the Board of Supervisors, you just get your damn permit,” said Sen. Wiener at a press conference on Monday at the Planning Department’s headquarters. “Period.”&nbsp;



The city is now under the thumb of SB 423 after it didn’t reach its yearly benchmark of eventually <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2023/01/23/what-to-know-about-sfs-plan-to-create-82000-new-homes/">reaching 82,000 new units by 2031</a>. San Francisco is on a much tighter leash than other cities after Wiener <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2023/09/15/san-francisco-singled-out-in-state-housing-bill-that-speeds-up-development/">added an amendment</a> to the bill that subjects it to yearly reviews of its housing goals. Other cities get a check-up halfway through the eight-year housing cycle under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, or RHNA.



San Francisco has authorized just 831 new units this year, according to the Planning Department. To reach its state-mandated goals, the city needs to allow for 10,000 a year.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="8192" height="5464" src="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg?w=2500" alt="Two people in formal attire are smiling while cutting a red ribbon with oversized blue scissors, surrounded by construction workers wearing yellow vests and helmets." class="wp-image-287701" srcset="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg 8192w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240701-sfhousing-tv1922-1.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 8192px) 100vw, 8192px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mayor London Breed (left) and Senator Scott Wiener (right) hold a pair of big scissors to a red ribbon at the San Francisco Permit Center on Monday, July 1, 2024.</figcaption></figure>



Wiener’s bill is an extension of one of his previous pieces of legislation, Senate Bill 35, which streamlined affordable housing. Officials said the new law impacts a much broader swath of projects: roughly three-fourths of permitting applications.



The new rules are a major win for the city’s YIMBYs, who have complained for years about the bureaucratic barriers in getting projects through the arduous permitting process, which can include additional review by critics of a particular project, a <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2023/08/04/san-francisco-permit-expediters/">mechanism</a> known as discretionary review.



Wiener made a specific reference on Monday to Board President Aaron Peskin, a longtime foe of housing advocates who criticize his record. The issue has also become a major political battle in the run-up to the November mayor’s race, with Peskin <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2024/06/28/san-francisco-mayors-race-westside-housing-aaron-peskin/">competing to unseat Breed</a>.



Wiener likened Peskin to a City Hall “patron saint” for NIMBYs.



“Their goal is to shut down and stop housing production,” said the state senator. “It&#8217;s classic NIMBYism. They do not want new homes near where they live.” 



In response to the state senator&#8217;s comments, Peskin said Wiener&#8217;s legislation will &#8220;be a boon for speculators and developers who will build expensive units out of reach for most San Franciscans&#8221; and further gentrification and displacement. 



The bill still doesn’t address certain impediments to building more housing in the city, such as eye-popping construction and materials costs. Other barriers are the high interest rates that are out of the city’s control. However, officials maintained Monday that SB 423 helps to chip away at the housing crisis.&nbsp;



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“San Francisco is not a museum that should be stuck in time,” Breed said on Monday. “It is a city with actual people and opportunities for people to live here.”



Freeing up the permitting pipeline also promises to give more time to the Planning Department’s staff. Planning Director Rich Hillis said his agency will now devote more resources to rezoning and building strategies to address sea level rise. Hillis also said the bill could help prevent corruption in the permitting world, since long waits have <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2023/08/04/san-francisco-permit-expediters/">led to the rise of permitting expediters</a> involved in major scandals.&nbsp;



“There’s going to be less of a need for attorneys and expediters,” Hillis told the Standard about getting a housing permit.

Flooding threatens to inundate San Francisco neighborhoods, report says

San Francisco is woefully unprepared when it comes to combating and mitigating rising seas, which could lead to disastrous flooding, according to the city’s latest civil grand jury report.&nbsp;



In a 71-page report titled “Come Hell or High Water,” the jury—a civilian oversight body of 19 San Franciscans—details how a precipitous increase in atmospheric rivers against the backdrop of vulnerable infrastructure and poor communication across city departments will inundate San Francisco’s low-lying neighborhoods. Overall, the jurors took issue with a gaping hole in communication with the public conveying the threat that rising seas pose.



“The issue at large needs more attention,” Ralph Lane, a member of the jury, told The Standard. “Climate change and sea level rise is gradual, so there&#8217;s not gonna be a cataclysmic event like an earthquake that can focus people on climate change adaptation, which is why transparency is one of the bigger pieces of our recommendations. There are going to be winners and losers, so it&#8217;s gotta be done in the sunshine.”



As the intensity and frequency of atmospheric rivers climbs due to climate change, sea levels are <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/sealevelrise-tech-report.html#step3">projected to rise</a> as much as three-and-a-half feet by 2100, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The city’s wastewater system could not “manage that change alone” without the ability to direct water elsewhere, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission reported in December 2022. This could result in flooding in areas like SoMa, the Inner Mission, Civic Center and the Western Addition. Additionally, an increase in storms leads to more saturated soils, which can lead to landslides already seen statewide.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="6000" height="4000" src="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg?w=2500" alt="Men wearing neon uniforms help to pack levees into a car during an intense storm in January 2023." class="wp-image-282673" srcset="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg 6000w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined1_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">City public works employees unpack sandbags to distribute to the public ahead of a significant storm in January 2023.</figcaption></figure>



In 2021, the mayor&#8217;s office created ClimateSF as a partnership between the SFPUC, the Port of San Francisco, the Planning Department, the San Francisco Environment Department, and the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning to build a nexus of environmentally resilient and adaptable programs citywide.



However, the grand jury’s report found that while the group has created projects that identify vulnerable points, it lacks the thrust to implement these projects due to poor communication and absenteeism. The directors of the Port and SFPUC, the agencies that manage flooding, only attended one meeting together in all the years reviewed by the civil grand jury.&nbsp;



“Good ideas were discussed at the staff level; however, by not attending staff-level meetings, departmental leadership did not then develop ideas for implementing them,” the report reads.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="6000" height="4000" src="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg?w=2500" alt="A woman carrying a small dog sits in her car awaiting sand bags during the January 2023 storms." class="wp-image-282674" srcset="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg 6000w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_floodingreport.jpeg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Audette Bennett and her dog Pablo wait for free sandbags ahead of a massive storm in January 2023.</figcaption></figure>



The Office of Resilience and Capital Planning, which oversees ClimateSF, will publish a formal response to the report within 60 days.&nbsp;



&#8220;We appreciate the civil grand jury’s work on this and will closely review the recommendations,” a department spokesperson said. “To meet our climate goals, climate resilience must be embedded into every department’s work. While there&#8217;s still work to be done, San Francisco has been a nationwide leader on climate resilience.”



Since ClimateSF&#8217;s launch, the city has moved forward on several citywide initiatives to fight climate change. Among those are the Ocean Beach Climate Adaptation Project, a major armoring project that will turn parts of the Great Highway into a park, and the Climate Adaptation Plan, which cuts a path toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions citywide.

Angry San Francisco homeowners plot to kill city’s rezoning plan

As the sunset cast red hues over West Portal skies, residents of San Francisco’s west side funneled into the Scottish Rite Masonic Center’s banquet hall to condemn the city’s rezoning proposal, which aims to increase height limits in residential neighborhoods across San Francisco.&nbsp;



Renderings of what looked like spaceships parked in San Francisco’s sleepy west side neighborhoods were met with gasps from dozens of attendees, most of whom said they were homeowners, at the Wednesday meeting held by Neighborhoods United San Francisco, a collection of over 50 neighborhood groups mobilizing against upzoning proposals brought forth by the Planning Department.&nbsp;



The matter of rezoning has provoked the wrath of residents across the city, notably in west side neighborhoods with a preponderance of single-family homes, but also in wealthier areas on the north side. Despite making up only 2.7% of the city’s population, for example, the Pacific Heights neighborhood made up 28% of feedback citywide on the first rezoning proposal draft—the highest rate of participation across the city’s neighborhoods.&nbsp;



Leading the meeting was Lori Brooke, an anti-development firebrand who wears many hats in San Francisco civic life. She is the co-founder of RescueSF, a group attempting to lobby for homelessness policy changes, and longtime president of the Cow Hollow Association. 



In a nearly hour-long presentation, Brooke painted the city’s rezoning plans as unnecessary, punitive and ineffective. The rezoning proposal must be approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors by January 2026 to help make way for 82,000 new housing units by 2032.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-jetpack-image-compare"><div class="juxtapose" data-mode="horizontal"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" id="281653" src="https://i2.wp.com/content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined01_20240607nimbymeet.jpg?ssl=1" alt="This image shows an aerial view of a densely packed city neighborhood with houses and buildings, trees, and a bridge in the background stretching over a body of water." width="2220" height="1234" class="image-compare__image-before"/><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" id="281654" src="https://i0.wp.com/content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined02_20240607nimbymeet.jpg?ssl=1" alt="The image shows a 3D rendering of a neighborhood with low-rise buildings in the foreground and several large, grey, rectangular structures in the background labeled with numbers. Trees are visible." width="2274" height="1244" class="image-compare__image-after"/></div><figcaption>Neighborhoods United SF created renderings that show what they fear could happen under the city&#8217;s rezoning proposal. Critics have called the renderings bogus. | Courtesy Neighborhoods United SF</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-jetpack-image-compare"><div class="juxtapose" data-mode="horizontal"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" id="281657" src="https://i2.wp.com/content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined05_20240607nimbymeet.jpg?ssl=1" alt="The image shows a cityscape with densely packed buildings climbing up a hill, topped by a tall tower. Below, more buildings are visible with a body of water in the background." width="2236" height="1304" class="image-compare__image-before"/><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" id="281658" src="https://i2.wp.com/content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined06_20240607nimbymeet.jpg?ssl=1" alt="This image shows a cityscape with three prominent, white-box shaped buildings of varying heights superimposed over an existing urban area under a clear blue sky." width="2340" height="1300" class="image-compare__image-after"/></div><figcaption>Renderings created by Neighborhoods United SF show dramatic height increases near the city&#8217;s waterfront, but critics call them misinformation. | Courtesy Neighborhoods United SF</figcaption></figure>



Hoping to rally supporters to use as a battering ram for a Thursday Planning Commission meeting on the proposal, Brooke described a harrowing future San Francisco devoid of viewscapes and affordable housing.



“Who’s going to want to live in one of these?” she asked the crowd, pointing to a rendering of an eight-story building. “It’s not just personal views, it&#8217;s public vistas, it&#8217;s the things that make San Francisco iconic and special. If you want to live in a city that has tall towers, there are plenty of places in this country to go.”



Neighborhood United’s detractors have criticized Brooke for employing scare tactics, misinformation and red herrings in her quest to block rezoning.&nbsp;



Brooke flipped from slide to slide of renderings showing what mid-rise buildings could look like in residential neighborhoods, bracketing entire neighborhoods and cutting views and hope for sunlight. Anne Yalon, a spokesperson for the Planning Department, called the renderings bogus and an attempt to steer the narrative against housing development.&nbsp;



“These crude boxes they&#8217;ve drawn on the website are completely out of scale,” Yalon said. “It&#8217;s not what an eight-story or 14-story building looks like. They&#8217;re using these fear-mongering tactics to get people on board, but if we don&#8217;t do this, we’re in big trouble,” Yalon added, referring to the city’s rezoning plan.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-jetpack-image-compare"><div class="juxtapose" data-mode="horizontal"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" id="281655" src="https://i1.wp.com/content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined03_20240607nimbymeet.jpg?ssl=1" alt="The image shows a modern, boxy white building next to a traditional white church with red roof tiles, set against trees and a clear blue sky." width="2244" height="1248" class="image-compare__image-before"/><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" id="281656" src="https://i1.wp.com/content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/inlined04_20240607nimbymeet.jpg?ssl=1" alt="The image shows a large, featureless orange building with a vertical striped texture on one corner. Distorted objects in the foreground resemble cars and debris." width="2240" height="1240" class="image-compare__image-after"/></div><figcaption>Renderings created by an anti-development group showed a large-blocky structure at 19th and Sloat. | Courtesy Neighborhoods United SF</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4032" height="3024" src="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg?w=2500" alt="A woman is presenting at a podium to a large, seated audience in a spacious, brightly lit room with ceiling chandeliers, large windows, and two projection screens." class="wp-image-281908" srcset="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg 4032w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg?resize=2500,1875 2500w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6338.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">West side residents, including many homeowners, gasped at renderings showing hypothetical large buildings along the city&#8217;s waterfront.</figcaption></figure>



Mike Antonini, a Republican who served as planning commissioner from 2002 until 2016, kicked off the meeting with warnings about waterfront towers that could be erected from the Richmond District down to Lakeshore. He foretold plummeting property values, likening the rezoning plan to Soviet tenements before quoting Ronald Reagan: “The loss of freedom is only a generation away,” he said. Two more former planning commissioners—Dennis Antenore, who served in the 1990s, and Dennis Richards, who resigned in 2020 amid a lawsuit against the Department of Building Inspection—have also thrown their support behind Brooke’s group.&nbsp;



Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who’s running for mayor, echoed fears about the ill-effects of development in San Francisco, criticizing developers eager to stake claim to properties citywide and asserting that land development has historically been under the purview of local government.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We should not forget the dark days of San Francisco’s experience with redevelopment in the 1950s and 1960s, now widely seen as a colossal planning mistake with deep racist undertones that led to the displacement of thousands of predominantly low-income people of color in San Francisco’s Fillmore District and Japantown,” Peskin said.



If the city fails to meet its state housing mandate by 2032, it could result in a loss of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds that go to transportation, parks and affordable housing and lead to <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2023/01/27/developers-ready-to-pounce-as-bay-area-cities-fall-behind-on-housing-deadline/">“builder’s remedy” projects</a> that bypass local zoning rules and could bring much taller projects.&nbsp;



To make it possible to accommodate those units, Mayor London Breed instructed the Planning Department to expedite a rezoning plan.



“She saw the numbers and said ‘We gotta get going,’” Yalon said. “What usually happens in two years we did in eight months through an insane amount of outreach, surveys, in-person meetings.”



The Planning Commission’s meeting on Thursday lasted hours and featured a few dozen speakers, several of whom represented neighborhood groups opposed to upzoning along with some standing in support.&nbsp;



“[The Planning Department has] not implemented the mandated increased tenant protections prior to pushing these upzonings forward,” said Jeantelle Laberinto of the R...

Breed’s compromise: Are 6-story buildings the cure for housing shortage?

As San Francisco continues to hash out its plans to accommodate tens of thousands of new housing units in the coming years, Mayor London Breed on Wednesday said smaller projects should be prioritized so the city can reach its production goal.



In a letter sent to the Planning Commission on Wednesday, Breed said mid-rise developments in the six- to eight-story range will help usher in faster compliance with the state-mandated Housing Element. 



In doing so, she cited conversations with housing planners and financiers who have conveyed difficult economic conditions that make skyscrapers challenging to pencil out. However, the mayor added that high-rise developments should still be considered on the city’s “widest and busiest” roadways.



The mayor also said the city should try to increase the density of developments near transit and commercial zones without stretching height limits—an effort that is already underway through legislation she’s working on with Supervisor Myrna Melgar that has faced some pushback from Board President Aaron Peskin. 



In <a href="https://develop.sfstandard.com/2024/03/04/sick-of-his-shenanigans-housing-spat-carves-battle-lines-in-san-francisco-mayoral-race/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">March</a>, Peskin made tweaks to Breed and Melgar&#8217;s bill implementing rent control and restrictions on the use of the state&#8217;s density bonus, which could impact height. The legislation is currently making its way through City Hall.



Wednesday’s letter indicated the strategy of what is known as “density decontrol,” which seeks to increase the number of units inside a parcel, could be expanded to other parts of the city.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="6240" height="4160" src="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg?w=2500" alt="A woman in a red suit stands in the foreground with construction workers in high-visibility vests and a building site behind them." class="wp-image-264600" srcset="https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg 6240w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg?resize=2500,1667 2500w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://content-develop.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/20240403-breedplanningdept05.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 6240px) 100vw, 6240px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mayor London Breed speaks with construction workers near the Mission Rock development in March 2022.</figcaption></figure>



The mayor additionally said San Francisco should take advantage of sites like parking lots to create affordable and mixed-income housing.



“This ambitious process is fundamentally about doing what is best for San Francisco and its residents while also addressing the reality that our City, as built today, cannot meet our current or future housing needs,” Breed’s letter reads. “And I believe we can do all of this while still protecting the uniqueness of our diverse San Francisco neighborhoods.”



Breed’s directive comes as the city tries to figure out how to implement a state-mandated housing plan that calls for San Francisco to accommodate over 80,000 new units by 2031. This year, <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6e0e399f9c82456dbda233eacebc433d/">the Planning Department put forth rezoning plans</a> that aimed to increase height limits across large swaths of the city that include the Richmond, Sunset, Castro and Nob Hill neighborhoods. The plans need to be finalized by the beginning of 2026.



The proposal has set up a tense battle between the increasingly powerful YIMBY coalition—who argue the city needs to ramp up production of housing to combat a lack of low-cost options—and their opponents, who assert that wide-scale upzoning won’t lead to affordability and could disturb the character of neighborhoods.



Housing has already become an issue in the mayor’s race, with Breed stating in her State of the City address last month that she would block any “anti-housing” legislation that passed her desk.&nbsp;



That promise came into play later in March after Breed vetoed presumptive mayoral candidate Peskin’s housing density legislation, a move that was later struck down by board members in a defeat for the sitting city leader.&nbsp;



In Wednesday’s letter, the mayor took a more conciliatory approach to the housing issue: “Some believe the current proposal [from the Planning Department] doesn’t go nearly far enough and that we need to significantly expand its scope—others are concerned about what more height and density mean for their neighborhood and for the San Francisco that they know and love.”



Jake Price, an organizer for the Housing Action Coalition in San Francisco who has advocated for the city’s upzoning, said he was supportive of the mayor’s direction despite the fact it is calling for smaller developments in certain cases.&nbsp;











Price added that the initial rezoning map is too narrowly focused along certain streets—and that housing opportunities should be spread out more. For example, he cited Geary Boulevard as a road being considered for upzoning while just a block away, Anza Street remains unchanged.&nbsp;



At odds with the Planning Department are a variety of neighborhood coalitions, who say the rezoning plans are far too expansive. 



One of those groups, Neighborhoods United SF, has sent out mailers calling the proposal “extreme and unnecessary.” 



Lori Brooke, co-founder&nbsp;of the organization, wrote in response to Breed&#8217;s letter on Wednesday, &#8220;The Mayor&#8217;s response underscores the significant public backlash against her poorly thought-out upzoning initiatives. Rather than tackling the affordable housing shortage, this proposal fosters a speculative market and risks displacing existing small businesses and renters.&#8221;



Attorney Lee Hepner, a former aide of Supervisor Peskin’s, wrote on X he was “gobsmacked” by Breed’s proposal.&nbsp;



“This is clear confirmation that Breed’s veto was a vacuous political jab not rooted in policy,” he <a href="https://x.com/LeeHepner/status/1775598106626961510?s=20">wrote</a>. “To be clear, 6-8 story buildings on transit-oriented thoroughfares is GOOD policy. But massively hypocritical and a stunning pivot from Breed’s viral condemnation of this approach just last week.”

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