Cheaper, Easier Affordable Housing Development Proposed in San Francisco

"San Francisco Mayor London Breed is readying legislation to eliminate thousands of dollars in fees the city charges when 100 percent affordable housing projects and accessory dwelling units are built or renovated," reports Dominic Fracassa.

According to Fracassa, the proposed legislation is the latest effort to further the mayor's effort to make affordable housing projects cheaper and, thus, easier to build.

Here, Fracassa describes some of the details about how the ordinance would reform the city''s affordable housing approval process:

The ordinance would prevent the city from moving money from one pocket to another. In San Francisco, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development is the main source of funding for affordable housing projects.

Sam Moss, executive director of the Mission Housing Development Corp., said it was “fairly ludicrous” for another city agency, the Department of Building Inspection, to then take a portion of that money back for permit reviews and inspection services, which is how the process currently works.

Fracassa finds a lot of affordable housing developers willing to go on the record to voice unequivocal support for the ordinance.

The ordinance also includes reforms designed to ease permitting expenses for accessory dwelling units.